What has happened today?Today (May 21, 2013) Google has announced that they are closing Google Checkout (it will be retired on November 20th, 2013). It came as quite a shock for many merchants, who used to use this payment option. Before I start to comment on that move let’s talk about the history of this product.
We are now well into 2013 and the “top 10” lists of design trends for this year stop being just wishful thinking. Imagine you want to re-design (or simply design for the first time) your web site. It’s good to check the current trends and stay up to date – at least with those hip elements you find applicable. The same goes for online shops. If you have one of those. You may find yourself browsing through the design trends and wondering: “do I REALLY need that?”
The question you should be asking yourself is: “does this really make my website / e-shop better?”
Let’s take a quick look at some of the most visible trends for today (we have April 2013) and see how they can be applied to an online shop. The opinions below are completely subjective.
It is a good slogan not only for social activity but also for running online business. If you’d like your brand to spread around the world think how it works in particular markets. Popularity in many regions can finally bring you closer to global success.
Some products can be universal for every user. Think about computer accessories, music streaming services or electronics. But many businesses have to target their solutions to particular markets. For example e-book stores need to offer books in a local language, written by local authors. File sharing services have to abide by the local law, clothes stores adapt to the local climate etc. This means they understand and meet their clients’ needs. If you know what your users want you are all set. You just need to use this knowledge wisely.
Who doesn’t like to win? It doesn’t matter whether we think of regular contests, lotteries or simply online rankings. The feeling of being the best, chosen and appreciated motivates us to act and increase work. But what can such winning do for your startup?
First of all – sometimes it doesn’t matter if you win or not. Being nominated or being in the top ten list can already be a great success. A lot of people observe trade contests because it’s the easiest way to be up to date with what’s new or trendy at the moment. You probably do the same looking for competitors, partners or clients. Being nominated could be essential for your startup when it is still unrecognizable. Taking part in a contest can be treated as your promotion channel. If you’re nominated – announce it to the whole world. Use any promotion channel you have (blog, social media, newsletter, websites etc.). Show that you’re proud because you should be! Media love information about winners so it’s always a great opportunity to be on the cover.
If you want to start selling online, there’s a good chance you’re thinking about opening your very own online store. But how to do it? Should you use a ready-to-go ecommerce platform or create your own system? Or maybe there’s another way and a webstore won’t be the best solution for you. This is easy to say, but if it’s your first time – it won’t be that easy to answer.
Since ecommerce is the most common case, let’s first think how to start an e-shop. Some consider ecommerce systems as just for amateurs, but that is certainly not true. Of course amateurs use them and the biggest brands don’t, but the businesses in between make the biggest part. What should they do?
Have you ever been frustrated with the inaccuracy of touch screens and your own fingers? Drawing isn’t that easy on a smartphone and sometimes even texting causes some troubles. Especially if you have big fingers and devices, let’s say, under 4 inches. Of course there are styluses, but let’s be honest – if a mobile device doesn’t have a dedicated stylus holder, there’s very little chance anyone will carry it around.
However, what we do carry almost all the time, besides the phone itself, are our wallets. And a wallet always has place for credit and business cards. Now the question is how to join these facts. It turns out that it’s quite comfortable to operate precisely with the corner of such a card.
Chargebacks and retrieval requests are inevitable part of doing online business. Many businesses need to handle chargebacks and retrievals on a daily basis, while for some others a chargeback or retrieval request is a rare thing. Yet in both cases it is good to know what the difference between the chargeback and retrieval request is. This knowledge will enable you to react quickly and take the appropriate measures to resolve these situations in a timely and efficient manner when they occur.
A retrieval request, also known at some banks as “soft” chargeback, takes place when the credit card issuer contacts the merchant to obtain information about a transaction charged to one of its cardholders. The reasons for retrievals can be various: it may be a result of a customer question or dispute, inaccurate or incomplete transaction information, a processing error or an indication of potential fraud. The bank will request a legible copy of the transaction authorization proof.
Online shopping and its development is a hot topic- whether it’s about safety, business types or pros and cons in comparison to a ‘regular shop’. In the meantime, online payments, a matter equally important, is put on a back burner.
Payment processors are not in charge only of efficient mediacy and safety of our transfers- the choice of such providers should depend also on the type, size and outlook of your business. It might be worth then to get to know each provider to make sure your decision is a good one.
It’s nothing new that celebrities and adverts go together. A famous face is not only a matter of increased sales, but also the image of a brand. If I asked you to name the biggest celeb-magnet, you’d probably say Pepsi. I’m sure you all remember Britney Spears and Spice Girls singing about how amazing Pepsi is (too bad the former one was photographed buying Coca-Cola afterwards!) or David Beckham doing incredible tricks thanks to one sip of the drink. Although these names are big (and by big I do mean BIG), they are also spokespersons for other brands, including Toyota, Candie’s, lollipops, McDonald’s, Tesco, deodorants, crisps, H&M, Sainsbury’s (yes, we’re still talking just about Britney, Spice Girls and Becks!), which decreases their value and credibility as an ad star.
Whenever we’re explaining one-click payments to our partners or clients, it’s always good to add the “just like Amazon or Apple” phrase. In most cases it says more than any detailed description would and there’s always the “big brand effect”. Of course one of the greatest advantages of one-click payments is that this solution is fast and convenient. That’s why when making a purchase, I was a bit surprised that Apple asked me to provide additional specific documents in order to prove my identity. But, as I wrote recently, confirming my identity is completely understandable in some cases. What struck me was the way it was handled.
Before I tell the story, I have to clearly state that this was a local Apple department (not the US Apple), but after some googling it looked like the same department contacts also, for example, UK customers. We also do not intend to mock or criticize Apple – we just want to present an interesting case study and an example that even really big brands either make mistakes or sometimes do not fully control their representatives.