No easy way to get a second opinion. Too many options. Information that's confusing and hard to evaluate. Your online shoppers face complex barriers with every purchase. DecisionStep beats the barriers to buying online.
As seemingly uniquely-divulged in AOL’s women’s shopping habits study, women are the most complicated consumers on the planet. They control $4.3 trillion, roughly 73 percent of US household spending.1 And they do it all while juggling work, home and family life. Thanks AOL! You have now quantified the unquantifiable.
Many – particularly moms – manage to shoehorn 27 hours of activities into the standard 24-hour day.2 It should come as no surprise, then, that 40% shop online during work hours. They are buying everything from clothes and books for their family to more considered purchases like electronics and home furnishings.
Given the focus on social for online retail, I guess it will be only a matter of minutes before these women ask you to make it easier for them to connect and collaborate with their spouses, friends, family, etc. in real-time while they are on their lunch break trying to buy that new dining room table or new school shoes for her finicky teenager??
Sources:
1 “The New Female Consumer: The Rise of the RealMom.” Advertising Age, November 2009. 2 “Living La Vida Rapida.” AOL/OMD Global Moms Study, July 2008.
Yesterday our CEO John Jackson had a briefing with Charlene Li, founder of The Altimeter Group, an influential, “research-based advisory firm that helps companies and industries leverage disruption to their advantage.” She provided some very encouraging words and helpful feedback throughout the briefing and also tweeted about the discussion. In advance of the Altimeter Group’s upcoming “Rise of Social Commerce” conference in October, Charlene’s colleague, Christine Tran, wrote this great blog post today mentioning our ShopTogether technology as one of the “7 Social Experiences in E-Commerce,” and the work we do with Mattel and Charlotte Russe (among others).
ShopTogether®, our proprietary social-shopping application, brings the fun and interaction of the in-store experience online. ShopTogether's revolutionary technology lets your customers share real-time, synchronized shopping sessions with friends, family or your call center-enhancing customer satisfaction and increasing sales. Read more.
» ShopTogether® Community
ShopTogether Community transforms any e-commerce site into a store where shoppers can interact with each other just like they do offline. ShopTogether Community lets customers see what other shoppers are looking at, ask questions and provide recommendations in real time to anyone else in the store. Read more.
» ShopTogether® Friends
ShopTogether Friends lets multiple people share an online shopping experience on your site from computers across town or around the world. Beyond link sharing or screen sharing, ShopTogether Friends lets users actually view products together and chat in real time. Read more.
» ShopTogether® Concierge
ShopTogether Concierge enhances online customer support to create a higher level of personalized service. ShopTogether Concierge works alone or as a complement to your existing chat or customer-support application. Read more.
» ShopTogether® Crowd
ShopTogether Crowd is an easy-to-install social tool that lets customers on your site see what other shoppers are browsing in real time. It's fun, anonymous and absolutely mesmerizing. Read more.
» ShopTogether® Enterprise
ShopTogether Enterprise lets you leverage your existing investments by integrating ShopTogether directly into your existing ecommerce platform, online communities, designer and contractor portals, and live chat support. Read more.