Web sales nearly topped $400 billion last year, with nearly 12% of all retail sales being done online. The market opportunity is projected to grow with new trends increasingly making it easier to shop online using mobile devices. This provides a whole new platform for your business to flourish.

Further, smartphones and tablets are driving an increasing amount of web traffic, and numbers are on the rise as mobile devices become much cheaper and more mainstream.

You need to be aware of the resources required to build-up your online shop, develop marketing and sales, keep track of product inventory and ultimately fulfill customer orders you can also take advantage of the online market. You can use it as a way to bridge the gap as you grow from a small shop to a serious online goods provider and utilize the growing number of products and services that allow your business to run smoother. Essentially you need an eCommerce development company.

Which platform do I choose?

What platform you decide to utilize prior to building your website is of the utmost importance. The leading development platforms currently are NET. PHP and JSP. Here are some great examples of platforms written in PHP.

Read Also: Turn your eCommerce Store into a Mobile Commerce App

Magento is an open-source eCommerce development platform, one of the world’s best eCommerce platforms and a vibrant community. If you opt for Magento development, you get access to Magento Marketplace where you see how other customers are utilizing the tools readily available and transforming their businesses.

All Magento Marketplace sales are split between developers and Magento respectively at 70% to 30%. Revenue shares include all costs of the extension as well as any additional fees that include recurring subscription fees or fees or usage-based pricing. There is also a Magento mobile app which allows you to customize the ins and outs of your business in real-time no matter where you are.

PrestaShop is another excellent example, just like Magento, of the best eCommerce platforms around. It boasts 1,000,000 members and forums for discussion brimming with guides and expert advice. There is also a Prestashop mobile app which allows you to customize your business on the go.

There is aptly name freemium platform, that helps retailers the world over to create localized and easily customizable online stores without breaking a sweat. There is a wealth of information at their PrestaShop online store. So you can weigh the pros and cons of either Magento development or that at PrestaShop

How to make my website stand out

The first thing you need is to procure for yourself a readily available and super-catchy web name. It has to also be available on social media platforms, on Facebook, on Instagram and Twitter – it has to also be in line with the type of business you’re trying to run. A website’s business above and beyond is to sell a product or a service

Prior to picking the server type of your choice, you have to worry about how the website will run, whether you want it to be more user-friendly, or you mostly wish to optimize it for Search Engine Optimization, SEO.

And remember, never flood data when it comes to the mission statement. People get bored by excessive amounts of text. They want the gist of what your business is about and the offerings of your products. A single sentence can be powerful enough to induce more clicks and further perusal of your website.

Depending on the type of business you have, it is necessary to have a section on the website that gives information to someone who wants to know more. If you have testimonials from former clients who are happy with the service or product, have a page header that says testimonials. Don’t be humble, but don’t be arrogant, come off as confident. Your website should be tailored toward the mission statement, and more importantly the information your users will want to see.

Where you put the ‘contact me’ information is very important so that an interested party can quickly call. Putting ‘click to call’ or ‘click to email’ or even having a chat option on standby, is a very good way to get easy and repeat business. Customers want their role to be as easy as possible, and the experience to be as streamlined as possible. A big no-no is having outdated contact or product information on your website.

For the safety of your clients and for your credibility, make sure to secure your website with an SSL Certificate to encrypt any information from you or your clients. Identity theft is rampant on the web nowadays and being careful makes a world of difference for people transacting with their Credit/ Debit card number or entering their ID numbers and Social security numbers. Magento development or that at Prestashop offers the information and tools on how best to do this.

Promoting my product

Social Media is the unsung hero of marketing content. You need to promote your products on all platforms and reach as many people who will tweet, share and tag that product. Creating an app is key for people on the go.

For reference, there is a Magento mobile app and also a PrestaShop mobile app, and they allow people to work on the move. Integrating social media and an app into your pool of resources will certainly boost your SEO which will significantly boost your business profile. Magento development can help you streamline your business across different social platforms seamlessly.

Product descriptions are key because people subconsciously vibe with them. It’s why people hum the McDonalds ‘I’m Lovin’ it’ jingle. It’s simple but catchy and definitely vibes with young kids. This is why you have to break down the type of person will be using your product, and then you adjust your tone to them and make sure it can compete with competitors. Great marketing content sells itself, and it’s very important it be brilliant because it’s what the customer is sure to see first.

Building your very own eCommerce business is no easy task. There is a multitude of things you must account for, from your budget to outsourcing for professional copywriting and web building through marketing and promotion.

For further assistance on setting up a business. Don’t hesitate to contact a leading eCommerce development company, egrovesys.com

The rise of mobile devices has changed the landscape of marketing. It’s not enough to market through channels like email and social media. It’s vital that you reach consumers directly in their mobile devices if you want to reach your customers. Many businesses have adopted this mindset and pushed forward with mobile marketing and mobile apps. However, many of these businesses expect outstanding results from the get-go and don’t think about a long term strategy. Like other channels, it’s necessary to engage consumers on a regular basis for optimal results.

That’s why continuous mobile customer engagement needs to be the strategy that’s used. With continuous engagement, you create trust and build a relationship with consumers by providing value to them. Long term engagement will also give you valuable insight into what your audience responds to so that you can improve your targeting and expand your reach to bigger and related audiences. A combination of Push Notifications and in app messaging can be the bridge that keeps consumers and customers engaged, and consequently lead to businesses seeing high ROI numbers in their mobile campaigns.

Read Also: Push notifications – Do’s and Don’ts

3 Stats that Prove Push Notification is Essential for Mobile Apps

1. Push Notification Increases App Engagement by 171%

Users that enable push notifications launched their three times more than users who have not. These users were using the app 14.7 times a month compared to the 5.4 times non-enabled users which is an increase of 171%. One of the biggest mobile challenges that businesses face is getting their users to come back to their app and stay engaged with them. These stats make it clear that using push is essential in getting an app to succeed.

2. Half of Users Opt Into Push and Find Value in the Messages

Many businesses often wonder how many of their users want to be contacted by push messages. Surprisingly, 50% of users opt in and expect useful messages from businesses. If you’re not taking advantage of push notification, then you’re actually alienating a large group of users that want to receive updates from you.

3. Push Notifications Have Open Rates that Range from 47-80%

What’s even more surprising is that push messages have very high open rates that range anywhere from 47-80%. The key to high open rates is to make the messages relevant, timely and relationship focused. It’s also important to find the right balance in how often to reach out to users. Using push effectively can help businesses achieve a great ROI on their mobile campaigns as the study indicates that most of the messages had commercial intent.

Read Also: Business Intelligent Push Notifications – Adding a Touch of Personalization

3 Stats that Show the Importance of In-App Messaging

1. In-App Messaging Increase App Launches by 27%

In-app messages are basically messages that are sent while users are using an app. According to Localytics, using in-app messages increased app launches by 27%. This makes a lot of sense as these messages improves the user experience and make users realize the value of the app.

2. In-App Messages Receive 8x Better Engagement than Push Messages

Urban Airship’s Mobile Engagement Benchmark Survey revealed that in-app messages outperformed push messages by 800%. But that doesn’t mean you should use in-app messages over push. The best way to use in-app messages is to combine it with push messages to get the highest engagement numbers possible.

3. Triggered In-App Messages Increased Conversion by 400%

Deploying in-app messages triggered by events in the app lead to a 4x increase in conversion rates. This statistic should wake up eCommerce store owners and motivate them to do more with in-app messages. eCommerce stores can trigger time sensitive discounts, send relevant upsell packages, notify users of current sales/promotions or remind users about their store credit. Giving users relevant and well-timed offers gives them an extra incentive to make a purchase.

Create a Mobile eCommerce Store That’s Integrated with Essential Engagement Tools

If you’re for advanced engagement features to use with mobile app, look no further than Elite mCommerce. Elite mCommerce is a mobile app builder that can convert your eCommerce store to a Magento app or PrestaShop app. With our business intelligence push notification feature, you can notify your customers about new offers, let them know about new arrivals and even update their order status straight from your Magento app or PrestaShop app. Learn about how Elite mCommerce can transform your business and increase the results of your mobile marketing campaign. To get more information: Call us at +1-603-320-3295 now!

Elite m-Commerce is an eCommerce mobile app developer. Elite m-Commerce is ready to cope up with all eCommerce platform. Elite m-Commerce is a primary iOS and Android eCommerce mobile application. Utilizing Elite m-Commerce, eCommerce store owners can efficiently integrate the mobile app for their store. With the assistant of Elite m-Commerce app, store owners can lead to more number of customers thereby increasing revenue. Elite m-Commerce facilitates merchants to choose their online shopping app themes which would be an added benefit for the Brands to showcase them in the mobile app. It was launched by eGrove Systems and won numerous of potential customers who availed the benefits of EMC.

Now eGrove Systems is introducing the advanced version 2.0 of EMC with an added features that can help you improve your customer base. After the success launch of EMC, our potential customers have requested us for the further version. So on several requests from customers and as per their requirements, this new version EMC 2.0 is introduced.

It will improve the shopping experience and will increase the conversations with mobile customers:

Elite Theme For Your eCommerce Mobile App:

This new version of EMC which has new icons, material design guidelines, styles, and buttons will make the customer to purchase products through the app. The elite theme ensures there is the best search, simple navigation, and filter interfaces.

QR Code Scanner:

This new feature helps merchants in establishing their brands with codes and offers through barcode.

Customer Engagement:

EMC collects data from Mobile analytics on user shopping behaviour and progress through the app. This helps the store owners to decide the loyal customers and provide more special offers to increase sales as well as customer retention.

Support for Multiple Business Models:

The new version supports various eCommerce models including Ticket Booking App, Grocery App, Fashion Store App, Boutique Store App, and much more.

Customer Product Comments and Live Chat add-on:

This feature helps merchants in interacting with their clients at the time of the checkout process to generate cross-selling and up-selling.

Delivery Time Slot:

Some business models need ideal customer delivery time model and this new feature will sort that need.

So if you are in the exploration of a unique solution offering solutions like customer engagement, brand improvement, easy integration and up-gradation, then you have reached the right place. You can get all these on one website that is eGrove Systems. We do not get restricted to the technical features of the product performance. Our team is well equipped with the will and the enthusiasm to drive them towards providing high-end, user-friendly and functional applications. It is your one stop solution for mobile eCommerce apps. So come join us today!

ELIZA Puts Chatbots Down In History

Though Cortana or any other modern-day chatbot we interact with may not be what comes to mind in terms of artificial intelligence or smart machinery, there is actually a very direct correlation between the two. Chatbots are often artificial intelligence systems and can date back about 50 years-1966 to be exact, with the development of ELIZA.

A bit of chatbot history:

1966, ELIZA was created by Joseph Weizenbaum. She was considered to be the first real chatbot able to deliver a seemingly intelligent conversation. Eliza used a preset list of terms to help generate unique responses through text.

1972, PARRY was created by Kenneth Colby as a training tool to help psychiatry students study the behavior of a paranoid schizophrenic. Parry was developed using a very complex paranoia algorithm.

1983, Racter an author of sorts, was designed by William Chamberlain and Thomas Etter. The program they created is credited with writing a book and producing random English prose.

1995, ALICE was developed by Richard Wallace. The program is still available and has gone through many changes over time. ALICE has also won several awards and is considered a free natural language chatbot.

1997, Jabberwacky was created by Rollo Carpenter aimed at being a source of fun and entertainment in mimicking human interaction. Jabberwacky also learned as a conversation progressed rather than simply taking from referenced responses.

Chatbots Today

As mentioned earlier, a chatbot or chatterbot is sometimes designed using AI or artificial intelligence. It is essentially a computer program that is used through text or messaging for human interaction. The intent behind it is to mimic a real-life conversation with a human being as opposed to a computer.

The Turing Test which was named after the computer scientist Alan Turing, set the standard by suggesting that a sufficient chatbot should be able to pass the ‘Turing Test’ when used. If a chatbot passes this test it means that the person interacting with it cannot actually tell that it is talking to a program.

This is very difficult to achieve obviously but many chatterbots have come quite close. One such example is with Xiaoice in China. This chatbot from Microsoft has become so popular that it has some 40 million registered users that turn to it for conversation, advice or companionship.

Chatterbots are capable of many tasks that go beyond just mere conversation. When designed most are created with a specific intent which can range from weather and news to help with a purchase online.

How They Tick

Under the hood of a chatbot program is a roundabout of commands that help it accomplish the task of assisting you. The chatbot works with a database of information, the input by the human it is interacting with and key phrases and terms.

When a user types in a question or request, depending on the level of the chatbot it can respond accordingly. Though there are many basic chatterbots in rotation many smart bots are also being designed with the ultimate intent of eliminating or at least lessening the need for human interjections-especially in terms of customer service or support.

For instance, instead of waiting for an agent from a retailer to assist you online, your entire shopping or customer experience can be handled by a chatbot.

The Chatbot Blueprint

So what are the possibilities of chatterbots with regards to functionality?

A chatbot may or may not work off of artificial intelligence which means that there are different levels of capability. Some chatterbots can answer only specific or closed questions posed by users while others are capable of answering anything that is thrown their way. Though all can be integrated into known and popular commerce platforms such as Prestashop and Magento.

Chatbot Building Blocks

1. Chatterbots that can answer any kind of question are smart systems setup using AI and have an open question base, meaning that the user can ask any question they like. These bots also do not pull their answers from a set database rather they engineer them as they go along.

This type of technology is not very common in today’s applications as it is quite complex.

2. Chatterbots that pull their answers from a specific database or library use a set of guidelines in place to determine when and where to pull certain responses. This type of bot can also engage with an open or closed question base.

If the questions are closed the user can only pick from a list of designated questions, certain categories or frequently asked question formats.

If the question base is open, then the user can attempt to ask anything they like even if it is rejected by the system (due to its limited database). For instance, this rejection may occur if someone types a question posed to a customer support chatbot but the question asked is not in their database.

3. The third building foundation is a chatbot that has a closed question base and AI technology to create answers. This is a bit of advanced technology with some limits. The chatbot can appear to be very human-like in the responses they give but may eventually hit a brick wall due to their closed question base.

The Sales Rep and The Buddy

Chatterbots are so remarkable simply due to their easy messaging and conversing nature. They have huge potential and can be as simple as an automated customer service bot or as complex and intelligent as a learning machine that progresses more and more as time goes on.

This is a recipe for success, especially in the eCommerce space. Platforms like Magento and Prestashop will likely sew quick, one-click chatterbots into their existing frameworks for the best customer experience.

The concept of the sales rep and the friend also comes to mind with this technology. Essentially a successful chatterbot will be an advisor and assistant that customers can engage and carry out transactions with.

This has already manifested with some companies such as Amazon. Amazon has its own chatbot for Prime members named Alexa to assist people with their shopping lists. Other companies have also integrated useful bots in the hopes of generating sales such as Sephora’s beauty advice chatterbot.

Without being too focused on the end sale, useful bots such as this can help engage and retain customers in a whole new way-undoubtedly securing a chatbot future in eCommerce.

Queries that are done using pictures instead of metadata, which is essentially a visual search, is a technology that is progressing rapidly. The need for searches of this type are quite evident and fill a vast space with user search experiences. Though they may not be as in demand now as they will be in the future, developments are underway. This can be seen in the works of popular search engines like TinEye as well as Google’s search by image option and Pinterest.

TinEye is regarded as one of the first web-based search engines of this nature with Google’s search by image feature trailing in as an addition to their normal image search and Pinterest releasing its tool in 2015. Other apps and software programs for this functionality are also wide and abundant. Many eCommerce companies for instance have this feature as a search option on their websites already. Also, some apps that were popularized with this intent include Google Goggles and CamFind.

So How Does It All Work?

Visual search or reverse image searches are accomplished using algorithms that break down an image into various identifying characteristics. For example, the outlines of an object are digested as well as colors, patterns, shapes, sections, size distribution and much more. Text and names are also considered. Many small and large scale search engines utilize metadata to boost their visual search process as well. Google search by image for instance uses metadata with its image search.

A visual search is initiated simply by either an upload of the image, dragging and dropping it into a search bar or pasting the image’s URL into the search bar. Some web browsers also have the option to right click an image and search for it as well. Web-based search engines are also known to host their own database to look for images. TinEye for example, boasts an index of over 13 billion images available for analysis.

This technology can also be integrated into some of the most popular existing platforms for businesses such as Shopify, Magento and Prestashop, which makes the benefits accessible to everyone.

The type of image used in the visual search also will impact its likelihood of success with a search engine. Personal pictures or small business logos for instance will likely show less search results than a popular image such as a landmark or retail item.

Most importantly, these basic or complex algorithms have dramatically changed the way people search for items that they know little to nothing about. Also for items that are difficult to describe. A lot of information or correct spelling is no longer a barrier to someone finding exactly what they are looking for.

This technology is also great for assisting in copyright fraud and infringement cases. TinEye for instance was originally established with that purpose in mind-to market to copyright owners interested in locating duplicate or altered images. The purpose has now obviously surpassed that, but can still prove useful in some markets.

Read also: Keep Touch with your Customers through Mobile eCommerce

The Impact Of Visual Searches On The Big C

Commerce, or the Big C as it is being referred to here, is the mother of many inventions; most with the sole purpose of improving the retail space for consumers, whether physical or virtual. And although visual searches serve many other relevant and functional purposes, the connection that it has to e-Commerce and mCommerce has to be one of the most dramatic.

With the human brain processing images much faster than text descriptions can ever muster and most purchases being heavily influenced by images, user experiences and therefore end conversion rates are improved with visual searches.

Many companies have already jumped on board as they see visual searches offering the potential to provide them with a new wave of successful user engagement. M-commerce and eCommerce vendors can easily incorporate these technologies on their respective platforms such as Magento, Prestashop or Shopify with the right expert tools and coding. And customers that utilize visual searches have the benefits of:

• • Quickly finding the item they are looking for with minimal time spent typing and reading
  • Having many options available to them in the same category with similar features
  • Instantly connecting with any item they see online or on the street

Putting Visual Searches Into Action

With all of these benefits, and the world’s search habits swiftly changing from text-based to audio and visual-based queries, we can expect more efforts and platform integrations to support visual searches in the near future.

Reverse image searches provide countless advantages to consumers and retailers. Primarily minimal search efforts and a wide variety of selections are among the greatest advantages. When a prospective buyer knows what they want for instance, but not how to describe it this technology comes into play.

Other relevant points to consider that are especially relevant to business owners and site store managers, are the things that go into a successful visual search program. One is a large and substantial database. Though a smaller database may be useful in some instances, more often than not the results will not be as expected. More search results provide buyers with more options and a better user experience.

Lastly, a look at the ROI, or return-on-investment is significant as well. This can simply be done by looking at the benefits of the technology divided by the costs of the investment. The benefits being the net profit that resulted from the investment.

Keeping this in consideration along with various metrics to measure success with visual search integration will hopefully ensure that your program is a success.