There’s no substitute for hard data. MarketingSherpa found that actual abandonment rates were two to three times as high as e-commerce marketers thought they were. They offer some heuristics for getting to the bottom of the problem, but they don’t discuss my favorite remedy – order total transparency. Got discounts? Show ‘em. Got a shipping charge? Show it as soon as possible. Extra charges? Don’t keep it a secret until payment time; let them know up front.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
The History of the Grocery Shopping Cart
I thought this illustrated history of the adoption of the shopping cart would be a little weekend fun. Happy Sunday.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The World’s Greatest Salesman
I listened to an audiobook by Joe Girard last week during my commute. Joe is listed in the Guiness Book of Records as the world’s greatest salesman, a record he earned while in the auto trade in Detroit. His plainspokenness (and obvious humility) makes his story all the more interesting.
Word of Mouth Marketing
You probably already know that word of mouth marketing is growing by leaps and bounds. But do you know the biggest reason that buyers don’t trust word of mouth? BazaarBlog discusses the importance of negative product reviews, and how they reassure buyers that your reviews are not all written by paid shills.
The Right Digit Effect
According to this article in Science Daily, discounts are perceived to be larger when the digits to the right are small. Quick: which is a better deal, A or B?
| Item | Regular Price | Sale Price |
|---|---|---|
| A | $222 | $211 |
| B | $199 | $188 |
Most people pick A, even though the dollar amounts are identical and B is a greater percentage discount.
The Cart Blog – inaugural post
I have wanted to start a cart blog for some time, but of course, the question was, what to call it? CartTalk? CartSeeker? The CARTerphone? A la cart? Cart blanche? Finally I settled on the most unimaginative name of all. What a surprise. 
Let’s see where it goes …. I hope you enjoy it, and it benefits your business and your bottom line.
All the Best,
Scott Wilson
