Stay On Point: eCommerce Awards in 2016 & Takeaways for Marketers

What are the brands that are really winning at building great eCommerce experiences? What are good indicators of brands that stand out this way? We looked at the categories and results of three major eCommerce awards to understand who is doing what right and what marketers can takeaway from the year 2016 and keep in mind for the next.

 

Mobile Is The Way of The Future

When it comes to building an epic mobile retail campaign, this year’s undoubted winners are Oasis. With the assistance from the agency Merkle / Periscopix, the mobile retailer managed to grow their conversion optimization on mobile by 255% (YOY)

 

 

Their mobile revenue increased by 270%. As more transactions and online shopping continue to move to mobile, creating experiences that convert and great user interfaces (Shopify design awards had a category for best Mobile UX this year) is essential.


Takeaway: Build your Mobile Strategy with clear conversion goals, target keywords for the right devices and measure everything.

 

UX and Design for Brand Recall and Conversions

With Shopify now creating a whole eCommerce award dedicated to design, it’s clear that their years of hosting and setting up online stores has taught them to value the potential and results that great design brings. Luxury Farms, the winners of Shopify’s mobile UX category stood out from the rest because of good optimization. The fine tweaks really make a difference to your final app experience.

“The mobile experience is cleverly optimized for smaller screens and quick inputs, making the shopping experience elegant and efficient.”  -Aarron Walter, VP of Design Education at InVision

 

Shopify recognised the best overall design – Opus Grows by Herman Scheer – for their sheer approachability and discoverability. They also recognized Dixon’s carphone in the ‘new design or re-design’ category.

 

The Takeaway: Don’t compromise on design. Stay responsive. If you messed up the first time, It’s never too late to redesign.

Delivery and Logistics are a big part of eCommerce

We often underestimate the importance of Delivery and Logistics in our eCommerce experience. So do eCommerce retailers. In fact, the effort is often outsourced and forgotten about – with no follow up what so ever. But the takeaway from the Northern eCommerce Awards and the Ecommerce Awards London are that delivery and logistics are important. Not just important but something that can complete the customer experience – which is why 3P Logistics and Parcelly won big time.

The Takeaway: Get your logistics right, make customers happy. Now you can win awards for your excellence too.

Large and Small eCommerce Market Very Differently

Examining three different eCommerce awards in 2016 showed that there were separate awards in two out of the three had separate categories for large and small eCommerce. Space 48 and Green Man Gaming were winners in the ‘Large’ category while ‘Allies’ and ‘Home Leisure Direct’ were winners in the ‘Small’ category. Space 48 are a fast paced agency, helping other retailers establish their online stores better and faster.

Green man gaming is now one of the UK’s biggest online game retailers. The difference in the way these two websites are built from the ‘Allies’ and ‘Home Leisure Direct’ website are stark. The number of calls to action, categories, lightboxes and info are all much more, and optimized to fit

The Takeaway: Marketing for a small eCommerce and larger eCommerce venture has and will continue to be different according to the niche or audience. The ability of an agency or eCommerce entrepreneur to identify their niche correctly will go a long way in helping them design a site with the right size and inventory to cater to this audience.

Conversion Optimization: It’s more Important than you think

Any digital marketer has come across the (in?)famous conversion optimization experts around the web. The guys that promise to make you money like you never imagined. The guys who can understand exactly what is going on on your website and fix it. The conversion optimization experts. Well, if you were always suspicious about their claims earlier, the Northern eCommerce awards have officially legitimized conversion optimization. Endless Gain won in 2016, but all signs point to more agencies handling this task and more brands outsourcing this to get great results for their brands. Understanding your data and using AI and communicating with Personalization can be great ways to drive conversions for your brand.

The Takeaway: If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by going Digital, understanding your data and what really brings in money you might want to turn to a conversion optimization specialist. Make sure they are legit though, or you may be spending a lot of money with very little gains.