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Web Sales Tactics: Virtual Salespeople and Zombie Videos

CNBC reports that video is gaining more and more adoption in the retail channel.  We’re definitely seeing that here at SilverDock.
One of the more interesting revelations of 2008 is the diversity of online video formats.  We see demand ranging from silent 15-second product clips (the “low cost, high volume” approach) all the way up to [...]

Practical eCommerce: Video Boosts Online Sales, Merchants Confirm

Practical eCommerce reports on “Video for eCommerce” in the first of a new three-part series:
Video raises the number of sales for featured products 30 percent on average, according to testing performed by Innovate Media, a California-based online video production company. “We’re seeing client after client with incredible video conversion rates, ranging from 12 percent to [...]

Shop.org TV interviews Raj Gajwani, CEO of SilverDock

Raj Gajwani, Founder and CEO of SilverDock.com, speaks with Natalie Pietrzykowski on Shop.org TV:

Raj Gajwani is the founder & CEO of SilverDock. Raj previously co-founded WiseConnect, a venture-backed maker of software for retail store merchandising. As CFO and COO of WiseConnect (sold to BayLogics in 2001), he ran operations, finance, and strategy.  [...]

Top Five “Must-Have” Features for Online Retail in 2009

E-Commerce Times talked with Joe Chung, CEO of Allurent, and writes about his top 5 must-have features for online retail in 2009.  Here’s a summary of Joe Chung’s top 5 (and an excerpt of his thoughts on #3):

Interactive Merchandising - non-technical business managers need to be able to easily add, change, and remove merchandising features [...]

Forrester says “Get Ready for OmniVideo”!

From StreamingMedia.com:
In a new report called How Video Will Take Over the World, Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey encourages companies to embrace a world where video is everywhere.
[...]
In How Video Will Take Over the World, McQuivey lays out a vision for a world in which individuals will be able to watch video nearly everywhere on [...]

In-Stream Video Ads — a consumer’s perspective

Here’s a thought: maybe online video ads will be a little different than TV ads!  The online TV world is slowly figuring out what that means.  The tantalizing possibility, of course, is that online TV ads will work better than regular TV commercials — not just for the advertiser, but also for the viewer.
Here’s one [...]

The Marketer’s Cheat Sheet to Viral Video (as taught by a YouTube superstar)

Kevin Nalts has earned more than 25 million views on YouTube. How can you get visibility like that? Nalts has some tips for you in his excellent blog post, The Marketer’s Cheat Sheet to Viral Video.
Here is Kevin Nalts’ eight-step summary of how to do viral video (slightly condensed):
Step 1: Determine if your [...]

Online Sellers Discover the Power of Video Clips

For your reading pleasure, and oldie-but-goodie: an excellent article by Bob Tedeschi in the New York Times last year surveyed the state of video in online retail. He reports on early innovations from 1-800-Flowers, Blendtec, and Golfsmith.
I found this article interesting because, about a year ago when it was written, Tedeschi noted that “Whether [...]

The Neuroscience of Retailing: Shopping is about Emotions

Why do people shop?
It’s not just to acquire things they want or need. People shop because it makes them feel good.
Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan has an intriguing article in the Wall Street Journal called The Neuroscience of Retailing: Research Shows Shopping Can Make People Euphoric:
Research shows that people often do get a high from shopping [...]

The YouTube Top 10 Brands

Social Media Influence has compiled an entertaining summary of the Top 10 corporate brands on YouTube. If you don’t want to read/watch the whole thing, InternetRetailing.net has a helpful summary of the Top 10 Brands on YouTube.
Note that only 5 of the top 10 brand videos were actually produced by the brand (and one [...]

NYTimes: To Raise Shopper Satisfaction, Web Merchants Turn to Videos

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reports on how e-commerce retailers are using video to increase customer satisfaction. Some highlights:
Gordon Magee, head of Internet marketing for Drs. Foster & Smith, based in a Rhinelander, Wis., said a transition to video “will be seamless for us.” The company, Mr. Magee said, has in recent [...]

American Eagle bets on Video Shopping for Martin+Osa

There’s a ton of innovation happening in online video for retail these days. In the latest example, Martin + Osa (a new brand from American Eagle) has launched a new website with a really cool video shopping tool called “Shop by Outfit”:

M+O’s Shop by Outfit is a great window into the future of [...]

Creating Content that Turns Browsers into Buyers

Michelle Megna has an exellent article on “Creating Content that Turns Browsers into Buyers” in ECommerce Guide. It’s a summary of a webinar hosted by Lauren Freedman of the e-tailing group inc. and Scott Todaro of DemandWare.
Lauren Freedman of the e-tailing group shares this advice:
the product page… now functions the way home pages used [...]

Advice on Internet Video Advertising

E-Commerce Times has an excellent survey on the state of online video advertising. Although written last year, John Mello’s summary of the current video ad landscape remains insightful and (thankfully) concise.
A few observations from the article:

65% of broadband users occasionally watch video online (as of 2007). In 2006 the number was 44%
while “YouTube [...]

E-Commerce 101 for Manufacturers

AllBusiness has published a short, simple guide called E-commerce 101 for Manufacturers (distributed by the SF Chronicle). It’s a very basic primer, but useful for manufacturers thinking about starting their own e-commerce site. Some highlights:
For a manufacturer, e-commerce is a way for you to experiment with the world of retail… With an e-commerce [...]