18
Aug
Social Media Proves Powerful during Back-to-School for Retailers
Online Retailers Connect with Young Consumers via Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube and Mobile Sites
With the budding of social media technology, more kids are plugged in and connected through Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts, checking out sites on their Smartphones and rummaging blogs for the latest trends. With summer ending soon and students on the pawl for supplies and apparel, online retailers are bringing their products straight to the young consumers by using social media elements. By employing the latest e-commerce platforms, business owners are able to use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and blogging, as well as mobile sites to their full advantage.
E-commerce providers, such as 3dcart, facilitated this trend by launching Version 3.2 which included a social media integration allowing merchants to connect their store directly to popular internet ‘hangouts.’ Users of 3dcart are able to place products directly on their Facebook fanpages, embed YouTube videos from their channel into their store, create a blog directly on their storefront, construct a mobile site for iPhone and Smartphone as well as the ability to ‘tweet’ straight from the store to Twitter.
“What many online retailers are finding during the back-to-school season is that dollars shift during this period to the back-to-school specialty merchants,” stated Jimmy Rodriguez, Chief Technical Officer for 3dcart. “Social networks allow online stores that are not typically seen as back-to-school destinations to be creative in their customer messaging. The immediacy of social platforms allows these retailers to quickly establish sales, gift ideas and other promotions that put them into the back-to-school mix.”
The result is increased traffic and revenue for online sites of all kinds, but in the month of August, the focus has been shifted to online stores selling back-to-school merchandise. Even teachers are being marketed to by businesses like curriculum material retailer, Montessori for Everyone (www.montessoriforeveryone.com). The company’s 6,000+ Facebook fans are now turning into customers thanks to their integrated Facebook store through its 3dcart-powered social interface.
“Our Facebook page has become one of my favorite places—a way to interact with existing customers and meet new people all at once. By sharing a wide variety of helpful links, I can attract people to my Facebook page and then introduce them to my business,” said Lori Bourne, owner of Montessori for Everyone.
“With over 500 million users, Facebook can outperform virtually any other single media outlet ever in history. Its reach exceeds any television network, major newspaper, magazine or any any other forum,” said Gonzalo Gil, CEO of 3dcart. “When you look at the potential of social networks to build relationships and disseminate information instantly, at little to no cost, there’s no question that it is transforming the e-commerce landscape.”
3dcart’s Social Packages are now available for users of 3dcart 3.2. For complete information including pricing and package demos, go to http://www.3dcart.com/social-commerce-packages.html
17
Aug
Facebook Store Increases Back-to-School Online Sales by 1000%
3dcart’s client “Bumps and Bruises” featured on NBC 6 News
The Miami based urban clothing label for boys, Bumps and Bruises, was featured in a segment on NBC 6 News today talking about the benefits of merging e-commerce with social networking sites. Owners Manny Cabrera and Pedro Tuma spoke about how the Social Commerce features in 3dcart’s Version 3.2 connected their store directly to Facebook and provided many other powerful marketing tools. Cabrera noted that since activating the Facebook Store tab to his company’s fan page, the store’s profits increased dramatically by 1000%.
Starting their co-operation last year, Cabrera and Tuma who are both new fathers, wanted to fill a void in boys clothing with fun and playful hip-hop wear. When it came time to build a site and online store for their venture, they turned to 3dcart.
“We wanted a site and store that fully reflected the brand” said Cabrera, but it became more than just shopping cart software when 3dcart released 3.2 in June, the proof is in the numbers.
To learn more about 3dcart’s e-commerce solution, go to www.3dcart.com
Visit Bumps and Bruises’ site www.bumps-bruises.com and check out their Facebook store at http://www.facebook.com/Bumps.n.Bruises
22
Jul
Rungreen mobile site increases online traffic 10%
July 22, 2010
Online retailer Rungreen has increased its online traffic 10 percent via the launch of its mobile-optimized site.
The company is using 3DCart’s social media packages that include Facebook, Twitter, blog and mobile. This is Rungreen’s first mobile initiative.
“We asked to be upgraded as soon as possible so that we could maximize the huge potential of mobile going forward,” said Paul Bondsfield, ecommerce manager at Rungreen, Holland, MI.
“We know that smartphones are being utilized at a rising pace – and wanted to be part of that.
“[A challenge was] the ability to stay on top, continue to tap into new customer bases, and make our products available quickly and efficiently,” he said. “We hope to utilize new technology to solve any challenges that stand in the way of our customers browsing where they want and when they want.”
Rungreen is wholly-owned by Fillmore Equipment, which owns several John Deere dealerships.