February 2012
Groupon Attempts to Personalize the Shopping Experience
Groupon continues to expand its approach to e-commerce with yet another start-up acquisition. This time, the company of the moment is Adku, a personalized shopping company based in San Francisco. In a blog post on Adku's website about the acquisition, they write: "We started talking to Groupon to bring our technology to more customers... read more »
Custom Video Content: Show Consumers Your Goods in Action
When it comes to enhanced product pages, we've driven home that content is king and that product photography is worth every penny, but we have yet to touch on the importance of utilizing custom video content for your website. Tsk, tsk. Well folks, that's about to change. Although you may not be using it, video is quickly becoming... read more »
F-Commerce Faces Challenges
Apparently even Facebook doesn't get a free ride. Despite their easy takeover of the social media world, F-commerce has yet to overcome serious consumer concerns about security. A recent study by ThreatMetrix shows that over half of consumers who actively use the Internet do not believe Facebook's storefronts are committed to protecting... read more »
Open Graph Strengthens Social Shopping on Facebook
Let's see, hackers are posting confidential phone calls about themselves, and SOPA has been defeated. Huzzah! To mark the openness of the Internet, we at Content Ping are sharing a TechCrunch video with you. Ok, yeah, you caught us. We aren't doing it because we want to prove that the Internet is open (after all, there is an embeddable... read more »
Weekly Ping: Content Merchandising Roundup #5
Below is a summary of the week's most interesting content merchandising-related posts from Content Ping as well as from other blogs and news sites. Happy reading. FROM CONTENT PING: Weekly Content Critique: Blood Bath Shower Gel Our weekly content critique takes a look at a shower gel perfect for the zombies in your life. QR Codes... read more »
Weekly Content Critique: Blood Bath Shower Gel
If the Psycho shower curtain didn't satisfy your lust for horror movie settings, add the Blood Bath shower gel to your bathroom. In lieu of a typical intro, I'm presenting a screenshot of the product page. I'll tell you why later on in the critique. The first sentence doesn't give much information about this product per se, but... read more »
New Technology and the In-Store Experience
Before I jump into today's newsy topic of brick-and-mortar stores, content, and flexibility, here's a little tribute to our week's topic of QR codes: The emergence of QR codes and other new technologies has all kinds of implications for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. How can physical stores adjust to a new era of technology-savvy... read more »
QR Codes in Home Improvement: Kohler Nails It
I recently wrote a post covering the basics of quick response codes and how they are being used by retailers and other forward-thinking persons. Since then, Content Ping has been fortunate enough to chat with Seattle-based, QR-Jedi Murat Divringi. He's a true expert on the topic, so I highly recommend checking out his view of the... read more »
Embrace User-Generated Content–Your Customers Do
If you've been leery or dismissive of user-generated content in the past, it's time to get over it. Yes, bad reviews sometimes result in a lost sale. However, reviews increasingly play a serious role in consumer decision making, especially for younger shoppers. Bazaarvoice Inc., along with two research firms, conducted a survey investigating... read more »
Dynotag’s Murat Divringi: QR Codes Offer Retail Innovations
I recently put on a funny hat and piled into a photo booth with a group of friends. This was a modern, QR code-enabled photo booth... that sent me to a poorly designed, non-mobile-enabled website. For all of you who read my colleague Will's excellent introduction to QR codes, you realize how often QR codes can act as shortcuts to... read more »
