04 May 05-11
eCommerce Pro Tips: Learn From Some of Shopify's Top Stores
You can learn a lot by strolling down the digital aisles of Shopify's most successful stores. Check out some awesome things other Shopify store owners are doing to set themselves apart from the rest, improve customer satisfaction, and drive up sales.
Captivate Your Shoppers
Ever walked by a chocolate shop with a big glass window and seen the chocolatiers working their magic? If so, chances are you were tempted to go in and buy something sweet and delicious. Same thing goes for online stores: If you grasp customers' attention right from the get-go and entertain them a bit, they'll be more likely to shop. Rachel Comey sells amazing men's shoes and has her entire catalog presented through a movie-like scenario. The movies are really cool and almost addictive! It's engaging, it's fun and it keeps shoppers where they're supposed to be... browsing her products.
Take Pride in Every Piece
Curate each and every item in your store's collection. Holstee is a boutique shop that hand picks items like a museum. Holstee uses the term "curate" because it's clear that a lot of thought goes behind each product. If everything you sell is top-quality, people will get excited to see what products are out next, and they'll become loyal to your brand. (Check out the Holstee Manifesto, we have it hung up in the Shopify office)
Don’t Compete With Amazon
You don't have their inventory, their variety, or their prices, so don't bother going head to head with the big guy. Instead, focus on your own unique strengths and get creative! For example, Shopify store owners Patrick Buckley and Craig Dalton used traditional book binding techniques to create iPad Cases. They called it a DODOCase, and last year they brought in 7-digit revenue.
Engage Customers Through Social Media
Most people don't go to the shopping mall alone. They make it a social event and they bring a friend to get a second opinion, so it should come as no surprise that social eCommerce is the next big thing. Of a Kind is a limited edition apparel store that brings retail and editorial together by fusing an online store into a Tumblr blog. Shoppers can re-blog, comment, and 'like' the garments and accessories they think are cool. It's great marketing and it makes shopping more interactive and fun.
Comments
May 04, 2011 07:15PM EDT
What a great post! Thanks for sharing!
May 04, 2011 07:35PM EDT
Don’t Compete With Amazon! (come on everyone, say it together!) Besides unique products smaller shops have another advantage… the ability to provide one-on-one sales or service Amazon can only dream of. When you build a relationship with your customers they’ll stop the comparison shopping (unless you really do them wrong!) and go back to your shop every time. That’s why I’ve reiterated the “don’t compete with Amazon bit” to our customers (Olark) as well.
May 05, 2011 01:24AM EDT
Great wrap up and proud to have Holstee in the line up!
Rachel especially loving your innovative site design and use of video – crazy that you were able to have such a versatile site within shopify.
Of a Kind – love what you are doing and what you stand for. Small local production of products that people can share a story about is something we love. Rockin idea with tumblr a perfect combination of two great services.
May 05, 2011 04:56AM EDT
Great read! Thanks for the insight!
May 05, 2011 12:47PM EDT
This is great!
May 05, 2011 07:56PM EDT
Great Ideas
May 10, 2011 08:55AM EDT
Wow! 7 figures for DODOcase. That’s incredible. Excellent execution on their part to keep up with demand.
May 10, 2011 07:21PM EDT
Excellent points and I really like the diversity of the examples.
May 11, 2011 04:35PM EDT
Thanks for all the great comments everyone!
Roland: I’ll say it with ya “Don’t Compete With Amazon!!!!” :-)
May 18, 2011 09:38AM EDT
Great points. I particularly like the section on really knowing your customers. Many retailers view that as trying to customize for each customer, which isn’t possible, so they don’t do anything. But melondipity shows that by understanding your customers as a whole—their needs, pain points, etc—you can add functionality that makes many of them happy.
Understand your customers and you can go a long way! :-0
Doug
www.SpringMetrics.com
August 19, 2011 12:38PM EDT
Targeting the right consumers and visitors is the top most secret for an e-seller. I thing the SMS discount idea by Melondipity was the right idea!