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July 28, 2009

Online Stores Set To Profit Despite Economic Slowdown

 

According to experts, online retailing will make through the financial crisis despite economic slowdown .Based on the third instalment of "The State of Retailing Online 2008: Profitability, Economy & Multichannel Report" done by Forrester Research, 35 percent of online retailers surveyed said they expect their online businesses to perform better than expected in the next 12 months, while 33 percent expect their online businesses to perform as expected.

This positive thinking may be the result of a change within consumer behaviours, resulting from the recent economic drawback: people flock to the internet for their shopping needs.

PriceGrabber.com(R) studied the impact of a tough economy on holiday shopping in its latest Consumer Behaviour Report. Results show that sixty-one percent of consumers expect to make a concerted effort to cut back this holiday season. Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents expect to do some purchasing online this holiday season. Fifty-five percent intend to purchase more than half of their holiday gifts online this year, a 10 percent increase from last year. Thirty-seven percent say that online shopping appeals to them because it is "easier to compare products and find the lowest price." Twenty-four percent prefer the "convenience of shopping anytime and anywhere."

Past results from Forrester Research shows that 81 percent of online retailers surveyed reported that their e-commerce businesses were profitable in 2007. Because of this, the internet marketing bug seems to be spreading to more businesses. The Office for national Statistics survey shows 70.3 percent of busineeses today have their own websites.

Malcolm Pinkerton, Verdict’s senior retail analyst states "As the cost of broadband falls, consumers become more accustomed to internet shopping and retailers continue to enhance their online propositions. This channel will find itself extremely well placed to capitalize on falling consumer confidence and lower levels of disposable income currently affecting the retail market."

This means more people are now able to utilize the internet as a means of shopping.Shopping online provides numerous advantages for shoppers, the foremost of which is convenience. Shoppers are able to browse, compare prices of products at any given time in their own homes as online retail stores are always open.It also gives the shoppers a chance to buy as much as they could without worrying how to transport them, as online retail stores provides delivery services. Parking spaces, crowds and long lines are no longer an issue.

In UK, a study reveals that one of the reasons of the increase of online shopping rate came from users in their 40s and 50s, having more trouble accessing built shopping centres because transport is usually not as readily available to them, are beginning to use the Internet for their own online shopping.

Despite the ongoing financial crisis, online retail stores’ sales continue to rise In fact, according to Ed Garrubbo, chairman of the Electronic Retailing Association, the  recession may actually contribute to e-commerce because cautious consumers are doing more research and comparison shopping via ecommerce websites before making a big purchase.

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How To Choose Your Web Designer

A few years ago the web looked very different. There was little in the way of dynamic content, except a bit of Flash aniamtion, that most people steered clear of due to the drain on bandwidth. In those days, design quality went by the wayside.

Back in the early days, web design was quite profitable for the few that mastered it, so many would be web designers appeared and very soon, it was easy to enter the business if you knew where to obtain web templates and how to carry out minor modifications. There was little in the way of quality control.

You're looking for a web designer because you want a professional look for your business to increase customers - therefore you need to avoid those designers who are still learning their craft. You have to ensure your designer is able to deliver the key aspects that are essential - a useful, appealing website that loads quickly. Visitors are very fickly - if your website doesn't tick all the right boxes, they'll leave your site in a matter of nanoseconds and be off to one of your competitors.

The same with usability - if they find it difficult to find the things they are looking for, they will leave sooner than you think. Therefore, a professional web designer that understands your needs is almost imperative. Remember too that the cheapest quote can prove to be false economy.

There are some specific things you should look for when choosing for the perfect web designer for your business, and they are detailed below:

Is your designer open minded? Your designer should listen to your opinions and requirements - after all you know your business better than anyone. He should be able to combine what you know about your business and customers with what he knows about web design. See if he listens well and and asks you the right questions, rather than blindly trying to impose a solution on you. The desired result is a fusion of ideas to produce a remarkable website, rather than a "cookie cutter" solution.

Good and quick - It doesn't matter how long the deadline is, you always want to make sure progress is being made towards completion. Ask him to complete the work in stages - and specify how long each stage will take him. Review each section as you go, to make sure he is completing everything as you intend it.

Promoting Usability ? As mentioned before, you need a website that is useful, rather than glittery or flashy. You have to check if your web designer understands that need - if he can construct a useful website that still looks good.Finding the perfect web designer is a difficult task but should not be totally impossible, if you follow the above. Review his portfolio to see if his past works are usable and well designed, ask questions and you shouldn't go too far wrong. If anything arises that makes you think he might not be suited to your business, then walk away and find another one.

Finding the perfect web designer is a difficult task but should not be totally impossible, if you follow the above. Review his portfolio to see if his past works are usable and well designed, ask questions and you shouldn't go too far wrong. If anything arises that makes you feel uncomfortable, then walk away and find another one.

 

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Association to train shopkeepers

Since ages people have shown their trust in the market products to beautify their beautiful houses. Not only homes, they have utilized these products for their offices as well. The market goods though has arrested the hearts of the people since years with their magnanimous efficient and strong products, but this time the circumstances are not similar. The quality and the durability that has captivated and attracted the customers since years is now no longer durable and robust. Its quality is degrading with time. This is causing a cut off in lots and lots of customers. Due to low number of customers the retailers are not happy. It is being heard that people now favor the branded products for their homes and domiciles. These branded products, which are accessible only on few showrooms of the city has replaced the local products that accounted for the livelihood of numerous retailers and shopkeepers. This event has benefited the brand owners, no qualm, but what about those faultless shopkeepers who are suffering without any fault of theirs. They are just selling what they have sold since years. If the companies have sacked the value of their products, then why should these people suffer? They are still buying the products for similar prices as they had been doing it earlier. Along with these shopkeepers, even consumers are suffering. To escape from circumstances of defaulting gadgets in their house, they are geared up to pay those extra bucks to bring home the long living and robust goods. To assist those shopkeepers the government is planning to form a confederation. The confederation that would comprise the renowned Tewksbury Roofers(Need one?click here!), Pompano Beach Electricians and Morven Plumbers(Need one?click here!), who will guide the shopkeepers on how to judge the quality of the products so that they are not deceived by the wholesalers. This training would surely facilitate them to review the quality of products before buying.

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