This document provides a 3-step guide for retailers to plan their social ecommerce strategies for 2009. Step 1 involves determining a key metric to improve, such as traffic, conversion, or average order size. Step 2 reviews options for new social features against their level of industry adoption and potential to impact the chosen metric. The options are grouped into baseline, strategic, and visionary categories. Step 3 involves ranking the most appropriate options from baseline to visionary and estimating their impact on the key metric. The document aims to help retailers select new social features to test and implement in 2009.

1. Social Ecommerce
2009 Planning Guide

2. Social Ecommerce
2009 Planning Guide | Overview
Nearly all of our retail clients are asking us the
following question:
“We’ve done product ratings and reviews, what
social shopping features should we implement in
2009?”
Step 1: Determine which key metric you want to improve
Step 2: Review the options against adoption
Step 3: Rank order the options that impact your metric
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3. Social Ecommerce
Step 1 | Determine Key Metric to Improve
Measure the key ROI metrics, which are often:
• Traffic
• Conversion
• Average order size
• Shopping cart Abandonment
… and additional metrics may include:
• Loyalty (return visitors)
• Brand awareness
• Reduce customer service calls & product returns
Establish a formal ROI model based on actual site
analytics and performance
Establish a multivariate (A/B testing) strategy to
measure new features
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4. Social Ecommerce
Step 2 | Review Options Against Adoption
The next 4 pages
show specific
features for each of
the 3 phases of
High
adoption
Visionary
Concepts to be Each feature lists the
aware of or
key metric it impacts
Differentiation
experiment with
and links to real
Strategic
Features that will world examples
be commonplace
over the next Go through the
12 months
gallery and select
Baseline
Features most
candidates that
Low
have already impact the metric(s)
implemented
you have chosen.
High Low
Industry Adoption
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5. Social Ecommerce
Step 2 | Baseline Options
Drop-down cart Single page checkout Quick-pick modals Navigate by persona
Order size Abandonment Conversion, order size Conversion
Rue La La Rue La La Rue La La, Endless.com Target Gift Finder
Guided search Ratings and reviews Real-time inventory Recommendations
Conversion Conversion, returns Abandonment Conversion
Swimsuits at Lands' End Many sites Rue La La Many sites
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6. Social Ecommerce
Step 2 | Strategic Options
Merchant blogs On-line print catalog Multimedia Micro-sites
Traffic Conversion Conversion, order size Traffic
mydeco Bloomingdales Catalog IKEA Bedroom, Madewell, Gap, Netshops.com, azjeans.com
ASOS, Martin+Osa
Visualized search Alternative reviews Product configuration Abandoned cart email
Conversion Conversion, returns Conversion Abandonment
BEDAT & Co Shoeline.com Oneida, Reebok, Blue Nile,
Martin+Osa, Timberland
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7. Social Ecommerce
Step 2 | Visionary Options
Deal-of-the-day Private event retail Shop by preference Pop culture
Traffic Traffic Conversion Conversion
Steep and Cheap, Woot Rue La La StyleFeeder.com, mydeco Celeb Style,
Alternative Celebrity
Visualization Virtual shopping Social configuration Mobile shopping
Conversion Conversion Conversion Traffic
Zoomii.com, PicLens, Lowes gardening shop, Kinset Threadless T-Shirts Amazon’s iPhone Website
Borders magic shelf, RIMOWA DK Travel, mydeco eBay’s iPhone application
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8. Social Ecommerce
Step 2 | Visionary Social Shopping
Retailer community Focused communities General communities Pull in social graph
Traffic Traffic Traffic Conversion
TJ Maxx Community Stylehive Kaboodle, ThisNext Fans
Virtual social shopping Social widgets Shop together
Traffic Traffic Conversion
Sears Lemonade, Cartfly NetShops
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9. Social Ecommerce
Step 3 | Rank Order Options
For example, if you chose Conversion as your key metric, your
options are the following:
• Baseline: Ratings & reviews, Quick-pick modals, Guided search,
Recommendations, Persona navigation
• Strategic: Online print catalog, Visualized search, Multimedia, Alternative
reviews, Product configuration
• Visionary: Shop by preference, Pop culture, Visualization, Virtual
shopping, Social configuration
Select the ones appropriate for your business, rank order
from Baseline to Visionary, and estimate the impact on
conversion rate of each one.
Your top 3 should be the ones most adopted that show the
greatest potential benefit to your business
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10. Social Ecommerce
2009 Planning | How to Learn More
Read a blog
• Product Configuration
• New Retail Concept
• Ecommerce Strategy – 4 Myths
• Ecommerce Blogs
Contact our Ecommerce Director with
questions
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