Hello and welcome to May: In Review

View March | View February | View January

As Spring nears its end and Summer looms closer, let’s take a look back on the month of May by recapping on the best content to hit our screens.

We’ve done the hard work for you by scrolling through hundreds of blogs, infographics and news articles to find the best retail, ecommerce and digital marketing content from this month.

Are you ready? Let’s look at the hot topics of May…

 

1. News: Google’s new mobile-friendly algorithm update

This month, Google rolled out its newest update and this time it’s encouraging the web to be more mobile friendly. On May 12th the new algorithm went live, were you prepared for the update?

Our partner, 3Dcart, produced a great blog on how the newest update will impact you; the update will affect search rankings on mobile devices, individual pages rather than entire websites, and search results in different languages.

Take the mobile-friendly test to find out how friendly your ecommerce website is on mobile devices!

 

2. Hot topic: How will the EU referendum affect retailers?

We’re less than a month away from the big UK vote and everybody is now talking about how the EU referendum outcome will affect retailers and SMBs. We scrolled the internet to find out what people are saying…

This guest comment on Internet Retailer sums up what a Brexit vote will mean for internet retailers. It looks at the freedom of cross border movement for goods, and the opportunity for expansion with the EU as a single market. It’s great to hear a first-hand opinion of an online retailer and how it will directly affect their business.

According to this econsultancy blog, a survey conducted by Artmotion found that 44% of SMB’s believe Brexit will have a negative impact on data privacy and 34% still remain unsure.

Influential retail bosses also warned how leaving the EU could have a largely negative impact on Britain. The former bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer and B&Q shared their concerns with City A.M. this month, “We believe an exit could be catastrophic for the consumer recovery on which so much of our economic stability depends. It is impossible to see how there could be an exit without an impact on prices and inflation. The unintended consequences of a leave vote and the uncertainty it would create would be a massive shock to the system”.

What do you think of the EU referendum? Share your views in the comments section at the bottom of the page!

 

3. Blog: Get Real – Humanize your ecommerce website

Our partner, Visualsoft, wrote a great blog on humanizing your ecommerce website including great tips to increase connectivity with your customers.

Visualsoft argue that “people buy from people” so it’s important to show your customers the real-life people behind your business and add a personal touch to your ecommerce website.

You can personalize your website and increase engagement with these 5 simple steps:

  • Add a phone number to your website
  • Listen to your customers
  • Show off your staff
  • Develop a brand voice or personality
  • Treat your regulars

 

4. Infographic: Top 10 Ecommerce Markets

Ever wondered which ecommerce markets are the largest in the world? The answer is in this infographic of the top 10 ecommerce markets ranked by value.

Unsurprisingly, China tops the list with $562.66 billion in ecommerce spending. China is followed by the USA, UK, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, Canada, Russia and Brazil. Do any of these surprise you?

This infographic gives you the insight to work out where you should consider expanding! Which markets do you currently operate in? Let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

 

5. Survey: Insights from wholetailers on their journey to success

We surveyed our retail and wholesale customer base and received great insight into the industry. Our survey highlighted interesting insights into the world of multichannel, various sales channels and software used by SMBs…

We found that multichannel selling leads to higher growth as our customers see a 33% growth rate when selling via multiple channels, whereas those who sell on a single channel grow at 8%.

The survey revealed the average number of sales channels is 4, and the the top channels our independent retailers sell on are; their own website, Amazon, eBay and a brick-and-mortar store.

We also found that 92% of customers think ‘retail software’ is important for the future success of their retail business. To find out more interesting stats, check out the full blog.

 


That’s all from us this month, but we’d love to hear what was your highlight of the month? Let us know in the comments below! For more industry news and advice, follow @BrightpearlHQ on Twitter.