Web Shopping Experience 2006

(Europe - Stockholm, Sweden) During the year I have touched subject about Web shopping experience, which I think is still at its infancy. As more and more people get online and try to do their shopping the stores that uphold the biggest percentage of sales are slow on adapting new technology which will create a better experience when shopping.

As broadband becomes more and more the mainstream for most households the usage of videos has exploded. This has given rise to YouTube and other broadband hungry services, but why is this development lacking at Web shopping sites? Why cant integration of Video be the norm? Web shop owners used to argue that people on modems should have an opportunity to shop at their site too without having big loading problems. But this argument does not hold anymore especially in markets such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark where broadband penetration is high. If we would do a research today the argument would probably be different, something like, cost, laziness, lack of imagination etc.

The Web shopping field in Sweden is getting more and more mature, with a few big players who offer similar products at competitive prices. Then we have the rest, companies that can not compete on price, but do not compete on any other level either. As we (MarknadsAnalytikerna.com) conducted our research on Web shops that sell electronics we could notice that almost all shops are similar in their layout and technical solutions. Only handfuls offer a slightly better experience among them www.dustin.se and www.hifiklubben.se. The question that keeps returning to my mind is how long these companies can hold their positions as the preferred shopping destinations? Consumers today say that price is the number one factor at Web shopping so does that mean that a homepage could be “crappy” but still do well? Yes and no. There are cases out there that prove both arguments. Some interesting initiatives have been taken by companies such as Reebok who have built a Web shop the virtual world Second Life. I tried this shop and we must say it takes the shopping experience to a new level if they now could improve the graphics which are still a bit corny. We are still a few years from having virtual Web shops but there is an interesting lesson to learn. The experience could be transformed to today’s Web shop. Our latest projects have aimed at creating a feeling on the Web shopping experience using new elements such as YouTube. You can have a sneak preview at the site by typing www.platinumon.se on your browser. Observe that the site is in Swedish.

Tell us what you think, how is your Web shopping experience? What is your favourite shop and why?

NEW FRESH LOOK - www.ebusinessinsight.com/

http://www.ebusinessinsight.com/ After the request of our readers we have moved our Blog to the above adress. This means we have upgraded the visual and technical aspects of the blog, to continue offering you an interesting insight in the e-business field. On the new Blog you can search and sort articles after keywords. You can also see if we are online and send us an instant message. Enjoy, MarknadsAnalytikerna.com

Google Inside – See CEO, Eric Schmidt Talk

Take the chance to see and hear media shy Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. Mr Schmidt is interviewed about various topics. It is interesting to see how the core people at Google think. It’s a new way of thinking, a customer centric approach that is vital for surviving in todays Internet world.

e-Identity Web 2.0

During the Web conference Web 2.0 Mr Hardt, founder and CEO of Skip Identity, talked about identity. Web 2.0 identity. Between the lines Mr Hardt, stressed the point that identity today is holding back the Web development, and that a common identity for users has to be developed soon. This is of course a correct analysis since the micro payments are getting bigger and bigger, and the virtual wallet taking new forms eg. mobile payments. As a user it is easy to see how a central identity would cut the registration time at various sites. It would also enhance and enable the interaction with governmental agencies.

Of course there are many other benefits on different layers but we think that eventually a virtual identity will be so important that we will be given one upon birth. The most natural player to do this would of course be the government. This also opens the debate of keeping track of people, something that many movies have portrayed as evil. To get a sense of where we could be heading have a look at the movie Gattaca. Enjoy the ten minute presentation by Mr Hardt.