Top 5 Tips for Online Store Design from Yahoo! Australia & NZ
Design Ideas to Help Maximise Sales from Your Store
SYDNEY, May, 2 2002 -
Thousands of Australian companies are running online extensions of their businesses, which means there's the potential for thousands of mistakes to be made in everything from initial approach to expectation to design. That's why the team at Yahoo! Store have come up with their top five tips to help people maximise their online success.
"More than 12,000 businesses around the world use Yahoo! Store as their ecommerce solution, and the Australian version of Yahoo! Store is used by hundreds of local businesses, so we've been able to have a good close look at what works and what doesn't," said Peter Crowe, commerce producer, Yahoo! Australia & NZ.
To assist current store merchants as well as businesses who are considering trading online, the Yahoo! Australia & NZ Store team has released the following five tips to ensure maximum success:
1. Quality Product Images
When photographing your items, light them well using a flash or several lights.
Put dark items on light backgrounds and vice versa. If you are scanning images, set the scan resolution to 72 dpi. This helps to keep the file size low. When editing the image, make them around 500 pixels on the longest side.
2. Good Descriptions
Lengthy product descriptions are desirable as they, along with good images, help
customers make purchasing decisions. Feel free to go to great lengths to describe the materials, smells, ingredients, dimensions, how it feels to the touch and suggested uses for your items.
3.Logical Navigation
Take some time to think about how the items in your store are grouped and the names of the categories so there is logic in the navigation. It can be helpful to have a family member or friend look at the site when you're finished, as they can offer some objectivity. Logical navigation also assists in delivering better Shopping search results and helping customers find your products easily and quickly. 4.Shipping or purchasing incentives
Customers don't expect shopping online to be cheaper than bricks and mortar stores however, they do expect a level of convenience when they purchase. Next day delivery, free gift wrapping, free gifts with a purchase or, if you can afford it, a reduced shipping fee for higher levels of postage (eg. express post for a flat fee).
It is also important to remember a large percentage of online customers live in regional areas, so offering shipping to non-metropolitan areas can extend your market reach.
5. Clear Information Pages
When you accept the terms and conditions of Yahoo! Australia & NZ Store you are required to add an information page. This is an important page for customers to check shipping prices and merchant contact details, so take the time to fill it out in full. Refund policies are incredibly important. Customers need to know that if their purchase is incorrect (eg sizing) the problem can be rectified. So when adding your contact details make sure you clearly display a phone number that you can be reached on at all times.
"They're simple things, but it's amazing how touches like good photos and descriptions can turn browsers into a buyers," said Crowe.
About Yahoo! Store
- Enables people to build an online store with no html knowledge
- A simple store takes less than 20 minutes to build
- No software purchase, everything is done online via your browser
- User friendly shopping cart and secure credit card processing
- Process transactions directly, with your existing bank
- Powerful and scalable so you can grow your store effortlessly
- All stores are included in Yahoo! Australia & NZ Shopping and Shopping Search.
What Yahoo! Store Costs
- There are no set up costs
- There is an $80 per month hosting fee for up to 1000 items plus 5% revenue share on sales transacted.
- For every additional 1000 items, an extra $50 per month is charged
Examples and Free Test Drive Offer
Shops like The Body Shop, Amcal Chemist, Cupids Lingerie and DVD Crave are just a few of the outlets currently experiencing the benefits of Yahoo! Australia & NZ Store. You can see live examples of these stores or take a free test drive by heading to http://store.yahoo.com.au.
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About Yahoo! Australia & NZ
Yahoo! Australia & NZ is one of the most recognised Internet brands in the
region. www.yahoo.com.au and the online auction site SOLD.com.au are part of
the global network of Yahoo! sites. By working with leading local companies,
Yahoo! Australia & NZ provides comprehensive online products and services to
over four million Australians and New Zealand consumers and businesses each
month. For marketers, government and businesses, the company offers
intelligent, innovative and integrated marketing, selling and Internet
broadcast solutions for maximum impact. Yahoo! Australia & NZ has offices in
Sydney and Melbourne and can be found on the Web at www.yahoo.com.au and
www.yahoo.co.nz.
About Yahoo! Inc
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading provider of comprehensive online products and
services to consumers and businesses worldwide. Yahoo! reaches more than 219
million individuals worldwide each month, and is the No. 1 Internet brand
globally. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo!'s global network
includes 25 World properties and is available in 13 languages.
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Yahoo!, Yahoo! Australia & NZ, and the Yahoo! logo are trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
For further information, photos or interviews, please contact:
Anna Featherstone Yahoo! Australia & NZ
Tel: 02 8925 0100
or email: pr@au.yahoo-inc.com
Copyright © 1994-2001 Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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