Branding for web success
23.02.12
To stand out in the crowded world of retail e-commerce, merchants need to develop a brand that communicates what sets them apart—and make those images consistent throughout their web pages and across any offline stores they may operate, Timothy Peterson, vice president of e-commerce at vitamin retailer NewVitality.com, told an audience of several hundred today at the Internet Retailer Web Design & Usability Conference 2012 in Orlando, FL.
Online retailers “need to make an impression or your site will be just one of many sites consumers see and don’t remember,” Peterson said in a session titled, “What all e-retailers need to know about branding.” Research suggests online shoppers often visit dozens of web sites in each web session, which means retailers should ask themselves, “Would my site stand for something if it were one of 20 or 50 viewed in an evening?”
To reach that level of differentiation through a strong and engaging brand, Peterson, who is also chief marketing officer and co-founder of start-up limited-time deals site LocFree.com, offered a multi-step process:
Source: InternetRetailer.com