Free People: Mix of Perfect Navigation, Useful Features and Aesthetics

We continue our series of articles with a website overview, the interface and the design that helps solve business problems. Good design helped more than one store, and unique and personalized features delighted and attracted customers.

We have prepared several points that you should pay attention to for your eCommerce store:

1. The interface must fully correspond to your target audience (compare to the nature, vision and nature of the target audience)
2. Convenient navigation and interface and usability (the store should be intuitive, logical and most convenient to use)
3. Personalized service (interest-based search results, customer acquisition, upsell, cross sale)
4. Website adaptation for all electronic devices

The main task of any online store is to lead the visitor from the first click to the moment of making a purchase using many elements, taking into account the convenience and psychological perception of the client.

To help you decide on the ideal design and functionality for your store, we analyzed the main features of the American bohemian apparel and lifestyle retail company “Free People“.

Brand History

To begin with, We would like to share the history of this brand, their vision, and aesthetics, and then it will be easier to understand why their store is designed in such a way and how they personalized their brand for their ideal consumer.   

In 1970s, Dick Hain opened a store in Pennsylvania called Free People, and a store focused on people who were looking for freedom in the clothes they wore. When Dick Hain decided to expand and open a second store, the name was changed from Free People to Urban Outfitters. Over time, the demand for products became immediate, and to meet the demand, Dick and his wife decided to create a wholesale line. For a while, the wholesale line took on many personalities: Bulldog, Ecote, Cooperative, Anthropologie, and then in 1984, a new life was breathed into the name Free People.

In 2001, the brand decided that Free people embody favorite images, femininity, courage, and spirit. And Dick Hain chose to return to the original concept.

Free People has become a more mature, modern brand. Now the clothing brand embodies each girl’s intelligence, creativity, and individuality while maintaining its high quality and affordability.

This is exactly what the free people brand wanted to achieve: a 26-year-old girl, smart, creative, confident, and comfortable in all aspects of her being, free and adventurous, sweet to tough to tomboy to romantic. A girl who likes to keep busy and push life to its limits, with traveling and hanging out and everything in between. Who loves Donovan as much as she loves The Dears, and can’t resist petting any dog that passes her by on the street. 

Once you have found your ideal customer image, the brand offers a wide range of options where there is something for everyone, for every lifestyle, and every occasion. Looking individual, attractive and free is very easy with the free people brand.

Free People has four wholesale showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London. The Free People team is constantly looking for clients who believe in the Free People aesthetic and want Free People to be a part of their lives.

User-Friendly Home Page

On the main page, you can immediately find categorized pages with the most important categories. Here you can find the standard “New”, “Top Rated”, “Dresses”, “Clothes”, “Swim” and so on. On the main page, you can immediately find categorized pages with the most important categories. Here you can find the standard “novelties”, “Top ratings”, “dresses”, “things”, “swimsuits” and so on. But besides this, you can also find such categories as “New under $100”, “The FALL collection”, “The bottoms edit” and a “New season shoes”.

In addition, we would like to note that the entire main page is divided into useful sections. The beauty of the photos is also impressive, and even if customers did not want to buy anything from a certain category, after looking at the photos taken by the brand, they cannot remain indifferent and come at least to consider this product. And this is one of the most important tips that can be given to any brand, the main thing is to take high-quality photos.

Now let’s talk about navigation on the site, since the site is thought out thoroughly, here you can easily find the necessary product. As you can see in the outdoor clothing example. In addition to the usual, classic categories of goods, there are also categories by type of activity as well as by collections, which can greatly facilitate your search for the necessary goods.

Also, you can find links to the store’s blog on the main page. The blog is also a handy feature of the site. A blog will help your store drive traffic, get new customers, and build trust.

We also would like to pay attention to the call to action to go to live broadcasts. Now it is a very popular solution to show how things look in life and the opportunity to look at them, it is also the trend of eCommerce in 2022. In Free People Live, you can immediately go to the product page and buy them.

Free People Live

Let’s take a closer look at what the live broadcast looks like on the Free people website. The most convenient thing is that you can immediately see what product is being considered at the moment, directly ask all your questions in the chat, be the first to see the new collection, and for this, you don’t even need to go to the store. Modern buyers greatly value their time, so that they will appreciate such a feature. So don’t be afraid to experiment and add modern solutions to your e?ommerce store.

Now let’s move on to the product card

Brilliantly Designed Product Card

The product card in the free people store is brilliantly designed. The card describes in detail the characteristics of each product, its advantages, and a huge number of photos and videos about the product, which, of course, can motivate you to buy. 

There is a product evaluation function in the product card, in addition to marketing selling triggers that motivate a person to buy and convenient functions for choosing the most suitable model and its design. At the same time, the evaluation is carried out not in general for the product but according to its key characteristics. The rating at the beginning of the page is average, based on the ratings of customers who leave it in their comments.

This is a very convenient and helpful feature because on its basis, you can draw subjective conclusions about the product. Another plus in the product card is the interaction of the store with its customers.

It is also convenient that there is a transition to similar products. This method will help increase sales, as the client can make an additional sale in addition to the main product or replace the selected product that the client has changed his mind about buying. 

Now let’s move on to the details and product description and size chart. Store free people have chosen the tactic of a very detailed product description, size description and even care tips. It is also a good solution to describe the size that is on the model and the size, so if the client of the same parameters can clearly see how the model will sit.

As for the size table, it is standard and useful here. But since each product has an additional feedback scale in which customers leave feedback on sizes, it is very difficult to make a mistake in size.

Free People care about their customers and post a return policy on every product card. That also encourages customers to be more confident in the product.

By the way, if you do an analysis of the product card, the store is very concerned about reducing product returns, if you read our article, you can know that 60% will read your terms of sale and return before placing an order online. 69% of customers don’t even make a purchase if they do not find an exchange and return policy, and 33% of customers will change their mind about purchasing if they cannot easily find the exchange and return page.

Free People care about their customers and post a return policy on every product card. That also encourages customers to be more confident in the product.

If you analyze the product card, you can conclude that the store is concerned about reducing product returns. If you read our article, you know that 60% will read your terms of sale and return before placing an order online. 69% of customers don’t even purchase if they do not find an exchange and return policy, and 33% of customers will change their mind about purchasing if they cannot easily find the exchange and return page.

The company also uses all the methods to reduce the number of returns that we discussed in our article, such as relevant descriptions of products, VR/AR, dynamic sizing tables, offer alternative products, allows customers to leave detailed product reviews and for sure dynamic sizing tables. Therefore, we advise you to be inspired by working with the store’s “free people” site and take note of these valuable features.

Aesthetic Free People Movement 

Now let’s move on to my favorite page “free people movement”. Free people movement is the unification of people who are close in spirit to the aesthetics of the brand and to each other. In this section you can find things that are ideal for entertainment organized by a team of free people. 

This solution helps to build sales, retain your customers and turn them into true brand followers.

Also, for the brand, this is a huge additional sale, since for each new event or entertainment by the participant, you will need to choose a cool, laconic bow from your shop.

Convenient Payment Method

Free people offer all convenient payment methods. You can purchase as a guest or register.

On the left side, we see the selected products and the payment methods on the right. Also, a helpful feature for any store is the section to postpone for later. Firstly, this section will remind them of the products they want to buy, and secondly, it will help them make additional sales.

This is exactly the case with the “you might also like” section; it creates additional sales for your brand and helps customers find personalized products for the client. It is also convenient that there is a transition to similar products. This method will help increase sales, as the client can make an additional sale in addition to the main product or replace the selected product that the client has changed his mind about buying.

Sustainability Initiatives

The environment, quite rightly, is of great importance to almost everyone these days. Since many consumers are aware of how their actions and daily lives affect the world around them, they now seek to do business only with those who demonstrate brand sustainability, and “free people” are no exception.

The Free People team is committed to supporting our product turnover and reducing waste across all aspects of our value chain from design to manufacturing to the final product, with the goal of moving from a linear to a regenerative model.

Free People on Mobile

A mobile application for an online store helps to increase sales. The “free people” store does not forget about this and implements all the necessary functions into the mobile version.

Going to the mobile version, we see the excellent speed of loading content and the same convenient and intuitive navigation through the site. We can see the same beautiful sections, which are easy and convenient to switch to from the mobile version.

The mobile version also provides the option to pay via Apple Pay. This will make it very easy for your customers to buy.

Ecommerce Returns Solutions for Your Business

eCommerce return is a standard process, nothing out of the ordinary. Almost everyone, for some reason, returned goods to the store; the reasons for return can be completely different, and the requirement to return the goods may not always be legitimate. That is why you need to know how to create a beneficial, simple and pleasant return policy for your business and your customers in your eCommerce business. Although returns are an inevitable part of any business, it doesn’t mean that returns can be left to chance. We will tell you about the most frequent returns, share the eCommerce return statistics, share solutions on how to reduce the number of returns, and give examples of companies with the most customer-oriented return policy.

To get started, we have prepared some statistics that will help you answer some questions right away, and some of the data will surprise you very much.

• 18.1% of online purchases returned 
• 19% of consumers order several variants of the same product at once (different colours, sizes) to choose the most suitable one, and the rest return.
• 22% of the return because the product does not match the one declared on the Internet (it looks different)
• 30% of customers intentionally buy a product knowing they will return it
• 49% of eCommerce businesses offer free return shipping to customers
• 58% don’t want to answer questions about why they are returning products
• 60% of buyers read the return policy before buying
• 80.2% of items are returned to the store because they are broken or damaged
• 92% of customers said they would stay customers even after a return if their return experience were easy

eCommerce Returns Management

What Is the eCommerce Return Process?

eCommerce return process: a process of returning goods from the customer to the enterprise or exchanging goods by the enterprise for the client.

The Return Process for eCommerce Products Includes Five Steps:

• The customer receives the item and decides to make a return and/or refund (this can happen for any reason, whether it’s a change of mind or not being happy with the product)
• The company decides whether the demand for a refund meets the company’s policy
• The decision of the company on how the return will be made by your company (courier) / logistics partners, or the client himself will send it by mail to your warehouse.
• The goods are returned to your warehouse
• Returned item is in stock and ready for resale

The return process always requires a lot of effort, including the cost of many resources. Thus, the hidden costs in the return process in eCommerce businesses are usually high.

Why Do Customers Cancel Their Orders?

There are many reasons why a buyer may refuse a product. We have highlighted the most popular.

Impulse Buying

A buyer in their emotional state can buy a product based on your excellent marketing strategy. After a while, the client realizes what he did and cools down to purchase. And most importantly, at this moment, a person realizes how much money he has spent, and it is then that the processing of returns begins. In this case, the solution may be to provide different payment methods such as installments, buy now, pay last and others.

High Competition 

The client can find the same or similar product from another seller anytime. The solution to this problem can be to give your product uniqueness, add a gift or make a bonus.

Ease of Order Cancellation 

When a buyer sees a cancel order button in their account, they will use this opportunity impulsively to make purchases knowing they can refuse it at any moment.

The Order Confirmation Is Not Fast Enough

If you have chosen the approach of confirming orders by phone number, you need to understand that without confirming the order immediately, the client may already cool down to purchase by the time of the call. The way out is to respond to orders promptly.

Main Reasons for Returning Goods

There are also many reasons for returning goods, but the main one is the gap between expectation and reality. Responsibility for these moments may lie with both the seller and the client.

• The item arrived defective or damaged upon delivery
• Wrong size
• Product inconsistency with the images in the website
• The buyer does not like the purchase.
• Force Majeure

We have listed far from the entire list of reasons that affect the client’s decision to return their goods. We would like to help you resolve your cancellation issues and help you make the eCommerce return process more enjoyable for both you and your customers. 

Solutions to Reduce eCommerce Returns

We have prepared some tips to reduce the number of returns and increase customer satisfaction.

Make your eCommerce return policy accessible, understandable, and easy to find on your website.

We advise you to be open and transparent. The best option would be to create a separate page, immediately answer all customers’ questions, clearly state all the return policies and tell everything you offer, and consider the possibility of free return shipping.

Questions You Need to Answer in Your Return and Refund Policy

• Return Instructions (it’s a good idea to illustrate the return process)
• How much time does the company give the customer to make a return?
• How exactly will the client be able to receive a refund, and for how long
• Who will pay for the return shipping cost?
• Are your return labels and slips included?
• Do you require checks, receipts or transaction confirmations?
• What condition must the item be in to be returned?
• How quickly will the return take place?

By making the wrong eCommerce return policy, you can lose a lot of customers because 69% of customers will not even make a purchase, and 33% of customers will change their mind about purchasing if they cannot easily find the exchange and return page.

Focus On Improving the Product Image

We think it is the most straightforward recommendation, but many people neglect it. Things often look different on the Internet and in life, which stimulates an increase in the number of returns. By providing a variety of images on the site from different angles and in good quality, the likelihood of a large number of returns is clearly reduced, but the conversions will increase.

Relevant Describing of Products

Also, an essential factor in the return may be that the product does not match the description on the website. It is always frustrating to receive something that is not what you expected and has been waiting for a long time. According to the structure, the description may consist of a headline that will hook your audience, a product description (its unique properties and how it can help), share the characteristics and function of the product, share product reviews and what exactly your customers value in your products.

Use VR/3D/AR on Your Website

VR/3D/AR is one of the easiest ways to help customers interact with the product before buying. Using these technologies, you can show customers how certain products will look on them and how they will fit with other products, and you can also compare sizes.

Add Dynamic Sizing Tables to Your Site

Adding to the site different variations of tables with a detailed description of the sizes will also help avoid many returns. This will be especially useful in shoe and clothing stores.

Offer Alternative Products During the Return Process

The customer may remain interested by offering a customer to exchange their product for a product of a different size or colour or similar style. Such a solution will help not to lose the client and the order.

Allowing Customers to Leave Detailed Product Reviews

Such reviews will also help the client choose the right size, understand how the product corresponds to the declared one, and discover what people who have already bought the product think.

Take the Time and Effort to Pack

Choose packaging that will protect your product from any damage during shipping. Also, ensure that this packaging is suitable for the return transport of the order so that when you return the product, it will not be damaged. Adding bonuses to the box (mini gifts, coupons, special scams) is also a good idea. At least this will help to please the client even if they have to make a return or push the client to make another order.

Ask Why Customers Return Products

While 58% are reluctant to share what they didn’t like and why they want to return a product, some are happy to answer all questions and help you improve your products or shipping methods, which will help you reduce returns in the future. 

As you can see, there are many methods and strategies for minimizing the number of returns and return costs. Your competitors will have a considerable impact. When choosing a store, your potential customers can compare the eCommerce return policy and choose a competitor only because their return policy was better.

Examples of a Customer-Focused Return Policy

Using our advice, you can protect yourself as much as possible from losing customers and damaging your business or brand image. Don’t forget that 60% will read your terms of sale and return before placing an order online. To further understand this topic, we have found 4 examples of best ecommerce return policies for you. 

Nordstrom

Nordstrom Inc. — a network of luxury department stores of fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories for men, women and children. Nordstrom does not have a specific return policy. Their policy has no specific time, clearance, or receipts. The store provides free return shipping and the ability to return goods to any place (sent by mail or returned to the store). The refund period is 5-7 days. Even if you don’t have a receipt, you can return items in exchange for a Nordstrom gift card if you can provide proof of identification. Nordstrom has specific terms and conditions for some products, but these restrictions are minor.

Bath and Body Works

Bath and Body Works is a chain of shops selling soaps, lotions, perfumes and candles. Bath and Body Works is very concerned about customer satisfaction with their products, which is why they provide a return of goods within 90 days from the date of purchase, even if the product has already been used but did not satisfy the client. Even if the check is missing, it can still be returned. You can also return gifts at any time and for any reason.

American Eagle

American Eagle is an American chain of clothing and accessories stores. American Eagle offers unlimited returns and is free of charge as long as you have proof of purchase. You can return goods even if there is no tag; the only exceptions are swimwear and underwear. Items can be returned by mail or brought to the store.

IKEA

IKEA is a Dutch manufacturer and trade group selling furniture and household goods. Ikea allows the return of new products within a year. It is also possible to return opened products within 180 days. For any return, you will need an order confirmation. We would like to  show you examples of return policies that are as customer-focused as possible. However, it would be best if you chose the return policy that suits you financially and satisfies all requirements and requests of customers.

14 Steps to Protect Your Ecommerce Business From Cyberattacks

Security should be a top priority when running an eCommerce business. Online scams can quickly put you out of business, and you can’t control them in any way. eCommerce sites are always one of the top targets for cyberattacks. eCommerce sites are a combination of personal and financial data. The cost of data breach or loss can be very high, even before the loss of the enterprise. eCommerce cyberattacks can quickly damage a business’s reputation and violate customers’ privacy.

And the worst thing is that as soon as a violation occurs, you will no longer be able to return your customers or get new ones. That is why the most important thing is that your customers feel safe. That is why safety is a priority.

We will tell you about the most common cyber attacks, provide cyber security statistics, and tell you what methods to use to prevent them and how to protect your eCommerce business from intruders. So enjoy the article and catch ideas.

What Is eCommerce Security?

eCommerce security protects your website from cybercriminals trying to steal your customers’ personal information or website content. The list of eCommerce cyber threats includes hacks, data leaks, phishing and other threats.

eCommerce cyber security includes several different aspects:

• Data security: This protects customer data, physical addresses, names and credit card information.
• Security of payments: one of the most important aspects is ensuring that online payments are safe and protected from any hacker intrusion when financial transactions occur.
• Website security: protection against hacks and attacks on your store

Some Cybersecurity Statistics 

• 34% of businesses believe that cyberattacks or privacy breaches are the most serious digital threat from outside by BDO
• 34% of retailers are afraid to switch to e-commerce precisely because of cyber attacks by BDO
• When data is compromised in an attack, 42% is payment information and 41% is personal data by Verizon 
• 24% of cyberattacks target retailers, more than any other industry by Trustwave

The Most Common eCommerce Security Threats

There are quite a few eCommerce risks that you need to protect your online store from: money theft, phishing attacks, website hacking, misuse of personal data, insecure service delivery, and card fraud. We have covered the most common problems:

Financial Fraud

Financial fraud has been in the online business since its inception. Hackers make unauthorized transactions and erase traces, causing significant damage to the business. Some scammers submit requests for fake returns or refunds. Refund scams are a common financial scam where stores refund money for supposedly purchased or damaged items.

Internet Spammers

It is not uncommon for Internet spammers to leave comments on blogs or fill out contact forms where they leave infected links to harm businesses. They can also send infected links in private messages to company communities on social networks.

Phishing

Phishing is another security threat when hackers disguised as company representatives send messages to your customers to trick them into revealing sensitive information or lure customers to a fake version of your website.

SQL Injection

SQL injection targets a website’s database and retrieves its records. Attackers can often use SQL injection vulnerabilities to bypass existing security measures. This type of attack can also be used to change, delete, or add records to a company’s database.

DDoS Attacks

DDoS and DOS attacks are aimed at disrupting your website. In such attacks, numerous requests are sent to your servers. The goal is for the site to go down.

Password Selection

The goal is to pick up a password for the site and gain access to the administrative panel of the online store. Special programs are used to select passwords.

Viruses and Trojans.

This is one of the most serious threats to network security when attackers can infect a site and gain access to the confidential information of shoppers.

This is not the whole list of cybercrimes that can happen, but each can significantly harm your business.

Ecommerce Website Security Tips

We have put together a list of essential tips for you to help you secure your eCommerce website.

1. Secure Web Hosting and the Right Ecommerce Platform

The most important thing for the safe operation of eCommerce sites is choosing the right platform for your needs and selecting a web host. More often than not, eCommerce website builders already have security measures. However, not all platforms and hosts are the same or even equal. The best option is to find the right combination of host and platform that can meet all your requirements and provide complete protection against the most common threats such as malware and SQL injections.

2. Get an SSL Certificate

Installing a certificate will help encrypt all your customer transaction data and help prevent data leakage. You can obtain this certificate from a hosting provider or a third-party SSL certificate provider.

In general, an SSL certificate is mandatory for all eCommerce websites by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standard.

Any eCommerce business must comply with PCI security standards.

3. Back Up Your Website Data Regularly

Of course, backups won’t protect you from attacks, but help you recover from a data breach or hacker attack. And it will also help against the loss or capture of information. When updating, we advise you to make a backup copy of the website. And also at least once every three days, and preferably every day. We recommend you choose a platform and hosting that offers automatic website backup.

4. Update Your Software Regularly

Update your eCommerce platform, payment processor, and security software promptly. Check that they are all working correctly. Also, ensure your CMS, plugins and extensions, themes, operating systems, tech stack, etc., are up to date.

5. Promote Strong Passwords

If you require participants/customers to create passwords, emphasize the importance for clients to develop complex passwords. We recommend giving examples and specific criteria for a strong password. All of this will help you keep your accounts secure.

6. Watch for Suspicious Activity in Your Store

Use Google Analytics or any other analytics tool to track activity in your store. The main thing is to respond to the appearance of unusual activity quickly.

7. Entrust Payment and Data Processing to Specialists

The correct way not to lose customer data is not to store it unless necessary. The right option would be to use a third-party encrypted checkout tunnel for payment processing. Most popular payment gateways are completely secure. The main thing is to choose a payment platform compatible with your web hosting and eCommerce platform.

8. Perform Regular SQL Checks

SQL injection is one of the most common ways to hack sites and web applications that work with relational databases. This method is based on introducing arbitrary SQL code transmitted by an attacker into a database query executed by an application. SQL injections are one of the varieties of “code injection” attacks. Regularly checking for vulnerabilities will help avoid problems because SQL injections can manifest themselves in any form of fraud. Depending on your chosen platform, you will have a list of software options to help you protect and track these injections.

9. Use an Ecommerce Firewall

A firewall prevents intruders and malware from accessing your computer over the Internet. The firewall only allows secure Internet connections to your computer and blocks intrusions from the Internet. It will protect your site from XSS, SQL injection and fake requests. A firewall will help protect your website from hacking, including brute force attempts. The main thing is to find the right one suitable for all your requirements.

10. Control Administrator Rights Carefully

With your company’s growth and the team involved in vomiting with the site will grow, do not give access to team members who do not need them.

11. Check Third Party Plugins and Apps

Check all new plugins and applications you install from third-party sources, check those plugins that are already there, and check if you use them.

12. Get PCI Compliant

PCI was created in 2006 by Sia Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB to manage security standards and enhance security throughout the transaction process. The coalition has established a set of guidelines, PCI-DSS (Payment Card Board Data Security Standards), that businesses must follow to avoid fraud. Accordingly, PCI compliance is mandatory if credit card payments are accepted, so if the requirements are not met and followed, you may face fines, fines, or even prevent the business from accepting credit cards as payment in the future. Hence the importance of PCI compliance for eCommerce.

13. Train Your Employees on Cybersecurity

In most cases, cybersecurity breaches are due to human error. We advise you to educate your staff in advanced cybersecurity techniques.

14. Stay Tuned for Cybersecurity News

Being informed about new threats is an excellent way to protect yourself from them

As you can see, there is a long list of things you can do for your eCommerce business to keep yourself and your customers safe from cyberattacks.

Simple Packaging Tips for a Unique eCommerce Experience

Sending packages must be carefully prepared in the eCommerce industry. It is essential to consider the safety of items that will be sent. The package must remain intact during transit until it reaches the buyer’s hands. Therefore, several criteria must be considered when choosing the best eCommerce packaging. Therefore, choosing high-quality packaging that provides total protection for items is necessary. Cardboard boxes, bags, plastic wrap, and kraft paper, there are many solutions.

The development of global trading platforms allows anyone from anywhere in the world to buy and organize their store in a few clicks to sell goods both on the domestic and foreign markets. The low threshold for entering the e-commerce industry leads to increased competition, which means that players in the market need to differ in terms of price, quality, and reviews.

When discussing eCommerce packaging design for a marketplace, it is essential to consider where precisely the product will be placed.

Large marketplaces usually deliver orders in their eCommerce packaging boxes, where the order is hidden behind corrugated cardboard with marketplace branding elements.

For small trading platforms or personal online stores, a unique user experience from interacting with a box that the manufacturer sends directly, bypassing global marketplaces, becomes relevant. For such manufacturers and sellers, it is necessary to pay attention to the product itself and the box in which it will be delivered to the buyer. If you can offer a unique “unboxing experience”, the customer will want to return to that product and experience that situation again. Equally important is the box’s contents because through letters, inserts, wrapping paper, stickers, and other elements, you communicate with your client.

In this article, we will tell you what the trends in e?ommerce packaging design are and what trends are currently relevant in the eCommerce market.

What Is eCommerce Packaging?

eCommerce packaging means a combination of your actions in protecting your product for shipping, managing shipping costs, branding, and promotional purposes.

Bright and memorable packaging can help increase brand loyalty and profitability, improve the impression your products make on your customers, and, most critically, set you apart from the competition. And since competition in the markets is more important now than ever, developing impressive packaging is essential.

Most Popular eCommerce Packaging Types

eCommerce packaging GoPro is the most popular type of packaging, and the main advantages are the possibility of secondary packaging, strength, and lightweight. We can say that a corrugated box is an ordinary cardboard box, only with a small additional layer so that everything inside is additionally protected from shock, moisture, and temperature changes.

Padded mailers are envelopes with additional protection inside (paper or bubble wrap); such packaging helps safely and accurately transport fragile goods. One of the main disadvantages is that the extra protection can add to the cost and be less environmentally friendly.

Bags and Envelopes: Mostly PE mail bags or plastic mail bags, great for sending small and light items that don’t need much extra protection. This option is excellent for clothes.

Individual product packaging is stylized packaging (box, bag, tape, or filler with your brand logo on it or inside it) specifically for your product, business, and brand. eCommerce custom packaging will help you present your brand perfectly and optimize your delivery.

Essential Aspects of eCommerce Packaging

eCommerce packaging has impressive graphics, a striking presentation, and adequate protection of what’s inside.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing eCommerce packaging solutions for your business:

High-Quality eCommerce Packaging

If you are planning to use a courier service to deliver your orders, it is important to use lightweight yet durable packaging. Just imagine how upset the client will be if they receive a damaged box or damaged product because of this.

Weight of eCommerce Packaging

Courier companies charge based on the weight of your package, so it’s crucial to ensure your package isn’t too heavy.

Branded eCommerce Packaging

When delivering products to your customers, always ensure  that your brand is easy to read on the packaging. But remember that branding is not only about the logo: try to stand out and be recognized  by adding some interesting touches. A small personal thank you note won’t cost you dearly, but it will make your customers feel appreciated. Don’t forget toplace a flier with your current promotions in the box to get the customer interested in looking  at the site again.

Sustainable eCommerce Packaging

Every time you ship a product, the packaging ends up in a landfill or trash can. This situation means that your business regularly creates waste. Itt is possible that this eCommerce packaging waste will not be recycled or reused. Fortunately, switching to sustainable eCommerce packaging can benefit you and your customers, not to mention a significant environmental impact. Choose recyclable materials and indicate this fact on the website, with a print on the packaging or  a special attachment. Prove your interest in protecting the environment.

eCommerce Packaging Materials

eCommerce packaging comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and, most importantly, materials, but there are some pretty standard packaging types and materials that most brands use.

eCommerce Paper Packaging

Paper is mainly used as additional protection for other, more complex packaging materials. The paper helps to protect the product from light, dust, and moisture. Usually, kraft paper or paper napkins are used for these purposes. Craft paper is a thin wrapping paper that takes its name from its production method. It is generally accepted that it, in comparison with ordinary packaging paper, has a higher strength factor. Tissue paper—cellulose material— is often used in preventing scratches and chafing.

eCommerce Cardboard Packaging

Cardboard packaging is the most popular type of eCommerce packaging. Cardboard packaging looks like a simple box, although it can also be in other formats (pipes, envelopes, or similar things.). Most people prefer this kind of packaging because it is reusable and easy to recycle.

eCommercePlastic Packaging

Plastic packaging is an inexpensive product for packaging and transporting a wide range of goods. Models may differ in design, size, and design features and production is carried out using synthetic materials. Today, there are the following types of packaging materials and plastic products: bags and plastic wrap (flexible packaging), bubble wrap, and the like. This decision is terrible for the environment, so most customers prefer eco eCommerce packaging, which means packaging without plastic.

eCommerce Wooden Packaging

Wooden packaging is mainly for heavy loads; however, sometimes eCommerce businesses choose wooden packaging instead of standard cardboard packaging to provide a unique unpacking experience for the customer. All wooden boxes are made to order so that they can be of any shape.

Best eCommerce Packaging Examples

To make it easier for you to improve your eCommerce packaging design, we’ve compiled a selection of the most creative, fashion eCommerce packaging ideas to inspire you. And at the same time, we will tell you about eCommerce packaging trends.

Acne Studios

Acne Studios is a multidisciplinary luxury fashion house based in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in menswear, women’swear, footwear, and accessories.

Acne Studios boxes have a beautiful minimalist packaging design for their products and are also economical. It is crucial for a brand that its bags and gift packages are recognizable to customers. This customer recognition helps strengthen the brand and the level of credit in the market. Packaging design is most important, but at the same time, there is no desire to sacrifice quality.

Acne Studio’s packaging combines its design and environmental ambitions.

Esco Coffee

ESCO is a new coffee shop in Indonesia. The coffee beans are harvested, processed, and roasted at the family farm that owns the brand.

Packaging for Esco Coffee combines sustainable development principles with modern abstract illustrations. ESCO packaging design aims to represent the local culture.

All packs are available in plastic-free pouches or tubes and are adorned with quirky illustrated elements that highlight their different origins, which complement the brand’s unified black top of the pack.

Girlfriend Collective

Girlfriend Collective is a sportswear and loungewear brand that uses recycled materials such as polyester, fishnets, and water bottles to create its products.

The company’s unique value is the utmost concern for the environment and the desire to produce clothes from 100% recycled materials.

The whole package contained a cardboard box and a fabric bag into which even the threads used for sewing were processed.

The result is a clothing package that is simple in form but incredibly strong in meaning.

Consumer buying habits and industry packaging trends are the main drivers behind the rapid growth in packaging demand. We have highlighted the top trends in eCommerce packaging.

– Sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging

– Individual packing

– Colours, patterns, and gradients

– Minimalism

– Storytelling and plot

We reviewed the dynamics of the main trends in packaging. Now you are up-to-date with the latest trends and can start implementing your innovative ideas and strategies.

Burberry – Iconic British Luxury Brand: Combination of Impeccable Design and Excellent User Experience

Before Burberry products reached the mass market, they were intended for officers in the British Army. In 1880,  the tailor Thomas Burberry invented gabardine, a waterproof and breathable fabric that was lighter and more comfortable than the heavy rubber fabric from which mackintosh raincoats had been made.

British soldiers were the first to appreciate the quality of Burberry gabardines, followed by travelers and pilots. However, the history of the Burberry brand began even earlier, namely  in 1856, when the same Thomas Burberry opened a small shop selling ready-made clothes in the English provinces. After the invention of gabardine, its products began to be in such great demand that Thomas decided to close his shop and move the company to London, where he launched the wholesale production of gabardine products. Burberry’s first advert said that this unique material could withstand the onslaught of wind and rain, not to mention thorny plants and various other adverse conditions.

After the First World War, the brand developed in a somewhat different direction. Burberry clothes began to be worn by ordinary people and celebrities. The brand came to the royal court, American and British politicians fell in love with Burberry raincoats, and the brand’s clothes were even worn by the heroes of classic  films, including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “Casablanca”.

From its famous trench coats to its sunglasses, the brand’s products are recognizable, thanks to its corporate colors:  a sand cage with black, white and red stripes.This, along with the brand emblem – a knight with a spear – is  associated with the Burberry trading house all over the world. 

We would like to share with you an overview of Burberry’s  website, look at it from a brand perspective, what makes their site unique, and how such a strong brand is positioning itself online and attracting customers.

Burberry’s online store is a benchmark site. It has everything that a leading eCommerce site should have: it’s minimalistic, beautiful, stylish and, most importantly, convenient. Designwise, there is nothing superfluous. Due to the white background, attention is focused on the product itself, while beautiful, high-quality photos of the brand’s products and excellent design make it all but impossible to leave the site, without buying into the brand. 

Perfect Navigation Home Page

The Homepage has straightforward navigation: “New In”, “Women”, “Men”, “Children”, “Outerwear”, “Begs”, “Gifts”, “Stories”, and “Beyond” and sections with the most popular, new arrivals, and limited-edition products. The unique design emphasizes the exclusivity of its products.

The functionality of the site is amazing. When you select any category, new parameters open up with an extensive list of product options. You can easily select the desired section and find the product you want.

Each subcategory has a unique SEO-optimized description, making it easy to find specific products directly from Google search results.

There are no unanswered questions on the “Customer Service”  page, and all services are perfectly described.

New Arrivals Category Page 

The transition from the home page to the section with new arrivals is especially impressive. The page presents ready-made multi-component looks from the new collection. You can choose one specific product or see how new items are combined. Such solutions help the buyer present a complete image and motivate them to buy not just one item, but  a whole look.

Gift-Oriented Category Page

Burberry has various category pages to help shoppers find the perfect gift for their loved ones:the Burberry gift collection is for him and her and sells everything from plaid knits and shirts to timeless trench coats, silk scarves and leather bags. Reversible jackets, tops and sneakers are offered for children.

Products can be sorted by type, as well as by collections, upcoming events and gifts. This is useful if customers are looking for a gift for a specific occasion or have a rough idea, but are unsure about which product they plan to buy.

Websites often use a technique called  a visual menu, This enables the user to visually relax and navigate the site quickly and intuitively, which adds spice to the design and creates an emphasis on the products.

If the high-quality gift you have chosen is a Burberry product , you do not have to rack your brains looking for a way of wrapping your chosen gift beautifully. Burberry has thought of everything in advance. When you place an order, you  will be offered a gift package that is ideal for any holiday or event. It is convenient, fast and modern, and an excellent user experience.

Once you have chosen your high-end product, you are presented with a range of packaging and wrapping options. Burberry ensures that your gift is perfectly wrapped for any event, holiday or birthday. 

Customer-Oriented Product Page

In terms of customer experience, on the product page, everything is as simple as possible. On the card, you can immediately select the size and color, enlarge the model and view it in more detail. Another feature is that you can instantly view things in a similar style or a modification of these products, which is an exciting idea, and you can ask questions  in an online chat, if necessary. 

An additional feature of this store is that you can book  an online or offline meeting with a consultant.

Burberry understands that every shopping experience is as unique as its customers, and that time is precious. The Burberry team has created a range of personalized appointment services, perfectly tailored to the customer’s needs. From virtual appointments that allow shoppers to shop from the comfort of their own home to sessions with style experts, so customers can explore collections in great detail.

It is very convenient to view any information about a product – be it a photo, a size table, a choice of a model or a color – everything happens at lightning speed, without reloading the page, but just by hovering or clicking. This allows you to reduce the number of user actions, you do not need to leave the page, and the purchase occurs as quickly and comfortably as possible.

A sizing guide enables customers to select the right size on the website.

After viewing such a product card, the target customer does not have the slightest chance to leave the site to look for something else, which is all thanks to the site’s fantastic design and functionality.

Cart and Checkout Process

Burberry offers a variety of payment methods and a secure one-page checkout process. Additionally,  Burberry offers the option  of making purchases as a guest, without mandatory registration. 

On the left, we see the contents of our shopping cart; on the right, payment methods. The purchase can be completed quickly, easily and comfortably, without any kind of hindrance.  

Another distinguishing feature of Burberry is that when you return to the site, a pop-up window appears with the products you previously viewed . The design of this pop-up is entirely consistent with the creation of the site and makes it easy to return to these products.

Sustainability Initiatives

Sustainability is a definite cause, a ubiquitous movement, and now an anticipated venture for business. Sustainability has become a vital aspect of any corporate strategy. If your company does not practice sustainability , you may lose out on favorable customer-perceptions and, ultimately, profit. 

Of course, Burberry is no exception and they proudly display the real-world impacts of their  initiatives.

The “Beyond” page is spectacular, beautiful, relevant, modern, and in harmony with the environment. It epitomizes Burberry’s core values: a strong and sustainable brand with the right message, mission, and vision. Such brands are always the most striking.

Burberry is committed to protecting the environment, helping disadvantaged youths access literacy skills and safe spaces (in partnership with Marcus Rashford), and supporting the fight against COVID-19. Burberry also appreciates and accepts people’s differences, creating a world where everyone feels they belong, have a voice, and can reach their full potential.

We advise you to visit this page and see and enjoy this design and page to the fullest.

Burberry On Mobile

The loading speed of the Burbury website on mobile devices is excellent. When you open the website, the photos and videos load instantly. Animated images and videos help keep a shopper’s attention and offer an amazing way to showcase products. This helps the site to rank well in Google search results and increase conversions on the site, since now most of the online purchases are made from mobile devices.

The mobile version also has excellent intuitive navigation, and the site elements are large enough to comfortably click on with your finger.

In addition to the usual payment methods, when placing an order, you can pay for the goods via Apple Pay and PayPal, which is the most convenient, fast and understandable solution for mobile users. You can even make a purchase on the go.

Solve Issues With Payment Solutions For Ecommerce in Sweden

When you start your eCommerce business, payments may not be the first thing on your mind, but choosing the right payment solution is key if your business is to be successful. 

There are many payment solutions for businesses, but it is worth spending a little time to figure out which one suits you best. 

We’ve compiled the most crucial online payment solutions for your business in Sweden and we would like to tell you which eCommerce platforms will help implement these payment methods.

How do Swedes Pay Online?

There are several popular payment methods in Sweden, while one of the most common reasons consumers cancel purchases is because they can’t pay the way they want.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there are a few intricacies in the most popular payment methods in Sweden to keep in mind:

Card Payments

Card is the payment method that most people use to pay online and is also the most popular. It works well for customers from other countries. However, keep in mind that different countries use different cards, and not all transactions can go through. Therefore, you should not use this method as the only payment solution if you want to sell your goods outside Sweden.

The site must be well encrypted, so third parties cannot access customers’ card details . It is a good idea to allow customers to save information about their cards to make purchases faster. 

Bank Transfer Payments

Bank Transfer is a direct payment through Internet banking. To offer such a solution to your clients, your company must have an account with the same bank as the client. The money is then transferred directly from the client’s account to your company’s account at the same bank. With direct payment, the customer feels safe and doesn’t have to provide a card number.

To offer Bank Transfers to customers abroad, however, your company needs to open a bank account with every foreign bank.

Open Invoice Payments

Open invoices are a prevalent part of the accounting cycle for any growing business that processes credit-based transactions.

An open account is an account with specific information: invoice number and order number, name and address of the payer’s and payee’s company, description of the goods or services purchased, date of delivery and creation of the invoice, details and total quantity of goods or services, terms of payment and directions.If a company has too many open accounts, it can have cash flow problems, which can stop the business’s processes.

Swish Payments

Swish is a mobile payment system in Sweden. Six major Swedish banks launched the service. Swish is a service that works through an application linked to a bank account through a phone number. Unlike all other payment services, Swish is impossible to connect your e?ommerce directly to the payment service. Instead, you must go through either a bank or a payment service integrated with Swish.  

8 out of 10 Swedes pay with Swish, which shows the latest edition of “The Swedes and the internet”. 

Swish allows businesses, traders, associations and organizations to receive payments from individuals. Swish is especially advantageous for those enterprises that do not have a card reader. It collects fees from companies and registered organizations. In addition, for merchants, Swish charges about 2 SEK (depending on the bank) for each payment. However, there is no charge for customers. All users need a bank account with a Swedish bank and a national identification number.

Swish eCommerce volume grows 50% despite the industry downturn.

Klarna Payments

Klarna is one of the most secure payment services. Klarna payments allow shoppers to buy now and pay later. Merchants can improve their conversion rates with a streamlined mobile commerce user interface and modern payment methods. 

Klarna for Business offers a large number of solutions, namely Klarna.Pay directly, Klarna.Pay latter, Klarna.Divide, Klarna.Subscription payments, Klarna.Checkout, Klarna.In-store, Klarna.Point of sale, Klarna.Corporate financing.

Let’s take a closer look at the main solutions.

Klarna. Checkout –  the most commonly used checkout solution in Sweden. Klarna. Checkout – a complex of all payment options, simple customer identification, customizable design, and much more.

Klarna. Pay Later – solution suggests getting your items first, before making a decision. The client chooses the later payment option pay within 30 days, monthly bill, pay within X days.

Klarna. Installations – The solution offers your customers the opportunity to spread their costs and pay the right amount. Now and then. The client only needs the minimum monthly payment.

Klarna. Pay directly – payment solution which goes straight to the point. It’s fast, safe and simple. Consumers can pay immediately and in full, wherever Klarna is available.

Klarna has 147 million active users worldwide and 2 million daily transactions. Klarna has many partners – IKEA, H&M, Saks, Nike, Sephora, Ralph Lauren, Expedia Group, Samsung, ASOS, Peloton, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Macy’s, Shein and others.

Some Klarna stats:

Total number of active consumers: 147,000,000

Total number of traders: 400,000

Number of employees: 5000

At 3.50 SEK per transaction 2.79% of the transaction fee, Klarna is quite an expensive solution.

PayPal Payments

PayPal is an online payment system through which individuals and legal entities can make money transfers and open accounts. PayPal also allows shoppers to buy now and pay later.

PayPal Commerce Platform increases growth, efficiency and security for large companies.

PayPal is also an expensive solution because it l charges high fees for transactions made outside of the US. The cost is 3.4% transaction fee 3.25 SEK per transaction.

There is also a problem with rejected transactions, as some transactions do not meet the collateral requirements of Swedish banks.However, if you plan to sell internationally, PayPal is a great solution.

NETS Payments

Nets is one of the complete payment solutions. Nets Checkout is integrated with many popular payment services available on the European market. Nets payment solutions are suitable for both online shopping and payments in physical stores.

Nets are also integrated with most major international payment services: PayPal, Afterpay, Union Pay, etc. A transaction fee of 1.8% will apply for each UnionPay app transaction.

Payson Payments

Payson Checkout is an all-in-one payment solution that allows you to integrate your online merchants with the ability to charge fees such as Card, Swish, Invoice and Partial Checkout. With Payson, you can also pay through your Internet bank, which is more secure.

The cost of using the Payson payment solution consists of a transaction fee of 2.85% for small businesses.

All of the above payment solutions differ in their functionality, price, and viability in different markets, but apart from that, let’s look at which e?ommerce systems these payment solutions are compatible with.

Payment Methods Available On eCommerce Platforms

Quick Butik

Quickbutik is a universal platform for launching, selling and developing an online store. According to Quickbutik, Quickbutik is currently the fastest-growing eCommerce platform in Sweden, with over 4,000 Swedish online stores in less than 5 years.

All of the above payment methods can be integrated into the Quik Butik platform, namely Card, Klarna, NETS, Swish, PayPal, Payson.

Wiking Gruppen

Wikinggruppen is one of Sweden’s largest e?ommerce service providers, offering comprehensive and flexible mobile responsive design solutions for all types of eCommerce. You’ll also get access to a very advantageous shipping deal. Klarna Checkout is included with no startup or monthly fees. You can integrate payment methods such as Card, Klarna, NETS, Swish, PayPal and Payson into the Wikinggruppen platform.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the world’s most popular eCommerce solutions, a highly customizable open-source e?ommerce platform built on WordPress. WooCommerce can also be integrated with all the most popular payment solutions, such as Card, Klarna, NETS, Swish, PayPal and Payson. 

WooCommerce supports all of these payment methods through its extensions. These extensions are WooCommerce plugins. With the help of quality free WooCommerce plugins, connecting store owner credentials is available through the admin area.

Below are a few WooCommerce modules that many companies around the world trust.

• Plugin for Card (credit/debit) – WooCommerce Stripe Gateway
• Plugin for Open Invoice – Invoice Gateway For WooCommerce
• Plugin for Swish – Woo Swish e-commerce
• Plugin for Klarna – Klarna Checkout for WooCommerce
• Plugin for PayPal – WooCommerce PayPal Payments
• Plugin for Nets – Nets Easy for WooCommerce
• Plugin for Payson – PaysonCheckout for WooCommerce

By the way, one of the areas of our company is WooCommerce, so we are ready to create a full-fledged niche store in just 10 days and integrate all payment methods there. To get this, send us a request and the “Woo Story” promo code and get a 10% discount.

Shopify

Shopify is software that allows you to create and run your online store. The platform has the most straightforward functionality and many templates for users without advanced design and technical skills. Shopify can be integrated with Card, Klarna, PayPal, Swish for Shopify is available only through Quickpay, NETS (By the way, NETS says they have also integrated the Swish payment option into their Shopify module).

However, there is no way to integrate Payson into the WooCommerce platform.

One of the significant advantages is that in Shopify, most of the payment methods are available out-of-box and are enabled right from the admin dashboard. Therefore, solutions like Paypal and Klarna will immediately be included in your store.

Besides , we think it’s a great solution to quickly and easily launch a store for your business. In a week, we will make a niche website for you, add all the necessary payment methods there, fill in the goods, and the site will be ready to launch. Send us a request with the “Shopify STORY” promo code, and you’ll instantly receive prices, available packages, and a 10% discount.

Abicart

Abicart is one of Sweden’s most prominent eCommerce solution providers, with over 3,900 stores. It is also known as Textalk in some markets. Their goal is to provide access to eCommerce tools to make it easier for your customers to shop online. Abicart allows you to integrate such payment solutions as Card, Klarna, Swish, PayPal, Payson, NETS.

Magento 

Magento is an open-source eCommerce platform. More than 100,000 online stores have been created based on this platform, and third-party developers have created more than 2,000 extensions. You can also integrate Card, Klarna, NETS, Swish, PayPal, Payson into the Magento platform.  It’s quite a flexible and advanced solution for the growing online businesses with many products

As you can see, there are many solutions available to help you create a great store with various payment methods. These solutions are characterized by the features available, cost, flexibility and ease of use. If you are thinking about which solution is right for you, write to us and save time. Our eCommerce advisor will offer you a free consultation and help you choose the best solution for your needs, business goals and budget.

WEB4PRO Has Released A New Google Shopping Feed Module For Magento 2 And Became Adobe Solution Bronze Partner

WEB4PRO has released a Google shopping feed module for Magento 2, this module is designed to export goods from eCommerce sites to Google Merchant Center.

Google Shopping Feed by WEB4PRO

Google Merchant Center is a platform where an online store owner uploads data about available products. Users directly from Google search receive important information about products: image, name, price, seller, rating, and so on. Here is an example of the GMC feed that we get for the request “men’s jacket buy”.

Our module automatically generates an XML file with the necessary data (titles, links, images, price, etc.) for the Google Merchant Center, which makes it easy to transfer a large number of products from a Magento store to Google, and saves you a huge amount of time.

If you find this product useful, feel free to check it on Magento Marketplace.

WEB4PRO is Adobe Solution Bronze Partner

And one more good news! WEB4PRO has officially received the status of an Adobe Solution Bronze Partner.

The Bronze Partner award is an opportunity to create innovative commercial solutions, as well as access to special resources, Adobe services (such as Magento), materials and tools designed to increase sales and promotion.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of becoming an Adobe Bronze Solutions Partner

• Sandboxes and non-production software licenses
• Participation in pre-release and/or betas
• Access to Adobe Demo Hub

And these are not all the benefits that you can get with this affiliate program.

Our inclusion in this program means that we are officially recognized as part of Adobe’s Accredited Developer Companies, and we correspond with all requirements.

NFT in eCommerce: It’s Not as Difficult as You Think

Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are attracting increasing interest from consumers and companies. Brands are starting to think about how they can be part of this trend and how they can take advantage of the NFTs. Even global fashion brands have begun to create their own digital NFT fashion collections to attract new customers.

NFT mobility has become a valuable business resource, and companies have started to have many more opportunities due to eCommerce platforms with NFTs. Nearly $41 billion worth of cryptocurrency was spent on NFT marketplaces in 2021. The most valuable NFT is worth over $91.8 million.

The idea of NFT is tricky to comprehend, but technology has limitless potential in today’s world. The companies started to have much more beneficial opportunities due to the eCommerce industry with NFT.   

First, let’s figure out what NFT is and how Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) and eCommerce platforms can access the global market by using NFT.

What Is NFT Token? 

NFT stands for “Non-Fungible Token”. A non-Fungible token is a cryptographically recorded ownership of a unique object. In order to identify the original copy, a digital file can be stored as an NFT. It can be anything: a video, a song, an artwork, a photo of your cat, some memes or a tweet. 

NFT can be considered a modern collectable. You can buy and sell them online, often with cryptocurrencies, and the same software is generally used for encoding NFTs as is used for cryptocurrencies. 

NFTs are like any other collectable items, such as artworks, but you are not physically buying them; you are just getting the digital file and the proof that you are now the owner of the original.

Here we are facing one of the most significant contradictions: how can you pay money for something that can be, in principle, downloaded for free when many NFTs are just “ownership” of an online image?

We can feel both admiration and scepticism towards NFT… What on earth can determine the value of an asset that is really just a digital token?

What Is NFT in eCommerce?

Usually, NFTs are sold on trading floors. As for NFT in eCommerce, a digital storefront is created by artists in order to sell their art.

For example:

An experiment in which real sneakers were sold paired with virtual ones was undertaken by Nike and their partner artists, FEWOCiOUS & RTFKT. It was hugely successful: more than 600 pairs/NFTs were sold in 6 minutes, bringing them about $3.1 million.

The limited-edition NFT “Into the Metaverse,” launched by Adidas, was even more profitable. The physical clothing and NFTs offered by the company sold out in a few hours, earning $22 million.  

Robert Mondavi’s NFT is another good example of NFT in eCommerce. In order to promote their unique, authentic wine collection, a vineyard initiated this new digital asset.

Users of the Shopify eCommerce portal can offer NFTs directly on the site. For example, the Chicago Bulls created a collection of NBA championship rings in NFTs. This new form of merchandise was represented on Shopify eCommerce platform. They sold this collection of digital NFs in approximately 3 minutes.

One year ago, the world-famous brand Gucci announced a digital sneaker collection. The NFT environment created by Gucci allows their customers to buy and sell sneakers, as well as initiating the creation of their own digital NFT collections. NFT in eCommerce has become an inseparable part of this luxury fashion brand. 

How to Sell NFT?

If you have decided to get started with NFTs, your first step will be to find a way to introduce NFTs to the world. You can consider two options: selling them through your own website or using the NFT marketplace. Which one to choose depends upon the level of control you would like to have over your payment and branding.

NFT Marketplaces

You can choose from a great variety of NFT marketplaces and NFT websites, focusing on a specific niche.

What are the top NFT Marketplaces out there?

NFT Launchpad is mostly recommended for traders and creators
Binance NFT Marketplace is an excellent trading platform
OpenSea is a great place to start and is leading in NFT sells
Axie Marketplace is an excellent NFT gaming platform
Nifty Gateway is an easy to use platform for buying/selling and storing art and collectable items digitally
Rarible is a good choice for musicians, artists and photographers

The list of market places mentioned above is indicative of the variety of NFT platforms, which have different features to choose from in order to accommodate your needs.

Corporate Websites

When you use your own website for selling NFTs, it allows you to control your brand, data and analytics and payment process, which is quite advantageous. However, there are some disadvantages: the complexity of the procedure and strict regulations will undoubtedly increase your efforts and the costs, while sales of NFTs are not supported by all payment systems – most of them only accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method.

Sell NFT on Shopify

Shopify offers users the chance to sell their NFTs through their storefronts. When we use Shopify to deal with NFTs, there are many advantages as compared with other NFT-focused marketplaces.

Shopify NFT marketplace provides help with:

•   Finding the right payment option
•   Creating a brand experience
•   Embracing a wide range of clients
•   Shopify platform integration with websites

To sell NFTs on Shopify, you must be a US store and have a Shopify Plus plan. This will enable you to join the Shopify NFT beta program. 

After getting approval for your application, you can get NFTs from your Shopify store by paying with credit cards and cryptocurrencies.

If your Shopify store is located in another country, you can still apply for the NFT program. But you will need to connect with your payment provider, in order to pay for orders in your store.

What Can You Sell as NFTs in eCommerce?

In eCommerce, NFT can represent both physical and digital objects. We would like to draw your attention to some of the NFT ideas that can be sold:

Fashion Design Industry

If you are a famous international brand such as LV, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Burberry, with a huge client pool, you have a new possibility: selling not only the physical product but also a digital version, as well in the form of NFT. In order to be profitable, you need confirmation that your clients will have an interest in the creation of digital collections for your brand.

Artworks

We all know that some online stores sell digital art prints. Like them, you can turn your artwork into a unique object, creating an NFT and selling it, for example, on Shopify. 

Photography

Your photos can be turned into NFTs and sold online. Some photographers do the same by selling their photos in digital form. 

Music

If you are a creator of musical compositions, you can convert them into NFT format and sell them online, if you wish. The only thing you have to be sure of is that they are unique and authentic.

Video

Videos can also be sold as NFTs. The same rules apply. Full rights to the video in question are required from you.

How Can an eCommerce Company Use NFT?

Give NFT as a Reward

For your eCommerce business to be prosperous and well developed, customer involvement is crucial. It is imperative to interact with your potential consumers by conducting surveys, beta tests, and discussing the prospects of your eCommerce business development so as to take into account their needs and wishes. To keep your customer happy, you can give them NFTs as a reward and thereby increase their engagement and strengthen your relationships.

NFT as a Loyalty Tool

NFTs can be used by merchants as part of a reward program for an eCommerce business, equivalent to a membership card. Thus, you can issue NFTs as verification of membership, voucher, or purchase. What’s more, due to the unique nature of NFTs, the reward for each NFT holder can be customised, such as discount conditions, events participation, early access to new products, and many others.

Sell Digital Goods

You can earn extra income by selling digital goods or using them to complement your physical goods. In the meantime, this will help eCommerce stores provide a unique experience for shoppers.

eCommerce Professionals: Interview with Co-Founders of Bee IT, Zoran Tovarloza and Nikola Gorjanac

Bee IT is a Serbian software development company focused on creating high-quality eCommerce solutions for small to enterprise clients. They build automated online stores and work with advanced high-quality eCommerce platforms, such as Salesforce Commerce Cloud (Demandware) and Magento.

It was really interesting and exciting to learn about the way of such a successful company, discover what stands behind their team and values, and how Nikola and Zoran help their team grow and lead it to success. Enjoy our interview and pick up great ideas about leadership.

WEB4PRO: Zoran, Nikola, thank you for your interest in our project. We are happy to talk to you, learn your story and the story of Bee IT. Could you please tell us a bit more about your company, its way in eCommerce, and its story and strengths?

Zoran: I worked as a Java developer as soon as I finished University, and after thirteen years of development, I decided to start a company with my colleague Nikola. Bee IT is an eCommerce agency mostly focused on Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Magento development. Most of our clients are digital agencies and big brands from Western Europe. 

Nikola: My background I also started somewhere ten years ago with development. I worked five years with Zoran in our previous company, and afterwards, we started our company. Bee IT is a fairly young company with really young individuals. We like to build our people, grow them with a company, and make developers from them as we want to see. In our theory, we are learning them with things that work, and we are training them completely from scratch if they’re fully juniors. We are not chasing a lot of seniors just because of that thing. I think our knowledge as a company is growing pretty fast because guys are catching up with development, communication, and project management. 

WEB4PRO: It’s great that you create such conditions for people working in your company. You said that you also had a development background and worked in another company, and you were teammates, right? 

Nikola: We’ve worked together for about five years in a previous company. Then we wanted to set sail and create something different. If you come to our office, you can see that we are working in a casual manner. There is no fixed policy and no kind of strict corporate culture. We don’t care how people come or how their clothing looks. We want to get them to be relaxed and don’t care about those things. Development can be somewhere stressful, so we don’t want to put those bordered standards to think about this, so leave those irrelevant things, come here, work as you wish, and give your best. That’s an idea.

WEB4PRO: That’s great. Free conditions and a friendly atmosphere account for a lot of productivity for the whole team. What inspired you to take this challenge to create your own business and grow the company during these years? 

Nikola: I would say what you mention – challenge, actually. When you develop something, you have constant challenges. When you’re solving them, it’s a huge thrill. This is just the same thing in some other shape, so this is probably something that comes from development legacy. To overcome some situation, fix something, make something better, and improve it – I suppose that’s the main background.

Zoran: Yes, the challenge is the biggest driver, actually, to constant growth and happy clients and employees.

WEB4PRO: It really matters. I suppose you have great clients with interesting projects where you are fulfilling, but what is the most fulfilling part of your job? What makes you feel happy?

Nikola: It is always a challenge. At the company’s beginning, I worked on the project with different people. I’m currently also mentoring people, and I always looked at how projects were going and how projects were ending. I want to get everything to succeed, the same thing with colleagues. I want to see them grow as soon as possible to be full developers. They can work alone and don’t need anyone to mentor them. I am currently not involved in projects, but there are various things that I am still doing, so we are trying to be indirectly connected with all our developers. So we still want to give them wind in their sails, giving them good examples of how to solve some things, communicate with them, help them overcome their challenges, and learn how to do their work as best as possible. Soft skills are the hardest part for us. I think for all developers, Soft skills are a part to learn, that is something that we are trying to improve every day, and that is fulfilling when you see that someone is growing and becoming a better developer than you are. So one day overcome the master, I suppose, that’s the goal.

WEB4PRO: You’ve been together almost five years. Can you recall one of the most interesting projects or moments in your company life that you cherish and still like to remember in the team? 

Zoran: For me, the start was most interesting. We were in small apartments, 6 of us. It was all new, and we had to learn a lot about managing. That was the most exciting time.

Nikola: I would say the same things when I recall all those night shifts. That was the most challenging, but I suppose the most revolving thing I did from this perspective.

WEB4PRO: Sounds really interesting! One of the most important things in your team is values and beliefs. What do you value most of all, personally and in your team in general? 

Zoran: Three things: teamwork, open and honest communication and proactivity – in both: clients,  employees.

Nikola: Yes, it’s also reliability and responsibility of people, when they are trying to pull their strings, launch their projects

WEB4PRO: Yeah, that’s important for the whole team who works on a project. And we, at our WEB4PRO company, also share the same values, such as open-mindedness, responsibility, honest communication, as only such principles help build trust between people. That’s great to feel like we are on the same wavelength! Thank you for sharing these personal and valuable things. Your company specializes in eCommerce, you are eCommerce professionals. Why did you choose this industry? Why eCommerce? Why not something other? 

Zoran: We started with various technologies, after one year, we decided to specialize in the eCommerce industry. So our idea was to focus on one niche.

Nikola: If you go to the wild, you can export to anything, so we wanted to be experts in eCommerce. When we started, we saw that there were not so many eCommerce companies in Serbia, so we saw an opportunity: Everyone is working with, let’s say, React or any other development technology, but let’s go with eCommerce!”. We saw a lack of those things. And well, when CORONA hits the fan, I think, eCommerce exploded.

WEB4PRO: Many online businesses started or switched from offline to online because of this distance and lockdowns. What do you think will be trending in eCommerce in the future? 

Nikola: For example, we can see a higher demand for progressive web apps. People want to see speed performance offline as good as you can get with progressive web apps. Also, we noticed that some clients are looking for ways to do some virtual try-ons (for example, if they want to buy glasses or dresses, and do it online). So I think those things are currently pretty in.

WEB4PRO: Many teams and companies want to help clients and customers and make their brands stronger. We understand that building trust is one of the key factors in this case. How do you achieve customer trust for the BEE IT Brand? What is your secret? 

Nikola: Things that we are pushing towards for all our employees are transparency, communication, and open-mindedness. We are pushing the same things towards our clients. We want to hear their feedback, so we are pinging our clients to get feedback for work and performance. I think that’s building a lot of trust if we listen to what they have to say and what they want to say. That’s how we learn in our company and improve our business. We are shaping how we train people and communicate with everyone, and when we wrap them together, it is the main foundation for trust. If everything is clearly communicated and everyone is notified, it’s less stressful and it builds trust. 

Zoran: Many of our clients came to us through recommendations, which tells a lot about trust and quality. 

Nikola: We don’t have to turn on the sales channel because of that.

WEB4PRO: My final question is, what is the secret of your company success, of your team’s success, because you create growth conditions and have such inspiring values, maybe there is something more that you keep secret?

Nikola: It’s a small niche, so do what you do best and don’t widen it too much. I think that the previous question is a good reference, that’s what made the biggest growth in our own company.

WEB4PRO: Thank you so much, Nikola, Zoran, for sharing so many interesting and personal things, and we are always happy to talk again, see and hear you at WEB4PRO. 

‘The challenge is the biggest driver, actually, to constant growth and happy clients and employees.’

Zoran Tovarloza, Co-Founder & CEO of Bee IT

‘Reliability and responsibility of people, when they are trying to pull their strings, launch their projects, are important and help build trust.’

Nikola Gorjanac, Co-Founder & CTO of Bee IT

Website: https://www.beeit.io/en 

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beeitsourcing/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch/aboutus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beeitoutsourcing 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beeitsourcing/ 

eCommerce Professionals: Interview with Miodrag Lapcevic, CEO of Cubes

We are starting a series of inspirational interviews with people and companies who achieved great success in the eCommerce industry and help grow powerful online brands. You’ll see what drives them to grow, take challenges and become better for their customers, what values and beliefs help create a strong team and build a trustworthy brand.

Today, the heroes of our story are the Cubes – creators of the Shoppsy eCommerce platform – and inspiring Miodrag Lapcevic, CEO of Cubes. Cubes is a successful software development company based in Serbia. Since 2007, having their long story in IT and eCommerce, Cubes have been striving to become the leading IT company in South Europe, and they get it!

We asked Miodrag about the secret of their success and are glad to share our interview to inspire beginning and developing IT professionals. Meet Miodrag Lapcevic, and pick up great ideas for growth and development.

WEB4PRO: Miodrag, Cubes has an interesting story of software development projects in various industries. Could you please tell us more about you and Cube’s company?

Miodrag: Cubes started out with the goal of combining all IT services in one place. We wanted to offer our clients quality products at a reasonable price. Our clients, partners and employees are at the center of our business. Our team works hard to ensure our clients’ success because when our clients succeed, we succeed. Transparency and open communication guide our every step throughout the entire process. We care about establishing long-term relationships with our clients, which is why we focus on giving our clients exactly what they need to improve their business. Over the years we’ve had a lot of interesting projects. Those projects were a starting point for the custom solutions we’ve developed. On top of the development services we offer, we also have our custom eCommerce platform “Shoppsy”, our custom News CMS, as well as our custom ERP solution.

WEB4PRO: Sounds really interesting! And what are the key strengths of Cubes company that help you go ahead and grow as professionals?

Miodrag: The advantage Cubes has over other IT companies is that we educate our own talent. Cubes formed a school that has, so far, successfully produced 6 generations of web and mobile developers. In fact, most of our employees today are Cubes School graduates. ”Cubes School” is a project we are passionate about and extremely proud of. It allows us to not only contribute to Serbia’s economy but also have an endless supply of extremely intelligent and hardworking developers, which is what differentiates us from other companies.

WEB4PRO: Helping grow professionals is always an inspiring process. Miodrag, what inspires and motivates you the most while working at this company?

Miodrag: Definitely the people I get to work with every day…..and the work we are able to produce together. Everyone is invested in the company’s success and committed to doing the best possible job. We are not a big company, so the atmosphere here is really like that of a big family, and we try to extend that to our clients as well. Especially the ones that have been with us from the very beginning.

WEB4PRO: Can you remember some of the most interesting clients and eCommerce projects you had? What was the most interesting or challenging?

Miodrag: We’ve had many interesting projects over the years, that’s for sure. Delivering a platform for fashion brands is a lot of fun, and we did a bunch of those. One project I’d maybe put in front of the others, that was a bit out of our comfort zone at the time, was the eCommerce platform we implemented for Ahold Delhaize and one of their supermarket chains in Serbia, “Maxi”. It was one of the first major clients we’ve had, and the platform they asked us to build was complex because of the variety and volume of products they were offering. However, that project was the starting point for our custom eCommerce platform “Shoppsy”. Today, every eCommerce client we have has opted for “Shoppsy” over any other eCommerce platform on the market because of the value “Shoppsy” has. It’s more affordable than some of the existing solutions, yet at par as far as quality is concerned.

WEB4PRO: You created a custom eCommerce platform of your own – “Shoppsy”. Could you tell us a little more about it, and why it stands out? How was it born?

Miodrag: Of course. Shoppsy was a product of years of experience in implementing existing eCommerce solutions and filling in the gaps to get to a version our clients would be happy with. We focused on creating a well-rounded platform that includes all of the necessary features a business would need to succeed in selling online. This includes B2B commerce, not just B2C. The challenge was to create a platform that’s easy to use, yet still powerful enough to support the growing needs of the market, and I believe we were successful in doing so. Shoppsy is everything an enterprise would need for a successful eCommerce business, in one place. I’ll name some of the capabilities so that you can get a better idea of what Shoppsy offers: Android and iOS apps that support the web version, custom design, custom CMS, cart customization, responsive web design, promotional tools (Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, Email marketing, and so on…), order tracking, product categories, real-time shipping, segmentation, pre-orders, inventory management, CRM, ERP and OMS integrations, API Support, inventory syncing and so much more. If it sounds like I’m trying to sell you on our platform it’s because I am 🙂 We built a powerful platform and we are very proud of it.

WEB4PRO: That must be a great solution for eCommerce entrepreneurs who are looking for a qualitative eCommerce platform with all the needed tools in one place! Why did you decide to help eCommerce brands grow?

Miodrag: When we were starting out eCommerce was, and in my opinion still is, the future of business. We wanted to be a small part of the revolution by helping brands in Serbia understand the importance of an online store and online presence in general. I think the situation we are in today with the pandemic is the perfect example of the power of eCommerce. A lot of the brands that didn’t have an online store did not survive the pandemic because they didn’t have a way to sell their products, and many brands with a strong online presence thrived.

WEB4PRO: You’ve been together already for many years. What does your team put the focus on when working on your projects at Cubes?

Miodrag: We focus on understanding the task at hand as best as we can in order to create a solid plan and timeline, which we then pass to the client. Defining everything beforehand is half the work. Once you know what you have to do there are fewer changes along the way, and you are able to meet deadlines.

WEB4PRO: Yeah, planning everything beforehand is really important for product success. What helps your team give a client a better understanding of the product they finally got? IT products are complex enough, and it’s a really valuable skill to provide a client with a clear understanding of the technologies, solutions, and the final result.

Miodrag: Usually, we show a new client the success our platform has had for our other clients. We provide them with data of increased sales and cut costs due to better inventory management since the platform has been implemented. The best thing to do is to explain everything in simple terms and results-driven data. We find that clients get confused when we start discussing the technology itself. So instead of using fancy tech terms, we just describe the features our platform has and how those features can help improve their business. We also show them a demo of our platform so that they can get an idea of how easy it is to use.

WEB4PRO: Your company achieved great success striving to be the leading IT company in South Europe. How do you gain customers’ trust for the Cubes brand? What advice would you give for beginning IT companies?

Miodrag: I’d say just focus on your customer. Listen to their needs, and do the best job possible. There are no shortcuts to gaining customers’ trust. You do it by delivering quality products. Of course, communication is also very important. Don’t promise something you can’t deliver. I find that when you are kind and honest the person on the other side is like that as well. So just work hard, be fair and your customers will recognize that. I’d also say that this is “the secret” to our success. Most of our clients found us through word of mouth. Once your clients are recommending you to other companies, you know you are doing a good job.

“Work hard, be fair, and your customers will recognize that. I’d also say this is “the secret” to our success”.

– Miodrag Lapcevic at Cubes for WEB4PRO