Blog

Does Your Store Need Automation?

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With the amazing speed of delivery and array of products offered by Amazon, and the recent acquisition of Jet.com by Walmart, it is no wonder that we are getting more and more inquiries from small and medium sized retailers about store automation. The bar has definitely been raised on customer expectations in the online shopping world by the leading retailers.

xocbox provides solutions to Woocommerce and Yahoo (Aabaco) stores to automate many processes allowing owners to have products and prices be dynamically updated, and have orders pass through to suppliers for fulfillment.

We recently worked with a Yahoo store owner who requested that we automate as many of the processes in his stores as possible, so we did! Working with his suppliers, the resulting stores we have designed are practically “no touch” stores, as xocbox has eliminated much of the manual work normally required to process orders.

Orders that come in to the Yahoo store pass through to the supplier to be fulfilled via drop ship EDI, and shipping details and tracking notifications are then sent to the customers.

We have set up the process to check inventory, and automatically update complex products which vary not only by size and color, but also have option level pricing. The xocbox system also includes fraud checks, and customer risk assessment and if an order passes all checks, it can be sent directly to the supplier. Alternatively, the store owner can review an order, and approve it via a checkbox in the xocbox backend system before passing it on to the supplier for fulfillment.

If you are interested in learning more about EDI, drop ship or automating other processes in your store, call us today at 858-752-3803, or email info@xocbox.com.

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Drag and Drop Supplier Mapping Tools for Your Online Store

xocbox has just introduced its new mapping tools to take the headache out of updating products and prices in your online store.

Whether you are a busy online store owner or a store designer uploading products to your client’s store to meet a deadline, the latest mapping tools from xocbox will free up your time, and keep you ahead of the game!

We now offer advanced drag and drop mapping tools designed to make your life easier – one for inventory feed mapping, and one for mapping supplier data for all your products, including new products, and price updates, together with product variations, GTINs, and SKUs.

So if you are tired of manually uploading and editing products from all your suppliers, or want to add more lines before the online shopping season begins in earnest, contact us today and learn more about our mapping tools.

If that still sounds like too much work, we also offer a low-cost full service solution that really does take the pain out of managing updates to your products – as we take care of the work!

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Pre-orders Add Sales to your Woocommerce Store

If your customers are counting the days for one of your products to arrive in your store, and you know it is going to be in high demand, then adding the ability to take pre-orders is a great way to attract buyers and enable them to buy your product first.

We recently worked with a book publisher whose readers were waiting for a long-anticipated title to arrive, and adding pre-orders to their store was an incredible way to boost sales.

Pre-orders work well for books and media, apparel and electronic goods.

If you are considering adding a pre-order and / or back-order module to your store, xocbox can help – contact us for details.

 
Learn more about Pre-Orders

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Are Etailers Leaving Money on the Table?

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I was recently asked a question about common issues that we see that are causing small and medium-sized etailers to leave money on the table in their online retail stores.

Of course, no-one would be doing this on purpose, but sometimes opportunities can be missed because they are not immediately apparent.

One thing we have seen is that merchants are missing opportunities to keep shoppers on their site by not optimizing their home page or landing pages.

The first thing a shopper should see is the most attractive merchandise and the best offers. This could be products that are well priced or popular for other reasons – such as Back to School products.

For example, if you sell apparel that has price variations according not only to size, but also color, your home page can show an attractive or seasonal color with the price below, and also show a price and label for the less expensive color.

By showing the lower price alongside the more expensive price of the product shown in the image, the shopper is drawn to the product.  Even if they eventually buy the higher priced product, the lower price on the home page attracts their attention.

Another example would be making sure that bestsellers are visible above the fold on the website and out of stock items are pushed to the bottom or removed.

This is something that can be updated on a regular basis, or automated in response to events and triggers, such as a product going out of stock.

xocbox can help with automation and placing of products on landing and section pages – contact us for details.

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GTIN Requirements for Google Changing May 2016

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As most retailers probably know, in an attempt to improve the user’s experience online,  Google is expanding the requirements for GTINs in May 2016.  This should help people understand more clearly the product being sold.

If you sell new, manufactured products online and don’t have the correct information associated with your products via a GTIN, you should probably check the Google requirements. If the data is incorrect, this will impact your ability to sell with Google ads and affects thousands of online sellers.

Warnings started being sent to online merchants in February advising them to update their product data if the GTIN was missing or incorrect.

After May 16, 2016 merchants will begin to receive item-level disapprovals and will need to meet Google’s requirements in order to continue serving ads for products.

May 16, 2016 is the deadline, so if you haven’t considered your UPC’s and the new Google requirements yet, visit Google’s support center for more information.

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Meet xocbox and Aabaco at IRCE, June 7, 2016 in Chicago

The Aabaco Small Business Roadshow will be held in Chicago on June 7, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place and xocbox is excited to be taking part in one of the panel discussions covering back office processes.

xocbox has been working on some innovative solutions for Aabaco merchants such as our drag and drop tool for section pages, EDI solutions and managing multi-stores.

We will be available at the Aabaco Small Business Conference throughout the day to answer questions and discuss your store, and during June 8 and 9 at IRCE.

If you are an Aabaco / Yahoo merchant, why not stop by and see how xocbox can help, or contact us now to set up an appointment.

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