Blog

More Business Buyers using Amazon

In a recent survey by B2BecNews, it was discovered that nearly 8 out of 10 business buyers were using Amazon to purchase and you would naturally think that it would be a place where manufacturers and distributors are planning to sell their products, if they are not doing so already.

Corporate buyers would love to see more sellers on the Amazon marketplace, but the survey revealed that the manufacturers and distributors surveyed had no future plans to sell on Amazon marketplace.

The survey, which covered corporate buyers from a range of industries including automotive, consumer electronics, industrial and healthcare products found that a staggering 78.4% of B2B buyers researched and made a purchase from Amazon Business, and it is possible that number would be even higher if more manufacturers made their products available on the B2B channel.

Only about 40% of manufacturers sell on either Amazon Business or Amazon.com, and nearly 50% of manufacturers that don’t sell on Amazon, did not have any plans to do so. 10% planned to do so in six months or less, just over 5% thought they would do so in six months to a year, another 13.5% had plans to sell in 1 to 2 years time, so many are ignoring the opportunity to tap into potential buyers who are seeking products that they may sell.

Corporate buyers, who are accustomed to buying online for their personal purchases, are looking for the same ease and simplicity when they make purchases for their business. Amazon B2B offers buyers a streamlined shopping experience which equals the ease with which buyers shop online for themselves.

Manufacturers and distributers who have a website or portal for buyers often believe that they don’t need to be on a marketplace, but research is showing that this is not the case. The opportunity to buy several types of products from different suppliers in one place is also attractive to busy executives.

The numbers below indicate where buyers are most likely to go for their purchases:

Amazon Business – 78.4%
Alibaba – 36.5%
ThomasNet – 28.4%
Global Sources – 24.3%
Wholesale Central – 16.6%

If you are interested in selling on a B2B portal, but not sure where to start, contact xocbox to learn how we can help. Tel 858-752-3803, or email info@xocbox.com.

Read More

Bitcoin, Microsoft and Starbucks

A new cryptocurrency platform called Bakkt is being launched which intends to use Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated global ecosystem for digital assets, and Starbucks will be the flagship retailer working with Microsoft to help launch this platform.

According to Maria smith, VP of Partnerships and Payments for Starbucks, Starbucks will play a pivotal role in developing practical, trusted and regulated applications for consumers to convert their digital assets into U.S. dollars for use at Starbucks.

The Bakkt ecosystem is expected to include federally regulated markets and warehousing, together with merchant and consumer applications.

Intercontinental Exchange, an operator of global exchanges, clearing houses, data, and listings services, plans to form the new company to create an integrated platform that enables consumers and institutions to buy, sell, store, and spend digital assets on a seamless global network.

However, Starbucks will not be accepting bitcoins for coffee at their stores, as was first reported and was quick to point out that it is working to develop a system that makes it easier to convert cryptocurrencies to cash – not accepting bitcoin for coffee!

Read More

Extract Shipment Tracking Numbers from Multiple Dropship Suppliers

xocbox works with many retailers who rely on email to collect data from their suppliers and shipping providers, and all love the ease and simplicity of working with emails.  Emails offer infinite flexibility for the sender, but trying to extract uniform information from multiple providers is not as easy for the recipient.

One example of how xocbox is helping its customers is where an ecommerce store selling dropship products switched from using their own shipper to those of their suppliers, and asked for our help.

The retailer was receiving hundreds of emails throughout the day from all their suppliers’ shipping carriers, but the information varied from shipper to shipper making it difficult for the retailer to tie the tracking number to the order, as most of the notifications did not reference the order number, the main point of reference for the retailer.

xocbox was able to parse the information from the various emails and match the customer name to the order eliminating the need for an employee to go through every email and manually match it to the order.

xocbox can now parse data from incoming emails and, based on your requirements, process the data to integrate with other systems or applications that you work with in order to carry out specific tasks, thus eliminating hours of data entry.

If you love working with emails, but wish they could do just a little more without your help, contact xocbox today.  Call 858-752-3803 or email info@xocbox.com.

 

receiving emails
Read More

A new way for furniture suppliers to onboard products

Furniture suppliers and retailers know that onboarding products to an ecommerce store can be a time-consuming task. Retailers often offer at least 50 to 100 different furniture manufacturers on their websites, and would gladly offer more, but to get started with a new supplier can often take weeks of data entry and mapping, and no two suppliers are ever exactly the same.

xocbox is now working with suppliers to catalog their products in order to provide aggregated content and images to retailers, and can support a variety of ecommerce platform APIs which eliminates the need for manual data entry.

If you are a furniture supplier looking for ways to assist retailers onboard your products in order to reach more sales outlets, read more here, or contact xocbox today at 858-752-3803.

dining room furniture
Read More

More Online Stores add Bricks and Mortar Presence

 

All through 2017 and even into the beginning of this year we are learning of bricks and mortar stores closing.  Household names like Sears and Macy’s have seen many store closures and you could be forgiven for thinking that the long talked about demise of the bricks and mortar store is finally here.  Will 2018 be it?  No.

The numbers reported by Forrester and the National Retail Federation show a different picture, with more brands planning to open stores rather than close them this year. The best examples of these are stores that used to be ecommerce pure-play stores such as Warby Parker and Amazon.  These stores have realized that a physical presence helps to build their brand and increase market share both online and offline.

As retailers continue to evolve they are looking for ways to integrate both the digital and physical world and new ideas keep showing up in our in-store shopping experiences.  Self-checkout is becoming more and more common, and buy online and pick up in store is a great way to get people into the store to browse for more products.

Landlords are also taking notice, and realizing that many of the online stores that are just testing the waters in the bricks and mortar world will not want to sign a 10-year lease until they know they’ve got the selling formula right, have started to offer short-term leases or even pop-up store locations and the concept of the “anchor” tenant is probably long gone.

The list of etailers who have made the decision to go brick-and-mortar continues to grow – look out for these at your local mall – Bonobos, Casper, Untuckit… if they are not already  there, it’s just a matter of time.

pedestrians-and-shops
Read More

Predicted Retail Trends in 2018

Five  important retail trends to look out for in 2018 were outlined in a recent report by Synchrony using data from a consumer survey carried out in January 2018.

As you would expect technology and AI featured heavily in the list, and here are the highlights below:

1. Voice Technology – 51% Shop Using a Smart Speaker

The report shows that 30 percent of consumers now own a voice-controlled device, and this is good news for retailers as consumers are using these devices to shop.  51 percent of these owners are shopping using a smart speaker.  Many retailers are also looking into ways to use voice technology coupled with AI, such as using purchase data to automatically order regularly purchased items.

2. The Car as a Connected Shopping Channel

It is expected that by 2020, 75% of new cars will be connected to the internet.  This will mean that drivers will be able to make purchases in advance from their car.  This is an exciting opportunity for retailers and many are already investing in location technology and the connected car is a great way to use location marketing to drive additional sales.

3. Using AI to Create Customized Shopping Experiences

Many companies are already exploring this technology.  A Gartner survey of  IT and Business Leaders carried out in March 2017 found that over half of those taking part in the  study expect to be using machine learning within the next three years.

Retailers are exploring AI in connection with personalization, as studies have shown that 51% of shoppers said that receiving a relevant offer from a retailer would make them more likely to shop there more often.

Retailers are also exploring more ways to use machine learning for automating customer offers based on past behavior, managing stock and inventory levels, and personalizing offers, and gifts.

4. Retail Mobile Apps

The Synchrony Study revealed that 63 percent of those in the US, and 81 percent of Millennials, have downloaded a retailer mobile app and the time spent shopping with a retailer mobile app is on the rise.

Retailers have a perfect opportunity to find out more about customers shopping habits and preferences with an app, and are able to present further relevant information and offers through the app, and shoppers love apps because they have access to more offers and the ability to purchase items quickly.

5. Social Responsibility

Shoppers love shopping at retailers that share their values and some shoppers have said they will even stop shopping at a store that is at odds with their beliefs.  In response to this many retailers are donating to charities or disaster relief, or working with a group to help achieve their core beliefs.

So there are many considerations for retailers to take into account over the coming year, as consumers embrace technology and information in innovative ways to change the way they shop.

 

 

 

echo dot
Read More