Retail – Page 4

15 Sep04:57am

Easily Update Yahoo Store Options

One of the benefits the xocbox product manager offers is the ability to add and edit product options and variations in your Yahoo store.

If you have products, such as apparel and shoes, and currently offer every color as a separate product, xocbox offers a simple way to add color and size options.

This greatly reduces data entry as you enter the style and description once, and then add the variations through a pop-up screen – one for sizes, and one for colors.

So if you have a sweater that is offered in 8 colors, instead of creating 8 different products you simply create one in xocbox.

You can save even more time if you have a brand that offers styles in the same size format by creating a size template that you can re-use.

Each size and color variation is then created as a unique product with its own SKU that you can publish to your store or stores.

If you would like to learn more about managing color and size options, contact xocbox.

Xocbox product manager offers semi-customizable screens that can also be adapted to suit your business.

Call us at 858-752-3803 to discuss your store, or select the contact button below for more information.

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13 Sep20:45pm

Quickly Update Prices in Your Yahoo Store

As the holiday season approaches, many stores find it difficult to keep up with the changes needed to keep product prices up-to-date, especially across multiple stores.

The xocbox Price Manager enables you to quickly mark down merchandise, or change prices for a brand or manufacturer, always keeping your holiday merchandise priced where you want it to be.

If you have more than one Yahoo store, and sell some of the same merchandise on several stores, xocbox can cut down the time it takes to change prices across all of your stores.

The xocbox price manager allows you to edit prices from one screen, and publish the changes to your Yahoo store(s) without the need to log into multiple sites and systems. This can save you and your staff hours of time and eliminates the need to repeat a single process across all of your stores.

The Price Manager is just one of the ways xocbox can help Yahoo merchants manage their product data.

If you would like more information about the xocbox Price Manager and integration with your Yahoo store, contact us for more details.

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17 Feb17:39pm

Meet us at the San Diego Apparel Show

We will be at the San Diego Apparel Show, March 9 and 10, 2015 being held at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center.

Stop by our booth #104, and learn how xocbox image and management system can help you get your products on line fast.

We will also have Show Specials for retailers and suppliers.

Come see us at:

xocbox, Booth 104
San Diego Apparel Show
Town & Country Resort and Convention Center
500 North Hotel Circle
San Diego, CA 92108

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30 Jan20:02pm

Is Lowest Price the Right Price?

Many e-retailers use price-monitoring services to check prices of their competitors, and then adjust their own prices accordingly.

Often a product’s price will change more than 10 times in a single 24-hour period, according to data from the price monitoring firm, Profitero Inc, but does that mean that you have to change your prices 10 times as well?

There is no doubt that retailers are well aware of the price cutting strategies employed by Amazon, and other large retailers such as Sears, and Walmart, but is price cutting the best strategy for your business?

Being informed is essential, however, many retailers believe that they need to find the right price for their business model, and rather than simply slashing prices, prefer to find ways to offer their unique services and quality to win a customer’s business.

If you have researched similar products to those you are offering, emphasize the superior quality of your products, excel in customer service, and offer a fair price (though not necessarily the lowest). Anything that sets your product apart can win you the sale – custom-made, free alterations, personal shopping advice.

Building up your email list and tailoring offers to each buyer’s personal taste is a great way for you to personalize your shopper’s experience.

Once a shopper has built a relationship with your store and loves to shop there because of service, quality and personal recommendations just for them, paying more for an item will be worth every extra penny!

Research has shown that retailers who can figure out how to price their products using some of these strategies are still able to sell plenty of products, and make a profit.

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08 Jan21:19pm

Many Small Businesses Still Not Online

The results of holiday sales 2014 indicate that online retailers had a good year.

The web tracking company, comScore, released data this week showing an increase of 15% in November and December, better than their original estimates. These figures do not include sales made on mobile devices.

The figure is expected to increase to over 17% when mobile sales are taken into account, and this falls into line with many other reports and research that shows shoppers are now very comfortable making purchases on their mobile and tablet devices.

Big box stores and large enterprises have certainly embraced this, but smaller businesses appear to be having a more difficult time keeping up with technology trends, as noted in research from the nonprofit group, SCORE, which is supported by the Small Business Administration.

Their research showed that only 51% of small businesses have a website, yet 97% of consumers begin their product search online.

They also found that the small businesses that do have a website often lacked a call to action, did not engage in social media, and were not mobile and tablet friendly. There were even some that didn’t have a phone number, so contact by customers was difficult, if not impossible.

When you look at the volume of sales being made online and on mobile devices, it is clear that if your company does not have a website, you need to get one. Also, if your site is not yet mobile friendly, that is something you should have on your 2015 To Do List.

If it is that simple, why don’t more small businesses have a website?

The main reasons cited for not having a web presence were:

Lack of time – they are working round the clock to run their business, so don’t have time to devote to new technology and / or skills.
They don’t feel web savvy enough to delve into ecommerce, and stick to what they know.
The task is just too big. They don’t take credit cards in their store, so the jump to internet retailer is too daunting.

At xocbox, we try to make getting your business online an easier process, and one that doesn’t give you nightmares.

We can help your business, if:

You do not have an ecommerce site, and do not know where to begin because the large number of products you carry makes it overwhelming. We can help you get products online, and use xocbox tools to add and edit products.
You need to integrate your online store with bricks and mortar, and point of sale system. Manage inventory and work with suppliers / drop ship vendors to ensure that products sold online are actually available.
You have an ecommerce site, but find it difficult to keep on top of the volume of work involved keeping products up-to-date. xocbox tools reduce the data entry required in most ecommerce platforms.
You don’t already have a catalog and SKUs set up.
You have products with many colors and sizes, and need to quickly create professional looking listings with multi-views and swatches.

Contact xocbox today, and learn how we can help your online business.

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12 Dec01:58am

Amazon robots lead to better fulfillment

Amazon revealed today that it had deployed 15,000 robots in ten of its fulfillment centers throughout the US. This will allow Amazon to increase the performance of its already super fast fulfillment centers.

After purchasing Kiva Systems Inc, a logistical provider of robot technology, Amazon anticipated it would have approximately 10,000 in centers by 2015. The retail giant estimates that the introduction of robots will not only increase the speed of fulfilling orders, but also eventually reduce operating costs by as much as $450 million.

Amazon is really raising the standard for retailers with super-fast shipping, and super-fast fulfillment. So what can smaller retailers to do attract buyers to their store when confronted with this competition?

Small businesses need to automate as many of their processes as possible to improve the service they offer to shoppers, and also to free up some of the time their associates would otherwise spend on routine tasks.

Retail predictions for 2015 are betting on a customer-centric year, where customer service, customer interaction with products and services and custom items for customers are a high priority. Small and medium sized businesses focusing on personalized products can make a big impression on shoppers with superlative service and the clever use of technology.

Contact xocbox to learn about automating your business processes.

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