Monthly Archives: July 2024

Focusing on Mobile May be Costing You Money

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66% of all online purchases are not on mobile

Mobile is important. 77% of all online retail visits are on mobile. So shoppers are coming on mobile, but they are buying on desktop. Let’s take a moment to look at what mobile brings to the table and why desktop is still where people feel more comfortable making purchases.

Mobile is our constant companion

If you look at the amount of time you spend with your phone vs the amount of time you spend with your desktop, mobile is the clear winner. It goes with you to the store, to the bank, on the train, to your appointments, and so on. We play on our phones, we explore on our phones, we converse on our phones, but we don’t always buy on our phones. 

Size matters

The advantage of mobile is that it fits in your pocket. The disadvantage of mobile is that it’s tiny so it fits in your pocket. Technology will overcome the screen size problem, but not for a while. For now, we can’t ask a phone to do for the shopping experience what a desktop does. Looking at products on a big screen is easier and gives us more confidence that we are seeing everything without all the pinching and zooming that’s needed on a phone. Having a high-speed connection allows for a more immersive experience with big images, video, and sound. Remember, most retail purchases are made in person. In-person shopping typically lets customers fully experience the products. Much like direct mail, online shopping has to work harder to both sell and educate customers in order to make the sale.

Animated gif showing a laptop that displays Stylaquin's Look Book Feature

Does Your Site Do This?

It can with Stylaquin! Stylaquin is the easy to add Shopify app that transforms your website. Stylaquin makes shopping faster, more engaging, and more fun. Stylaquin shoppers stay longer, view over 85% more products, come back more often, and buy more when they do. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

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How do you leverage both?

Mobile is the amuse-bouche of shopping. Yes, people do buy on their phones. Most people have made at least one purchase on their mobile device, but executing a complicated shopping list on the phone is hard. Considering multiple options on a phone is hard. Keeping track of multiple tabs on a phone is hard. What makes a phone easy to bring with you, makes it hard to shop on.

Where mobile shines

Mobile shines as a way to connect to influencers, get ideas, chase trends, and make easy-to-understand purchases. If Kendal Jenner recommends a new mascara, you can feel confident buying that on your phone. If Macy’s offers a new separates line, you probably want to see everything on a big screen before committing. Mobile is where you kill time, or look up info in the store. Mobile is easy, convenient, and fun. Mobile is more private and personal. You might have a family computer, but not a family phone. Mobile is where you can share ideas and inspiration. It connects you personally to the world.

Where desktop shines

Desktop is often a work tool. Shopping data shows that people shop at work, especially at lunch and after work. When you’re home, it’s easy and more efficient to pull out the laptop or move to the big computer when you want to power shop, unless you don’t want to get off the couch. Power shoppers will save items on their phones and then move over to desktops to really dive in and make purchase decisions. 

Add a Styling Board and a Wishlist!

The Stylaquin Idea Board keeps customers engaged in two ways: it’s an interactive styling board where shoppers can collect and curate all the things that interest them; and it also acts as a wishlist that shoppers can return to. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

Learn More
Animated gif showing a laptop displaying Stylaquin's Idea Board

Which is more important?

That’s like asking which arm is more important. Having both in good working order makes everything easier. We all have a dominant hand though. The dominant hand for online shopping is desktop. That’s where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck. If you have been focusing on mobile, maybe it’s time to give desktop some love. 

If you’re a Shopify site, take a look at Stylaquin. It works beautifully on mobile and desktop, but it really shines on desktop. It increases repeat visits by up to 3X and increases conversions by up to 3.5%. Shoppers stay longer, view more items, come back more often, and buy more when they do!

What makes a sensational Shopify site?

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What makes a Shopify site absolutely sensational?

Are you a Shopify site owner wondering how to make your site really stand out? Are you thinking there’s a simple but powerful something that will magically make your site amazing? The answer is it depends on where you are on the journey. 

Do you have enough traffic?

If you don’t have a steady stream of visitors coming to your site, focus on that first. If you can’t afford to run ads yet, here’s a link to a post on 11 ways to get more free traffic. Let’s assume that this isn’t your first rodeo and you want to dazzle the traffic you have and get more repeat visitors. Are you ready to go beyond good and get to great?

It’s about how the site makes them feel

Let’s be honest, online shopping is designed to find what you already know you want quickly and checkout fast. It’s the self-service line at the checkout. Online retailers are more focused on the checkout and how to track customers, than they are on the actual experience of shopping. If your idea of a great website experience is Amazon, stop reading here. If you want to make your Shopify website sensational, you’ll have to think about how customers feel when they shop. Are they in a hurry? Are they just browsing? Do they know what they want? Do they want to be entertained? 

Animated gif showing a laptop that displays Stylaquin's Look Book Feature

Does Your Site Do This?

It can with Stylaquin! Stylaquin is the easy to add Shopify app that transforms your website. Stylaquin makes shopping faster, more engaging, and more fun. Stylaquin shoppers stay longer, view over 85% more products, come back more often, and buy more when they do. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

Learn More

Wow! is what you’re shooting for

The internet is designed for item shoppers. Item shoppers know what they want and they want to find it quickly. Item shoppers are more likely to be men and women, though we all have moments when we just need to GET IT DONE and those where we can kick back and explore. The get it done part is built into the DNA of every website. Logical groupings, meaningful filters, and general organization are what make it seamless. But browsers (A.K.A. Power shoppers) are looking for ‘Wow”. They want to see things they’ll love, from fishing lures to fishnet stockings, it doesn’t matter what you sell.

Wow can come from great products. Wow can come from great prices. Wow can come from great photography. Wow can also come from adding Stylaquin to your Shopify site. Great products are a must. Great prices can be expensive, because they cut into margin. Great photography is expensive, though if you get it right, it’s priceless. Adding Stylaquin is easy and starts at just $29/month. (Genuine bargain.) Stylaquin makes browsing faster and more fun. It also takes all the product images and creates full page layouts, like a magazine, which are more interesting than clicking through each picture one at a time.  

Add a Styling Board and a Wishlist!

The Stylaquin Idea Board keeps customers engaged in two ways: it’s an interactive styling board where shoppers can collect and curate all the things that interest them; and it also acts as a wishlist that shoppers can return to. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

Learn More
Animated gif showing a laptop displaying Stylaquin's Idea Board

Is your Shopify site worth coming back for?

Let’s face it, there are millions of websites to shop from. Unless you have an established brand that has already built a following it’s hard to get site visitors to come back a second time. Stylaquin shoppers are 3X more likely to come back and they are up to 6% more likely to convert when they do. That’s because of the “Wow”. Part of the “Wow” worth returning for is the Idea board, where shoppers can collect and curate all the things that interest them. The Idea Board is persistent as long as the cookie lasts, so everything they liked is right there waiting for them when they visit next. I honestly don’t know of any other app that can give Shopify sites enough browsing “Wow” that customers will be 3X more likely to come back. 

If you have any ideas for making a Shopify site sensational add them in the comments. We love to hear from you!

I take a stupid pill when marketing my business—why?

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Why do savvy marketers draw a blank for their own site?

I know a lot of great marketers, people who get paid big bucks to write copy, create campaigns, and design cool things. Yet, when they get to their own company—total blank. I do it, you probably do it too. If you’re thinking OMG! That is ME! You’re not alone. I don’t think I’ve met a founder yet who is confident about their marketing. It’s like you start a business and then take a stupid pill. 

Animated gif showing a laptop that displays Stylaquin's Look Book Feature

Does Your Site Do This?

It can with Stylaquin! Stylaquin is the easy to add Shopify app that transforms your website. Stylaquin makes shopping faster, more engaging, and more fun. Stylaquin shoppers stay longer, view over 85% more products, come back more often, and buy more when they do. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

Learn More

Four things that get in the way:

We are too close 

We don’t step back far enough to see the business the way we would if we were marketing it as a job. The results matter because we all put our hearts, souls, and savings into our businesses. No one starts a business with the hope of failing. The “Producers” being the exception to the rule. I have learned that I need to pretend that I am my own client, ask the questions I would ask a client, and then write down the answers. This gets me two things. A sharable document that explains the company to those just coming on board, either individuals or outside teams. It also holds me accountable. When I share a product description, Brand Book, or strategy document it becomes real. If you just think about things and never write them down, it’s faster, but way less accurate, and totally unsharable.   

We go too fast

I don’t know about you but I never develop a marketing strategy for a client without sitting down with their team, getting all the background, learning about the customers, fully understanding the value proposition and the market we will be addressing. For my own business, I feel like I know it, or should know it, or will figure it out as I go. The steps I take with clients, I’m not doing with myself, or my team. I know that if I go through the steps and do the work I will get a better product, but I still skip through them because I want to be done. I want to check all boxes and swoop in with a brilliant idea that we can execute on. Pronto!

Add a Styling Board and a Wishlist!

The Stylaquin Idea Board keeps customers engaged in two ways: it’s an interactive styling board where shoppers can collect and curate all the things that interest them; and it also acts as a wishlist that shoppers can return to. Find us in the Shopify App Store.

Learn More
Animated gif showing a laptop displaying Stylaquin's Idea Board

We don’t ask for help

I have a coach and I’m in two mastermind groups. I try to help the other founders in my group, but I rarely ask for help. I’m not sure what I need because I don’t go through the complete process needed for great marketing. I just feel like I should do something and asking something like “So what should I do next?” is impossible for anyone who doesn’t fully understand my business to know. That doesn’t mean I can’t ask for help, but I need to phrase it as “Has anyone ever had this problem and how did you fix it?” It is much faster and more accurate to hire an expert, but it’s also more expensive. Working from a strategy document helps me hold focus.  

We go with our gut and not the data

When you first start out, you don’t have data. That isn’t a true statement, but it feels like it’s true. How can we have data if we are just starting out? Feedback is baby data. Getting feedback is the first step in the journey. What do potential customers like? What don’t they like? What would they pay? These are all questions before the first sale. Once you have sales, looking at what data you can get and how to use the data is the next part of the journey. How often do you look at your data? What data would help you do a better job marketing? One of the things that Stylaquin gives stores is actionable insights on what customers looked at and considered, not just what they purchased.