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Posts with Jam Paper Tag

10 Years of IRCE, and This One Could Be the Best

Posted by EdHoffmanConferences, eCommerce, Site Search

As IRCE prepares for its 10th annual e-commerce conference and exhibition next week (June 10-12), I look forward to my 10th year of attending on behalf of SLI Systems. SLI will have a strong presence at IRCE – we plan to give the thousands of retailers gathering in Chicago the message that the quality of their site search makes an enormous difference in whether shoppers decide to buy or bounce from their site.

To showcase the difference that better search delivers for our clients, we’ve created the E-commerce Accelerator Theater at IRCE. Throughout the show, visitors to the theater (booth #601) will hear representatives from successful e-commerce businesses share how they have increased conversion rates and per-visit value by optimizing their site search. Visit our IRCE 2014 page for a complete schedule of speakers from businesses including Harry & David, Internet Retailer, Silver Star Brands (formerly Miles Kimball), Carolina Rustica, ReNew Life, Steiner Tractor, Zachys Wine & Liquor, JAM Paper and eImprovement.com.

Chicago is a great backdrop for the quality content and excellent networking opportunities that the Internet Retailer and IRCE teams put together each year for the industry’s biggest conference and exhibition. We’re taking advantage of some of Chicago’s best attractions for our retailer-only show events. On Tuesday night, we’ll take retailers out for a fabulous dinner and drinks at Lawry’s Prime Rib Restaurant — space is limited, so RSVP now. On Wednesday night, we’ll serve cocktails and offer an unforgettable experience at Tilt!, for those daring enough to peer out over Chicago at a 30 degree angle, from the 94th floor of the John Hancock Building. Please note that this is not the Chicago observation platform that cracked last week – thankfully. We’ll continue taking RSVPs for these events until space fills up, or until noon on each event day.

One of my favorite parts of IRCE is meeting retailers and sharing how SLI can make a significant impact on the user experience and revenue. If you’d like to schedule a one-on-one meeting with me at IRCE, submit the mini-form on our IRCE page and I’ll make it happen. If you’re missing the show, you don’t have to miss out on the expert advice our sales directors can provide – just sign up for a demo or free site search critique at your convenience.

 

Advice for eCommerce Success, Live from IRCE

Posted by Terry CostaConferences, eCommerce, Mobile/Tablets, Navigation Tips, Site Search, Site Search Tips, Success Stories

We may be halfway through the last day of the exhibit hall at the World’s Largest eCommerce Event, but there’s a lot yet to see and learn today for those at IRCE 2013, the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Here are some of the highlights so far, and a couple opportunities still coming up today.

Al Gore Keynote: Focus on Mobile and Go Global

In his keynote address, Vice President Al Gore showed excitement about the growth of eCommerce. He noted that retail comprises 7% of the U.S. GDP, and presented other facts suggesting that he understands the potential boom in growth of online retail – especially in the mobile area, as there are already 1.5 billion smartphone users in the world.

He also focused on the need to think globally, saying “Your customers are global, your competitors are global. The Internet connects billions of people and smart devices… If you keep on your toes and innovate properly, the opportunities are boundless.”

Success Stories from eTailers

While the show is filled with vendors that promise to optimize one area or another of your online business, one of my favorite parts of conferences like IRCE is hearing from the online retailers themselves.

I have had the opportunity to listen in on success stories from seven different eTailers presenting at the SLI Theater in booth #501. JAM Paper, Samuels Jewelers, PartySuppliesDelivered and Envelopes.com have already presented on how they’ve increased their conversions with better search results and site navigation. One of these businesses, Samuels Jewelers, said in a press release today that by using advanced site search features, they were able to realize three times higher conversion rates and double the per-visit value for search users on their site.

Still on the Schedule Today

The following success story presentations are happening at the SLI Theater, booth #501, today:

1 p.m. ReNew Life

2 p.m. Steiner Tractor

3:30 p.m. Vermont Teddy Bear

If you can’t make it to the above live presentations, take a look at some of the following case studies for ideas on how to improve your online business.

Find Your Way Out of Any Paper Jam with This Online Store

Posted by Dawn MortensenConferences, eCommerce, Navigation, Site Search, Success Stories1 comment

This is third in a series of success stories on eCommerce sites that are growing their business with advanced site search. Also in this series, read about Party Supplies Delivered and Vermont Teddy Bear, and see live presentations of these stories at the SLI Theater at IRCE June 3-6.

Jam Paper & Envelope, a top source for paper crafts, creative giftwrap and all other things paper-related, has been featured in Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living and Country Living Magazine, among others. With its flagship New York City store, a successful online retail operation, and two other store locations, the paper company has been able to succeed both in the brick-and-mortar and eCommerce worlds.

JamPaper.com offers more than a million variations of specialty envelopes, paper, cardstock, gift cards and other paper goods, with 70% of its sales going to businesses that place large orders for marketing promotions, weddings or other events. The business started two generations ago and has remained in the family, with grandson Andrew Jacobs leading the effort to create the eCommerce site. Jam Paper first went online in 2004 and the site traffic is growing steadily.

“Our initial site search was rudimentary,” Jacobs said. “But since we’ve started online we’ve been constantly working on improving.”

One of the challenges for JamPaper.com was to help their users find the exact product they wanted among the enormous number of items and pages. Envelopes, for example, are one of their most common searches, but envelopes can come in 50 colors and 50 sizes – with many small variations for each. Since they improved their site search and navigation, Jam Paper has made the following improvements so users can more easily find and purchase the exact product(s) they want:

  • Made site search results more relevant and incorporated sales data into search results tuning so the most popular items come up higher in results.
  • Added synonym suggestions to improve the results on search terms that previously turned up with poor results.
  • Incorporated Rich Auto Complete to auto-populate suggestions based on popular search terms and take users directly to the product page.
  • Analyzed and restructured data internally to improve search results.
  • Added merchandising banners to search results pages.
  • Used A/B testing to identify additional improvements that will increase conversions.

By analyzing their search data on an ongoing basis, Jam Paper continuously improves their online user experience. The impact on online sales is “crawling upwards and keeps getting better,” Jacobs said.

At IRCE in Chicago June 4 and 5, Andrew Jacobs will be at the SLI Theater to share the tips and tricks he’s learned for improving Jam Paper’s eCommerce site search, navigation and SEO. Stop by Booth #501 to meet him or to get a free site critique from the SLI Systems team.

Other SLI Theater presenters include Steiner Tractor, Envelopes.com, Samuels Jewelers and ReNew Life. See the full schedule of presentations here.