This is the year's biggest and most important quarter for many merchants, as it includes the Holiday Shopping season.

Here's a sneak peek of the report:

The Comparison Shopping Engines bringing more traffic this quarter are: Amazon Products Ads, Shopzilla and Nextag.

The top three converting CSE's this quarter are: Google Product Search, Pronto and Nextag. Amazon Product Ads has been rising on the 2011 rankings, especially for bringing traffic. Amazon Products Ads is the rising star for this quarter.

We will discuss Amazon Products Ads in more detail in future articles, so please stay posted.

• 77% of respondents in a Kantar Media Survey (September 2011) stated that free shipping was something they looked for when buying online during the holiday season.
• 85% of consumers are buying online so brands and retailers must have a true cross channel presence in order to increase sales (Retail TouchPoints, Summer 2011).
• Christmas 2010 was one of the most successful ever for online retail. In December there were 2.1 billion UK visits to online retail websites, accounting for 11% of all online traffic. (Experian Hitwise, Jan 2011)
• Online retail spending for the entire November to December 2010 holiday season in the US reached $32.6 bn, a 12% increase on 2009. (comScore, January 2011).

The above statistics gives you an overall view of how well online retail is doing around the world during the holiday period. Online sales have grown each year since 2000 on average by 20% (Internet Retailer).

As mentioned in previous blog posts, most consumers are now shopping online and on comparison shopping engines in order to find the best deals and the best prices. As a merchant placing your products on multi-channels assists in increasing your sales, getting your brand recognized and promoting all your products. Multichannel eCommerce is a huge plus to all e-stores as it means you aren’t placing too much focus or emphasis on one particular channel.

If your like me and leave your Christmas Shopping until the last minute, shopping online is the way forward. It means you can access online stores from anywhere, and you can even purchase all your last minute Christmas presents via your mobile phone whilst you are on the go. Spreading your products across the vast network of channels available on the World Wide Web increases your chances of brand exposure and consumers clicking (or pressing if your on a phone) the “Buy Now” button.

Interested in our Multichannel Platform? Click hear to read more: http://www.sosign.com/products.en.html or contact us directly: http://www.sosign.com/contact.en.html.

Over the past few months Sosign has assisted Trudeau Corporation in launching their brand and products within the USA.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Trudeau brand, they are are a leading North American company of innovative, quality kitchenware products. They are experienced in creating unique experiences for those who prepare food at home or whilst on the go. Trudeau was established in 1889 in Montreal, Canada and embodies four generations of family traditions and values.

Over the years Trudeau have perfected their reputation as the number one leading North American supplier of quality products. Their products are available from retailers in over 40 countries and are now available direct to the consumer from their newly launched US website; ShopTrudeau.com.

The new ShopTrudeau website makes it incredibly simple for consumers to browse through their numerous top selling products. With easy website navigation, expertly written product descriptions and product videos... as a consumer you can now pick out your favorite Trudeau products and have them delivered directly to your home within 3 to 5 business days. Trudeau also offer free shipping for those who spend over $75 (which I’m sure most of you are aware is easy to do!) and if you are are having problems finding the products you seek you can contact their excellent customer service team to assist you with all your questions and queries.

Not only are Trudeau selling directly to the consumer via their website, but their products can also be found on numerous US marketplaces and shopping engines. Sosign’s new Multichannel Platform means that Trudeau can now sell, promote, track, manage and optimize their online sales through channels such as Amazon, PriceGrabber, Nextag and Yahoo.

ShopTrudeau currently only ship within the USA but are hoping to expand within the near future. Visit their website and get an idea of the amazing products they offer for when ShopTrudeau.com becomes available in your area of the world.

If you live within the US have a look at purchasing some kitchen products that will make your life hundred times easier; A battery operated pepper mill or a travel mug to stop those inconvenient spillages whilst trying to drink your coffee on the move and many more...

For idea’s on improving your dining experience or just to look out of curiosity visit http://www.shoptrudeau.com/ or Amazon, Nextag, PriceGrabber or Yahoo Shopping.

Multichannel eCommerce helps retailers and merchants place their products across the internet without placing too much emphasis and focus on one particular channel. There are a variety of channels available to advertise your products and get brand recognition and these channels aren’t just limited to marketplaces and shopping engines.

Direct traffic to your website is a good way to promote sales, but you can also consider paid searches; such as buying traffic from search engines such as Google or Bing and paying them on a PPC basis. You can also advertise your products on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter which have over 750 million active users engaging in this form of media on a daily basis.

Placing your products on as many online channels as possible means that you are increasing the opportunity of consumers purchasing one or many of your products through the various online channels you have distributed your products on. The bonus of setting up on all these eCommerce channels means that even as a small-business or retailer you are able to compete with all the major players in the business.

Promoting your products on many different channels may seem like a daunting task but once you have a product feed and inventory list for one specific channel, with a few modifications and depending on the channel you are advertising on, you can use the same information for each. Easy.

Increase your sales, improve your revenue and get your brand known by trying two or more of the above channels. Read our previous blog posts on Marketplaces and Shopping Engines for basic information on pricing and registration.

This blog post will give you the details of the Top 3 US Shopping Engines in Apparel and Accessories.

Unsurprisingly, Google Product Search ranks number one in the US for not only Houseware products but also for Apparel and Accessories. Google Product Ads charges it’s merchants absolutely nothing to advertise with them and being one of the biggest search engines in the world drives the most traffic and revenue through their site.

So who ranks second?

Amazon Products Ads rate second in the US for Apparel and Accessory Products. Amazon gets an average of 615 million customers each year, with an equal amount of both male and female visitors. Amazon’s CPC rates vary according to category, but varying CPC rates are not a problem within apparel. Clothing tends to have lower CPC rates as most comparison shopping engines realize that consumers tend to be more of the ‘click and browse’ type when it comes to buying clothing and fashion. All Amazon CPC rates vary from $0.10 to $1.40 per click, but they are currently advertising a promotional offer where Amazon actually give you an extra $75 towards your clicks after someone clicks on your product for the first time. Not bad huh?

The only downside to registering with Amazon Product Ads is that you are required to give a Business name, contact information, a valid US credit card, and a US billing address and phone number. It’s perfect for those in the US who want to sell their apparel on a different channel but may be a bit more difficult for those living outside the US.

Amazon have currently stopped accepting merchants who sell apparel... but do not fret! They are still accepting merchants for Shoes, Health & Beauty and Jewelry. We’ll keep you updated for when this category re-opens.

Last but not Least, is Bing. The Microsoft owned Search Engine. Bing, like Google charge their merchants absolutely nothing to sign up with them; No registration fees, membership fees or hidden costs. They accept merchants from all over the world and although they ask you to provide credit card details on registration... it is for verification purposes only and your credit card will never be charged.

Bing have currently stopped accepting merchants, but you’ll be glad to hear that this is only temporary. They are currently working on their website optimization... which is amazing news for all you merchants who will be signing up with them in the near future!

So don’t feel down-heartened on the fact that both Amazon and Bing have temporarily slowed or stopped on the signing of Apparel merchants... it only goes to show that once these categories re-open, business will be booming and consumer traffic will be flooding to your website!

It’s simple, easy and saves time!

Based on traffic, revenue, conversion rate, cost divided by revenue and the average cost per click the top 3 US Shopping Engines for Houseware products are; Google, ShopZilla and TheFind.

So what do these shopping engines have to make them stand out from the rest?

Google Product Search is the number one shopping engine in the Home and Garden category. Google charges it’s merchants absolutely nothing to feed products onto their site. They have no CPC, no set-up fee, no cancellation fee, it’s absolutely free! And if you already hold a Google account with Gmail, Adwords, Analytics or any other Google based account then you don’t need to chose another username or password; It’s all linked under the one account. The Google product site is simple, user friendly and incredibly easy to navigate... making it perfect for consumers of all ages and backgrounds to find what they want.

Shopzilla (Number 2 in the US) let’s you open merchant accounts in other countries worldwide so that you can reach a vaster audience. Although Shopzilla charges you a deposit of $50 to open an account with them, they attract the largest amount of traffic relating to Houseware products. They do charge you a referral fee but make it as simple as possible for merchants to keep track of their campaign and replenish their CPC fund as the campaign continues.

Finally, TheFind, which is ranked third in the Home and Garden category. The only thing TheFind request off their merchants is that they sell products and have their own website! It’s Simple! Like Google Product Search, TheFind charge you nothing for submitting a product feed, nothing for registering with them and don’t charge you a CPC.

The more you look into joining shopping engine sites the easier it seems... they are simple to join, don’t have an astronomical pricing structure and give you the opportunity as a merchant to sell your houseware products on various channels, accessing a vaster, greater consumer base.

Marketplaces have been around for many years and with eCommerce hitting an all time high, online marketplaces such as Amazon and Ebay are getting up to 81 million unique visitors each month (and that's just in the US!) All over the world businesses are using Amazon and Ebay to sell their products, increase their online sales, augment their online revenue, bring more targeted traffic to their e-Stores and ‘plug’ their brand.

Amazon and Ebay are two of the most popular marketplaces in the US and both give you the potential to increase your overall sales. There are however some differences that you should take into account:

• Ebay is an auction marketplace while Amazon is not
• On Amazon you can only sell products which fall into the categories provided, while on Ebay you can sell any product you chose
• Ebay charges you fees that you will need to pay even if the product you have listed does not sell. Amazon only charges if your item is sold.
• Amazon offers merchants a simplified business model that requires less customer "hand holding" and account management
• Amazon offers fulfillment services to merchants. Ebay doesn't.

These two marketplaces are reaching unique visitors of an astronomical amount; Amazon reaching 120 unique visitors per month, eBay reaching 110 Million per month, and both have an equal amount of men and women users. However, the type of shoppers they attract may vary.

Overstock.com and Buy.com are also well-known marketplaces in the US, although they don't attract as many unique visitors per month as Amazon and eBay they still attract a very high amount of traffic and offer similar services. Buy.com however, is currently only accepting US businesses but not all businesses are accepted. As a seller you have to prove that you are a quality merchant before they will add you to their list.

Increase your sales and become more visual online by selling your products on one of the top 4 US Marketplaces; Amazon, Ebay, Overstock and Buy.com... or why not sell on them all?

There was a lot to see at IRCE expo this year including Facebook Storefront and Mobile Commerce solutions.

What really caught my eyes though was the Mobile-robotic Warehouse Automation System from a company called KIVA "a complete order fulfillment solution that encompasses inventory control, forward replenishment, picking, packing, shipping sortation, finishing, and quality control to simultaneously improve productivity, speed, accuracy and flexibility."

Here is a video that I have taken with my iPhone.

Présentation donnée à l'occasion de eCom-Montréal le 18 mai 2011.

This is the presentation I gave at eCom-Montreal on May 18th, 2011.

Sosign drives its clients to achieve this goal!

We would like to tell you how and invite you to visit us

at Montreal's eCom Fair which is being held on

May, 18th 2011 at Montreal's Palais des Congrès.

Please use the following promotional code “Rabais_Sosign” to register and receive a 10% discount.

Registration is Fast and simple, just follow the instructions below:

Go to http://www.ecom-montreal.com/inscription/journee-ecom-montreal.html

Click on 'Register'

Follow the instructions to register

Use the following discount code: Rabais_Sosign