1. How To Pick An Ecommerce Platform
Internet Merchants Association
Las Vegas, Nevada
March 26, 2012
2. History
• Based in San Diego, California
• Founded in 1995
• Data Centers in California, Florida and Georgia
• Focus on scalability, rapid deployment and ease of use
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6. Ecommerce Software Investment Remains Strong
We already have a
project underway
11%
In the next 36 months
4%
In the next 24 months
6%
In the next 18 months We are not planning to
6% replatform in the
foreseeable future
52%
In the next 12 months
21%
• Forrester B2C Ecommerce Platform Wave Report Q4 2010
• Base: 291 US online retail professionals
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8. Cost of Development
• Small/Home Business Software as a Service
• Do It Yourself Template Driven – 40 to 80 Hours
• Do It For You Template Driven - $500 - $2,500
• Open Source
• Do It Yourself Template Driven - $100 - $500 and 100 – 500 Hours
• Do It For You Template Driven - $5,000 - $10,000
• Enterprise
• Licensing Begins Around $20,000/year
• Total Packages $50,000 - $2,000,000
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12. Cost to Operate (Beware of Hidden Costs)
• Hosting
• Flat Monthly Fee ($30 - $500)
• Percentage of Sales (.5 – 30%)
• PCI/Regulatory
• Merchant Banks PCI Fees
• Automation/Maintenance
• How Much Human Time Does It Actually Take?
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14. What Are You Selling Online?
• Digital Goods
• Downloadable Software
• Music
• Video Content
• Games
• Physical Goods
• Are you shipping directly?
• Are you using a fulfillment center?
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15. Fulfillment
• Shipping Fees/Logistics
• What Will It Cost To Pick/Pack/Ship?
• How Will You Charge Your Customer?
• Secure Downloads
• Preventing Piracy
• Keeping Track Of Usage
• Digital Rights Management
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16. Marketing – Do You Have A Built In Audience?
• Your Own Brand
• You Don’t Have To Be A Household Name
• Media Exposure
• Today Show
• Good Morning America
• QVC/HSN
• Distribution Channels
• Traditional Retail
• OEM Partnerships
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20. Marketing – In Demand With No Exposure?
• You have a great price on highly sought after product
• You have an exclusive on highly sought after product
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26. How Will You Know You’re Succeeding?
• Analytics
• Google Analytics
• KISS Metrics
• Crazy Egg
• Reporting
• Platform Reporting
• QuickBooks/Accounting System
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29. Part 3 – Aligning Your Needs With The Market
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30. What Do I Do Now?
• Pick A Platform That Matches Your Needs
• Calculate Total Cost Of Ownership
• Understand Your Ongoing Maintenance/Development Costs
• If You’re Small – Get Started Now
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