'Tis the season, are your images ready for m-commerce?
It's that time of year where every major, minor and middle retailer is scrambling to secure their share of the Holiday e-commerce pie.
eMarketer projects Nov and Dec online sales to hit $61.8 billion. 16% of this billion dollar spend is expected to come from activity on our smaller digital screens.
mCommerce sales are expected to grow by 67%.
tablet Commerce sales are expected to grow by 89%.
Smartphone and tablet use is only going to grow.
“Tablets are particularly significant for m-commerce sales...growth in tablet-based online sales should top 87 percent." (eMarketer)
InternetRetailer.com's Bill Sawicki published a report and stated "It’s fair to say that in 2014, the predominant way consumers will spend time with e-retail is via mobile."
And an article by Chuck Jones, a contributor on Forbes.com, posted his findings, "MCommerce is on a Tear" showing the climb.
So, what to do? Don't hang your head in defeat if you think you aren't ready, take a deep breathe and then get moving.
Concentrate on what you have right now and finesse elements to work harder. Improve what you can over the next 3 weeks.
Focus on areas where you can make an impact and product photos make a significant difference.
The 2013 Holiday E-Commerce Preparedness Checklist, published by Practical E-Commerce, suggests a series of questions to help you focus.
Specific to product images:
Is the image clear and in focus?
Is the product properly lit?
Does the photo show current packaging?
Would the image make you want to buy the product?
If you have to answer “no” to some of these questions, consider updating product images before the Christmas shopping season.
Images need to work on every screen, in every size, for all required resolutions and for horizontal and vertical displays. When a tablet or a smart phone is tilted, the image size needs to adjust as does the image crop and focal point.
Resizing images for the perfect crop and scale for each size can be a time consuming task. That is why we created sizzlepig, to take the chore work out of image resizing, and let Designers have full control of their images. However, even with sizzlepig, not everyone can fit image production into their resource pool and timeline, especially during the holiday retail rush.
We've extended our offerings to help Brands and retailers get up to speed fast with our Image Production Service. The same team that built sizzlepig for themselves will happily get your images ready for Holiday sales. Our team will optimize all of your images, in all of your sizes and for all digital screens.
Images are one part of the solution, a solid digital communication strategy is imperative. Take the time in 2014 to plan a holistic digital marketing communication plan to succeed in all e-commerce and be prepared for the next Holiday with a solid mCommerce experience.