Retailers who sell both through their own online shop and through an eBay shop will know the stock control and fulfillment problems this can create if the two platforms aren’t in sync.

dotCommerce has released an important eBay feed feature that provides real-time stock level and fulfillment synchronisation between your own online store and your eBay store.

Real-time stock control through ecommerce solution dotCommerce will ensure your eBay customers are seeing the same stock levels as customers of your own online shop.

Then, when an order is placed on your eBay shop it can be automatically fed into dotCommerce for order processing,  keeping all your transactional and customer data in one place.

More about dotCommerce ecommerce solutions.

Are retail brands effectively using social media to connect with customers?

We were keen to find out, so we did some research…and we’re launching the results today, with a free benchmark report, giving you all the juicy details: www.dotcommerce.co.uk/social_ecommerce_solutions.

We found that social media is being used by 42% of UK retailers, but they’re not very keen on expanding their activity across multiple networks, with only 12% using more than one form of social media channel to engage with their target audiences.

When it comes to the channels retailers are using, more brands have a presence on Twitter (26%) than Facebook (24%) despite the latter having been around for a lot longer and with far more users.  But what surprised us most was that the majority of brands with a social media presence are failing to tell anyone about it, with no links or references to their Twitter or Facebook pages anywhere on their websites.

Want to know more? Download our report which details the full results of our study, with lots of best practice guidelines to help your brand get the most out of social media. There are also over 60 handy tips for Twitter, Facebook, User Generated Content, Blogs and other sites like LinkedIn, MySpace and YouTube that will help your business get ahead in this exciting new landscape.

And, if you’re one of the 58% of UK retailers with ecommerce solutions not already using social media for marketing, what’s stopping you? Entry costs are low, and the potential for spreading marketing messages virally through social media sites is high. Read our report and give it a try – and drop us a line on our Twitter, @dotCommerce, to let us know how you get on.

With the online marketplace becoming increasingly competitive and consumers’ wallets ever tighter, encouraging website visitors to buy is a key focus for many online retailers. And it seems that offering free shipping may well be the answer to boosting those sales figures.

A recent survey from Compete found that free shipping on orders would induce 93% of online shoppers to purchase more products online, with 67% encouraged to buy more through free product return offers.

The survey also uncovered a link between free shipping and customer satisfaction; overall satisfaction levels are 10% higher people who use free shipping versus those who didn’t.

It also suggests that buyers are actively looking to avoid paying shipping costs, with the survey revealing that as many as 67% of online window shoppers go on to actually purchase items in a store instead of online so they don’t have to pay for delivery.

The stats are certainly compelling. If your online store is experiencing a post-Christmas sales slump, a free shipping promotion is well worth considering.

Figures* released from the Centre for Retail Research today show the opportunites for online sellers are continuing to mushroom.

Not only do online sales now account for close to 10% of total UK retail sales, but spend per transaction has jumped significantly.

As consumer’s confidence in online shopping grows, so the proportion of them spending £1,000 or more in a single transaction is growing – up t0 25% in 2009, against just 12% in 2008.

The key for online sellers in this exciting climate is 2 -fold.

Firstly to continue to build on the growing trust and confidence that exists amongst online shoppers.

And secondly, to ensure upsell oppportunities are being maximised.

Building trust

Incorporating web2.0 content such as user reviews and ratings into ecommerce solutions helps to do this, but don’t forget the basics, including:

1. About Us page -this page should include relevant information about the company including its contact details, history and how long it has been trading

2. Company registration number – it’s a legal requirement under UK Company Law to include this on your website. Don’t hide it away. Let users see if you are a UK registered business

3. Including an About Us link in the top or main navigation menu and a visible link to Delivery information and Contact Us information on each webpage will help to build customer confidence

4. Delivery terms page – if you need something for a certain date – a present, for example – it’s crucial to know how long delivery will take

5. Returns information page – for many products, customers will be more willing to buy if they are assured that they can return the item if it is not required

6. FAQ – a help or FAQ page online will encourage visitors to find the answers to common queries themselves and can help reduce the number of calls into your customer service team

Loads of advice and guidance on building user trust and on driving upsell in dotCommerce’s ecommerce benchmark report: Hitting the Checkout. Download it here.

*Source BBC News Channel