A2Z Rug Case Study- How Facelift raised Conversion rate by 96%

EZAir Family Case Study – From drawing board to compete branding

The Challenge

As an end-to-end eCommerce company we are always ready to take on new challenges, and develop new ideas. A great recent example is the following:

The imOnline team were tasked with coming up with new a Creative campaign for EZAir Wireless, a global player in the field of PC to TV wireless solutions. Our goal was to look for the optimal way in which to present EZAir’s best-known products in a fun, engaging, and EZ way!

We first set out to understand what would capture the essence of these products, who our intended target audience is, and what would entice people to respond to our ads.

As part of the creative process we wanted to not only get into the minds of the consumer, but to actually become consumers ourselves. Naturally we tested these products, their functionality, and found many great uses for them. From there it was EZ to see how EZAir’s products can connect with several generations of family members.

Solution

After an extraordinary brainstorming session our team came up with a first draft of the EZAir family (as seen in the images below). This family was designed to effectively demonstrate our innovative products. To set the mood we decided to go with a natural colors scheme so as to make our website as welcoming and engaging as possible to a broad range of potential customers.

The general set-up is a portrait of the family sitting down in the living room, enjoying EZAir’s PC-to-TV streaming solutions. Each family member plays an integral role in showcasing the benefits of one of our unique products. When a visitor to the website positions the mouse overs a member of the EZAir family, a bubble pops up to explain the benefits of one of our unique products.

First up is the Dad. The dad uses the EZDock appliance for his mac. The benefit of this device is that he can wirelessly connect his laptop with a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and speakers.

Mom, whose an avid shopper, can be seen surfing on ebay while simultaneously streaming her daughter’s favorite shows on the family’s HDTV. She does both of these things with EZView. This dual use of EZAir’s device, and its benefits to multiple family members, really seems to hit resonate well with a lot of EZAir’s customers.
Next is the family’s teenage boy, whose shown streaming his music with the EZVibe gadget. EZVibe is designed to enhance a consumer’s audio experience, just as our other products aim to satisfy those looking for unique audio or video solutions.

And last but not least… The dog (not yet sketched). Our feline friend, and the rest of the family, no longer has to worry about getting tangled up in wires.

Results

EZAir Wireless already had a unique selling point with its affordable and innovative products. Now it’s backed up with a brand and a concept that really hits home with its target audience. Our team crafted the look and feel of the EZAir family where family members are shown interacting with EZAir products.

The role of the EZAir family will evolve with time so comments and suggestions are strongly welcomed by all.

The Giant that buys Giants- Is eBay about to change the eCommerce market again

Yesterday eBay rocked the online shopping world by announcing the acquisition of eCommerce company, GSI commerce, for the staggering amount of $2.4 Billion. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

So who is GSI Commerce- and how come we haven’t heard of them before?

GSI has been successfully operating bellow the radar of most of us, but is a veteran player of the eCommerce industry with solid operations in product and service.

Founded in 1995 by Michael Rubin, GSI provides a high end ecommerce software platform, and maintains various other solutions that include: customer care, fulfillment, inventory management, and IT management for top tier retailers. Most of GSI’s 180 clients rank within the Internet Retailer Top 500 (Among them you’ll find: American Eagle Outfitters Inc., Bath & Body Works and Godiva Chocolatier, Zales, iRobot, Timberland, Ace Hardware, Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods, RadioShack, and Toys “R” Us).

GSI also holds and operates its own websites, including Rue la la, which was acquired by GSI on Oct 2009, at a value of $350m. The deal includes the website SmartBargains.com.
Other sites include ShopRunner (a direct competitor to Amazon’s Prime), and GSI also runs its own affiliate marketing network called pepperjam

What’s in it for eBay? Hint: Gain back its leadership status from Amazon

So the 2.4 billion dollar question is what’s in it for eBay. It’s important to note that in recent years eBay’s been on a serious shopping spree: On December 2, 2010 eBay announced the purchase of the Local shopping engine Milo for $75 Million. Another recent investment: $22.5M (by its subsidiary company Paypal) in open source eCommerce software Magento. The investment was revealed last month (March 2011) in which eBay gained a 49% stake hold of Magento ownership.

During all of these acquisitions Amazon hasn’t exactly been sitting on the fence either. Amazon purchased leading shoe retailer Zappos for $1.2 B back in November of 2009. The following year, in November of 2010, it shelled out $545 million for Diapers.com and Soap.com.

Most importantly, Amazon’s own growth rate is ,3 times higher than that of ecommerce growth as a whole, and Amazon is beating eBay’s growth by 6 times . In just one year Amazon’s purchasing frequency increased by 25%, and its unit growth by 43%. With 130 million active buyers in its arsenal, Amazon revenues totaled over $34.2 billion.

Additionally, on a global front Amazon saw 11-15% of its sales come from the UK, Germany, and Japan, and another 5% from China.

eBay, on the other hand, has suffered as a result of losing SMB merchants while Amazon gained on the 3rd party marketplace (30% of amazon) and through staggering international growth.

So could it be that eBay is realigning its SMB merchants against Amazon and compensating for its pitfalls via mass acquisition?

Amazon figures in the last 3 years were 6 times higher than eBay (Amazon grew by 3 Times when compared to the average commerce growth- 36% annual growth, while eBay only had a 5% growth rate, which highlights its struggle to grow).

eBay’s biggest competitive advantage left is its massive cash reservescash power, so utilizing thisits buying power to buy acquire strategic assets would be the best move for the San Jose giant.

GSI Commerce & Magento are companies that have grown at a staggering pace in their fields, and these are the same fields that eBay had left behind: eCommerce software, and technology & Enterprise level retailers.

A Winning strategy would certainly include the following: Get the right people on the train and get the wrong people off the train (for ref read: From Good to Great by Jim Collins). A Possible conclusion of the strategy might suggest that if you can’t get the right people on the train, you should at least get the right companies.

It seems that eBay is wisely exploiting its massive buying power, and getting the right companies on its portfolio. Now eBay’s left with bringing in the right people to navigate its train. Doing so could help put eBay back on the right track in terms of achieving greater eCommerce growth once again, and it will also give Amazon a fair fight in the long run.