October 16, 2009
Schmelkin, Wertheimer Speak at J.H. Cohn Retail Event
“Increasing the ROI from Your Ecommerce Site” Leads to Lively Discussion
The Retail and Consumer Products Industry Practice of J.H. Cohn LLP, one of the top 15 accounting and consulting firms in the United States, recently hosted “Increasing the ROI from Your Ecommerce Site” for 50 executives from retail and consumer products companies in the New York Metro area.
At the dinner held in New York, NY, Alex Schmelkin, co-founder and president, Alexander Interactive, and David Wertheimer, director of strategy, Alexander Interactive, addressed how retailers can improve the user experience (UX) on their ecommerce sites and increase online revenue. Richard Schurig, CPA, partner and Retail and Consumer Products Industry Practice Director at J.H. Cohn, moderated a lively Q&A session.
Ai's goal was to introduce deeper concepts of user experience to the event's attendees. Improved UX has been shown to lead to optimized site flows, increased customer satisfaction, revenue increases, and continued improvements in website performance.
“Understanding users and their motivations for visiting sites presents us with solutions that increase engagement and revenue,” said Schmelkin. “Positioning, images, and color scheme are just some of the components that can have a substantial impact on the way consumers navigate a site.”
At the dinner, guests volunteered to have their websites critiqued by the presenters. In just a few minutes, Schmelkin and Wertheimer were able to provide some initial insight on how the functionality and design of the sites could be improved.
David Frankel, president at Jonathan Adler, a home furnishings retailer, was among the attendees.
“J.H. Cohn hosted a smart, valuable event that prompted an immediate review of our own ecommerce site. Since the event, we have developed a checklist of proposed site upgrades and tests that will help ensure a positive customer experience and a greater return on investment,” he said.
Schmelkin and Wertheimer discussed the importance of multivariate testing for existing ecommerce sites to evaluate performance. This allows companies to continually implement improvements and solutions that, however small, can lead to a boost in performance. Changing such items as shopping carts, product pages, and upsells can independently aid site performance.
Wertheimer said, “A series of small enhancements with five percent improvements in a site’s conversion rate can lead to a big boost in the cumulative bottom line.”
“In today’s economic environment, retailers need to find new, yet cost-effective, ways to boost customer satisfaction. Simple changes to the UX on ecommerce sites can have a substantial impact” said Schurig. “Participants left the dinner with hands-on, practical solutions to apply to their ecommerce sites.”
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