e-Commerce: Complete. Configured. Connected.
General
Online Giving Continues to Rise
Sep 20th
It’s no surprise that consumers are spending more money online. From digital goods and services to retail consumer goods, e-Commerce sales continue to grow worldwide. In addition to our everyday online purchases, consumers also are increasingly giving digital donations and making philanthropic gifts online. We all want to consider ourselves to be gracious, giving people; however, how much do we actually give?
A new infographic from nonprofit consultancy Convio, shows that the Internet is the fastest-growing channel for nonprofit fundraising. Since 2008, nonprofits have received donations totaling more than $1 billion from online sources. Moreover, the average donation is rising as well. Last year, the average online contribution rose to $91.94, an increase from $67.47 and $80.80 for 2008 and 2009, respectively.
To maximize this fundraising channel, nonprofit organizations must improve their customer experience and streamline the payment process. By reducing and eliminating anxiety commonly associated with online transactions, organizations will increase conversion rates, resulting in more donations for their cause.
The same techniques that Plimus uses to help vendors build customizable order pages can assist charitable organizations update their online presence with single-click gifting capabilities and repeat donor features to help reduce the barriers to online donations. Like any online business, it’s vital that nonprofit organizations also leverage a payment platform that is seamless for donors.
What do you think of the growing support for social giving? Will this trend continue in the coming years? We’d love to hear from you … let us know.
A Good Summer for the e-Commerce Industry
Aug 18th
It continues to be an exciting summer for Plimus, and turns out the entire e-Commerce industry has been enjoying good times, too. ComScore, Inc. releases its Q2 2011 U.S. retail e-Commerce sales estimates last week and the numbers looked promising, with total online spending hitting nearly $40 billion. This follows closely on the study by Visa’s PlaySpan and VG Market, which we discussed in a previous post, “Digital Commerce Continues to Rise,” that found that one in every three online gamers is spending real money on virtual goods.
It’s just keeps growing – online sales continue to thrive with no end in sight.
According to the ComScore report, total retail spending reached $37.5 billion for the second quarter – very impressive stuff. In fact, results showed a 14 percent increase in online spending year over year. The top 25 retailers brought in two-thirds of all retail money spent online. Additionally, the ComScore findings supported the overall increase of shoppers buying goods and or services online. ComScore attributes the majority of the 14 percent growth to the rise in the total number of online buyers, up 16 percent from 2010. Moreover, 70 percent of all Internet users are making at least one transaction per quarter; that means nearly three out of every four people online are making purchases.
Let’s quickly recap the numbers from the Visa and VG Market survey – Results show that 72 percent of respondents indicated they spent more or about the same money on virtual sales compared to last year. Nearly 48 percent of respondents indicated they have purchased in-game currency within the past 12 months. This is a strong increase from 2010 numbers.
The results of both these studies show the evolution and transformation of the e-Commerce landscape. The industry is morphing to meet customers’ needs and expectations. As sellers, it’s important to build brand loyalty by focusing on the most appropriate sales and marketing tools for your goods or services offered.
By creating a frictionless buying experience, eliminating unwanted hassles during the checkout process, supporting multiple languages and payments, and building a secure payments process, you will witness a significant increase in your revenue stream.
Let’s continue to elevate these impressive e-Commerce sales figures by giving consumers the online experience they crave and deserve. The Plimus team will help you use the many flexible features of Plimus to meet your needs and those of your customers. Together, we will increase your conversion rate and improve your sales year over year. This time next year, let’s have two out of three online buyers spending real money on virtual goods. Sounds like a good plan to me!
Survey Finds Challenges in Getting Tablet Users to Pay for Content
Jun 30th
Last week, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) released the results of a survey that revealed some interesting observations about the preferences and habits of tablet owners when it comes to purchasing content.
Among the findings:
- Just less than half of all tablet users would be willing to pay for content if it meant avoiding advertisements
- 25 percent would prefer to buy content directly from publishers, rather than an intermediary such as Amazon or iTunes
- Newspaper apps have been downloaded by more than a quarter of the tablet users surveyed; 20 percent reported downloading a magazine app in the past 12 months
- On average, tablet users spent $53 on apps in the past year
The finding that has prompted the most discussion in the Plimus breakroom, however, is that tablet users willing to pay for content overwhelmingly seek flexibility in how they make those purchases. They want the ability to select between recurring paid subscriptions, single-issue purchases and one-time downloads. For online publishers, this presents challenges in how best to streamline and ease the buying process.
These challenges need to be addressed if publishers are going to realize their intention of generating revenue from this new platform. If these self-identified “early adopters,” who are typically more affluent, educated and media-savvy, are reluctant to commit to paid subscriptions for news, television shows and other content the outlook doesn’t look great for the general public’s adoption of paid content.
With the OPA forecasting that roughly 23 million people in the U.S. alone will own tablets by next year, publishers need to quickly figure out how they will streamline the subscription process for those willing to pay for content – while at the same time determining how to entice those who are reluctant to pay. As a vendor that has been able to monetize this new content delivery model, Apple provides a strong example for publishers looking to provide a seamless and easy online transaction process.
Here at Plimus we are working to address this growing market segment with our flexible and adaptable payment platform and Buy Anyware API that online publishers can build into their apps. Plimus solutions offer a streamlined payment process that becomes part of the content consumption experience. If you’re a publisher who’s struggling with this issue, give us a call – we’d love to help you capitalize on this growing market.
Giving Back
Dec 20th
It’s official, 2010 is quickly coming to a close. As of today, we have only 10 more days until we embark on a new decade. While I can’t wait until January and all the great Plimus news, events and developing relationships we have in store for the new year, we are perhaps even more pleased to be able to start the new year out by helping those that need a helping hand the most – disadvantaged children. This year in celebration of the New Year and on behalf of sellers, partners and employees, Plimus is giving a significant donation to School Health Clinics of Santa Clara here in our home base of Silicon Valley. Shockingly with all the outward success here, , one in ten children lives in poverty. These children are at risk for poor medical care, low school attendance, and many will drop out of high school. 90% of the children served by this program live in significant poverty and struggle to meet the most basic needs. It seems only fitting that we share some our bounty with them.
Since 1986, School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County has been providing quality medical care to these at risk, low income children. The five health clinics that comprise School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County are the only federally qualified pediatric health clinics located on school premises in disadvantaged areas in this county. The clinics serve at risk, low income children regardless of their ability to pay, or their legal residency status. The clinics are located on school grounds, eliminating transportation barriers and providing health care in a setting that students and families know and trust. It has been proven that healthy students perform better in the classroom, and attendance rates improve and a child is more likely to graduate. Our donation will provide medical services for at risk children so they may have the chance to grow up healthy, stay in school, and break the cycle of poverty. What better way to start the new year?!
While our day to day focus is on providing the best e-Commerce platform and services for our sellers, the Plimus team also strives to be a contributing member of our community. Children and their welfare are the key to building a sustainable future for all of us and our goal as a company to in some small way contribute to programs that support children in need. We thank all of you for your commerce in 2010 and look forward to continued prosperity for all of us in 2011.
More information about the Santa Clara County School Health Clinic program can be found here.
Happy New Year to all of you! We will be back on line with another blog post first of the year, 2011.
Charles Born,
VP and Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/howardlake/4989727960/
Recalling 2010 and Looking Ahead at 2011
Dec 15th
As the holiday season rolls around, we’re starting to see feedback from the media and industry analysts discussing what was hot in 2010. Additionally, there is a lot of noise around 2011 forecasting projections and discussions about new companies, technologies and people that will be the next big thing.
2010 was, another successful year for Plimus. We saw tremendous customer uptake, launched our Buy Anyware API in June, partnered with PayPal on their new digital goods platform and participated in some leading tradeshows across the globe. In all of our industry conversations, we have continued to see some common technology trends and developments.
Here are some of the things we think were hot in 2010:
- Social gaming: Let’s all play together. Everything about social gaming was hot, hot, hot this year. According to the 2010 Digital Goods Report, roughly 64 percent of users make at least one social gaming purchase a month and nine percent buy virtual goods daily on social games.
- Location-based applications: I’m checked in at Plimus, Inc., where are you? According to Pew Research, four percent of online Americans use location-based services. While it doesn’t sound like much, consider that leading app provider, Foursquare, grew to five million users this month, only a year since its inception.
- Apps, apps and more apps: Are you on app overload? If you are, there’s an app for that. Need I say more?! Apple’s app store has over 300,000 apps available and continues to grow daily with Android closing in from behind.
- Tablets: Welcome to the world of the iPad. Apple’s new iPad was launched in April of this year and sold three million devices in just 90 days – making it the fastest growing consumer device to date.
The above contenders are only just getting started and will continue to infiltrate our lives in 2011. However, we have some new front-runners that will be blasting onto the scene shortly.
Here are some of the things we think will be hot in 2011:
- Affiliate marketing: The way in which consumers, sellers and affiliates work together will change in the New Year. We’ll chat more about this very soon and you’ll see just how cool it will be.
- Social networking in the workplace: The Millennial generation that has entered the workplace within the last five years is the perfect example of social networking users. In order to mesh older generations with the younger, connected workforce, we’ll have to bridge this division with a common ground, such as social networking.
- Subscription-based billing models: Virtual and digital goods providers will begin to adjust their business models to accommodate a subscription-based billing model. Companies will begin to offer a no to low-cost on boarding fee to engage customers and then any add-ons or premium services are a pay-as-you play model. We covered this a bit in our Nov. 8 post, but stay tuned for future blog posts on this topic.
- Cloud services for SMBs: In the wake of the economic recession, more than 25 percent of SMBs have already turned to cloud computing in order to save time and money. In 2011, SMBs will continue to cash in on the benefits and rewards enabled by the cloud and will also expand the types of cloud-based services they are currently using.
Now, this list is by no means all inclusive. So, what do you think was hot in 2010 or will be in 2011?
Charles Born,
VP and Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heemaz/5222325470/
You’re Invited: “Doing More with Your Plimus BuyNow Page(s)” Webinar
Sep 30th
Join us for a Webinar on October 5, 2010!
Title: Doing More with Your Plimus BuyNow Page(s)
Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Time: 7:00 AM – 7:45 AM PDT
Whether you use one of our convenient templates or have one customized to reflect your company or product branding, there’s no limit to the amount of flexibility and power that can be harnessed by your BuyNow Page(s). Learn how to:
- Customize the Look and Feel
- Change Languages and Currencies
- Update Headers, Titles, and Descriptions
- and much, much more.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/248148426
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
How strong is your trust?
Sep 3rd
Earlier, I noticed lots of buzz on Twitter regarding an issue between Visa and ePassporte. Visa suspended its business with ePassporte, effectively blocking the company from issuing out Visa Electron cards, opening new Visa Virtual Accounts, and preventing users of those services from accessing their funds.
Because of this interruption of service, there are people out there who don’t have money to buy groceries or pay bills. On one site carrying this story, one commenter wrote that he/she can’t pay this month’s rent. I wonder, now that everyday lives and routines have been drastically affected, if these people will consider looking into alternative payment gateways in the future.
It is not my intent to trivialize this situation. For all I know, it may end up being resolved by the time I finish writing this and it’ll be considered no more than a mild inconvenience. However, I don’t think anyone can deny that this matter will make a lasting impression on the minds of the affected individuals. After this gets settled, will they still be able to feel confident about the payment outlets they chose? Will they take their business elsewhere?
Billy Ramirez,
Marketing Manager
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23606946@N02/2672032322/
Mini Update: Trade Shows and Radio Shows
Jul 23rd
The Plimus team has been on the road the past two weeks at the Software Industry Conference and Casual Connect Seattle. We’ll be posting a blog recapping the events of the shows very soon. Stay tuned! Until then, I wanted to share a new podcast with Simon Jones, our Vice President of Strategic Solutions, recorded at Casual Connect. Simon sat down with Omaha Sternberg of iGame Radio to discuss our new Buy Anyware API. Check it out by clicking here.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/145257863/ Highlights from E3 2010
Jun 23rd
I spent the past week at E3 as Plimus was exhibiting in the Game Connect hall. It was both a fun and busy time for the entire Plimus team. We met with dozens of current and potential customers and also got to cruise around the show floor. So much cool stuff in games and consoles, etc. that I could share with you. But, I’ve outlined my top 10 list below:
1.) Plimus and Yummy Interactive launched the In-Game Activation interface, which is helping limit the hassle of online, in-gaming transactions. Of course, I put us first, but for casual gamers this is big. Revenues are what drive innovation.
2.) Sony Corp. introduced a $49.99 motion-activated video-game controller, Playstation Move, in hopes of winning casual game players from Nintendo Co.’s Wii console.
3.) It was an all-out war on 3-D video game capabilities at the show. Sony demonstrated Playstation 3 games with 3-D capabilities and Nintendo introduced its 3DS handheld device that displays games in three dimensions without wearing 3-D glasses.
4.) Sporty Spice stopped outside the Plimus meeting room for an interview she had with the media. She’s surprisingly shorter than you’d think.
5.) We began to see the rise of Microsoft Kinect – new demos, new games and old favorites (Sonic the Hedgehog). There was a lot of chatter with people saying it’s going to overhaul the entire gaming industry. We shall see.
6.) Casual gaming was a key focal point at the show. I even noticed gamers checking on their Farmville crops and keeping their mind alert with a quick game of Bejeweled from their iPhones on the show floors.
7.) Oh, the things you see on the show floor. I can’t put it into words, so check out this photo spread from CNET.
8.) Did you know that Mickey Mouse has a long lost “half brother” named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? Who knew?!? The soon-to-be-released Epic Mickey game from Disney Interactive Studios features this character along with Mickey and his magic paint brush.
9.) Richard Branson and Virgin Gaming are back after a decade. Branson turned up, in his traditionally exuberant manner, in an armored truck, $1 million in hand for the biggest prizes and most rewards his new website will offer. Every time I went by, there was not much action compared to the other booths – so we’ll need to see how this plays out.
10.) Underlying all the excitement and hype, were visible concerns about the future Supreme Court hearing on the legality of a California law regulating computer and video games.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55935853@N00/2302573414/
I Blog Therefore I Am?
Mar 26th
Welcome to the Plimus e-Business Blog. Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your valuable day to read about what we have to say. Hopefully, it will provoke some thoughts and new ideas about how you think about e-Business and e-Commerce. Perhaps what we write will stir you to respond. That is, after all, the purpose of a blog – to stir discussion and put some thought-provoking ideas out there for you to ponder. Maybe if we are creative enough, we just might make you smile or laugh. After all, we like to think of ourselves as a serious but fun-loving group here at Plimus. In any case, why this blog? I read somewhere recently that there are over 60 million blogs in existence, and that gave us pause here at Plimus on being clear about why to launch yet another.
In my early Internet days, I used to think that people wrote blogs, articles, newsletters, etc, out of the goodness of their hearts in order to share their wonderful experiences with the rest of us. While some actually do this, I find the vast majority have some ulterior motive. I suppose we have one too. In the spirit of transparency – our motive is fairly simple. We believe we have some unique perspectives on e-Business and e-Commence that have come from partnering with our customers. And we want to share them, talk about them, get your thoughts, and learn and grow together.
Founded in 2001, Plimus grew up in the Internet age, and as our customers grew so have we. The number is continually growing but currently 5,000 e-Commerce vendors and over 50,000 affiliates rely on Plimus as their e-Business platform. That gives us a unique view of e-Commerce including Financial Management, Copy Protection, Entitlement Management, Traffic Generation, Tracking, Customer Management, Marketing, Promotions, Catalog, and Pricing Management. We are many voices here at Plimus, so there will be many contributors, and we think this will only add to the richness of the views and content.
So, welcome! We hope you stay connected. Blog on and take charge of your e-Business destiny.
Charlie Born,
Head of Marketing
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7502393@N04/ / CC BY 2.0
