On-line companies are being urged to embrace the new world of m-commerce (mobile phone commerce) if they want to remain competitive. Many more younger consumers are now using mobile phones for on-line buying and this trend is likely to grow and expand into other age groups, it’s predicted.

Increased connection speeds within the mobile phone market also means that m-commerce is set to grow significantly in the next few years.

Tech analyst firm Ovum has recently published a report that shows that many on-line businesses will struggle if they do not adapt to greater m-commerce demands.

If you have an ecommerce business then why not talk to a web design company, such as WebCreationUK, to find out how you could take advantage of the rapid growth of m-commerce for the benefit of your business? A website that is readable on a smartphone is sure to be a smart move. Unless you want to be left behind your competitors.

A new report has found that 42% of UK on-line retailers do not offer international delivery. The study, funded by the Royal Mail and conducted by Snow Valley, found that some 5% only deliver within the EU and 57% of those that deliver worldwide did not show the additional costs at checkout.

Now business experts are encouraging more UK-based e-commerce owners to offer a greater range – as well as safer and clearer international delivery options – for customers.

It’s has been revealed (in another study) that currently just 7% of EU consumers carry out safe shopping online with retailers located in different nations. Obviously this sales sector has room for growth and many economic analysts worry that UK ecommerce business owners could be left behind if they do not improve their overseas delivery services.

Snow Valley’s study reveals that 28% per of sales with online retailer ASOS are generated by international customers, netting it £56 million in 2009. Food for thought indeed!

Check out what WebCreationUK could do to help you with web design and launching a successful ecommerce store.

Retailer Laura Ashley has seen ecommerce sales increase by a more than 60% in the first half of 2010. This on-line rise means overall group sales were boosted by 7.3% to £135 million, compared to £127 million at the same time last year.

Ecommerce sales rose by 63% to £15.4 million, from £9.4 million during the same period in 2009. Laura Ashley has been widening its delivery to countries outside the UK, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria.

At the same time mail order sales for the fashion and furniture retailer declined. The group also shed six high street stores, with 225 now remaining.

Laura Ashley said that while customers were still buying fashion over the internet, its on-line Made to Order furniture had also been “very well received”.

Chairman Tan Sri Dr KP Khoo is reported as saying: “In a difficult economic climate, Laura Ashley has continued to demonstrate the strength of its brand and has recorded positive like-for-like sales growth across all product categories.

Our ecommerce and international channels have continued to grow and become increasingly important to our multichannel strategy.”

If you are interested in having an online shop, stop by WebCreationUK for more information on our fantastic ecommerce packages.

E-commerce is a fast-growing industry and it’s clear that there are great rewards to be had. Of course, it’s vital that you source a good and reputable web design company to design your e-commerce or e-retail website. But as an e-commerce business owner you should also be aware of the finer points of a great website.

In the second of a two-part blog series we bring you five tips for a great ecommerce website:

Customising: Many shoppers like to compare products by price, reviews, colours, bestsellers etc. We’re all different. So offering features that allow a customer to customise the ecommerce products to suit themselves is much more likely to create a good user-experience, and therefore increase sales.

Product reviews: Increasing numbers of consumers say that they are swayed by product reviews. If you offer reviews on products, and the ability for shoppers to add their comments, you are more likely to create a shopping experience that people value and trust.

What’s in stock?: Shoppers will become frustrated if they go to the trouble of ordering a product only to find it is out of stock or “expected in”. Make it clear what is available now and what is not. A real-time inventory is the best way forward.

Product specifics: Ecommerce shoppers cannot pick up the product, look at it, feel it or try it on. So it is vital that your product descriptions offer as much information as possible. Make sure that size and colour is detailed. Use images for different product views. And make sizings clear.

Checkout: You want to close your sales so make it clear how to get to the checkout and then keep people focused on the task. Do not use this as an opportunity to offer other sales. It has been found that single-page checkouts have the highest conversion rates. And keep the checkout process simple.

Talk to leading web designers WebCreationUK about their great deals on ecommerce sites.

E-commerce is a fast-growing industry and it’s clear that there are great financial rewards to be had. Of course, it’s vital that you source a good and reputable web design company to design your e-commerce or e-retail website. But as an e-commerce business owner you should also be aware of the finer points of a great website.

In the first of a two-part blog series we bring you four tips for a great ecommerce website:

Good layout: Just like a shop that has clearly marked categories and aisles, so your website should make the process of looking for products as simple as possible. Make tab names as straightforward as possible. For example, women’s shoes, men’s jackets. And make sure there are “bread crumbs” so that shoppers can trace their way back from where they came. A “continue shopping” button also means that shoppers can easily return from their shopping basket or checkout to make more purchases.

In the basket: If you’re shopping in the real world you can take a look in your basket or trolley to remind yourself of the items chosen so far. The same should happen on an ecommerce site. Make sure that when shoppers add to their basket, trolley or cart that they can see the items clearly. It’s also important that there’s a clear label for getting to the checkout from the basket.

Colour perfect: It’s claimed that colour can make a big difference to how website users rect. So when it comes to call-to-action buttons, such as “add to cart” or “buy now”, try to choose shades such as blue and green. Orange and red have been shown to be off-putting.

Search easy: A study has revealed that more than 20% of ecommerce shoppers prefer the direct use of a search feature than searching for products in various categories. Therefore a “search product” feature is vital for business success.

* Talk to leading web designers WebCreationUK about their great deals on ecommerce sites.

E-retail is a fast growing business, as you’ll know if you’ve been reading this blog over the last year or so. But some experts point the finger at more luxury end fashion retailers as one of the slowest to embrace the on-line trend.

However, there is one top brand that has been has been successful in ecommerce. It was as far back as 2002 that Gucci started to make a big on-line presence and in the last 18 months Gucci.com has had a major overhaul.

The iconic site boasts 2.5 million unique visitors. While a good-looking site, it is also functional and allows customers to browse Gucci fashions and check out of their shopping cart as though in the actual stores.

Perhaps this is the lesson that other e-retailers should learn. It can be all too easy to create a website that is rather more basic in looks and feel that the established high street brand.

The goal of retailers online should be to match the high-end experience of a retail store, so that it does not degrade the quality of a brand.

And don’t forget to also offer customers good service by way of email or live chat customer service, as well as Facebook and Twitter networking. Facebook Gucci has almost a million fans! Not bad for a single fashion brand, eh?

Check out the great ecommerce deals at WebCreationUK. While the prices might be low, you can be assured that the look and quality of the website design is high.