A WORKSHOP has been held on the Island to provide support for local retailers involved with the recently launched shopping website shopiom.com
The workshop involved the Department of Economic Development and Steve Emecz from Powa (the new name for Venda for Small Business), the e-commerce solutions provider, for local retailers.
Shopiom.com is a Department of Economic Development (DED) initiative designed to support local retailers by giving them an online presence. Set out as a business directory, the site utilises a retail platform designed by leading e-commerce providers, Venda, who partnered with the DED to deliver the scheme. The initiative is one of the first to provide government subsidy for local retailers, and is widely seen as a pioneering step towards increasing Island generated revenue.
Venda is the world’s leading provider of ‘on-demand’ e-commerce solutions, and has been operating since 2001. They currently operate over 500 commercial online sites for global clients. Powa is the new name for Venda for Small Business, the eCommerce platform that retailers in the Isle of Man are using.
The scheme has also helped to create revenue for local service providers (web designers, marketers, photographers, copy writers), who have been trained by the Powa team to provide local support and advice here on the Island. Over half of the retailers currently signed up for the DED/Powa have opted to work with a local business in setting up their online business.
Retailers who attended the session at Hamilton House on Peel Road were Horses & Riders, Esquires Menswear, A J Jewellery, Radcliffe Butchers and Island Aquatics. Mr. Emecz, Business Director for Venda, highlighted the following top 10 steps to improve their on-line business:
1) Keep your homepage fresh – change the look and feel and move displays around like you would in a retail shop. If something is not working, take it off.
2) Have a sale section
3) Add your products to Google shopping – Powa sites are integrated with Google Shopping so this only needs to be set up once (around 5 minutes) and then products are automatically re-submitted each time the site is published
4) Search engine optimise – Powa has a whole series of easy tips to implement in this area
5) Have great product information – be specific in entering your product names so search engines have more chance of finding them. Use Google Predictor and Google Keyword Tool to identify good keywords.
6) Use shared page sections to promote key things in lots of places throughout the site
7) Appropriately name your payment options and instructions on payment
8) Make full use of the ‘brand’ function – in addition to your product categories also list the brands you offer on the left-hand toolbar
9) Manage your related and alternative products – when a product is shown, automatically list alternatives and related products below
10) Use Google Analytics to watch your customer behaviour and act on it – find out where your visitors are coming from and what products and services they’re looking for. This will enable you to effectively target advertising and prioritise which products you display.
Mr. Emecz’s 10 tips are just a taste of the help and support available to vendors who join the Department of Economic Development scheme. Powa also provides regular webinars for Isle of Man retailers and regular advice on getting the most of your online business.
Michael Alliston, Development Manager for the Department of Economic Development, said, “We have seen a number of small local retailers join the scheme and watched their international and local sales grow after going live online.
“The potential for these businesses is much greater when they can broaden their marketplace and exposure via the Internet. Powa has been instrumental in providing technical support to help local businesses get the most out of their online experience. We are keen to provide support to more Independent Retailers.”
The DED/Powa initiative also provides support and funding for local businesses to get started on-line. So far, 65 retailers have signed up, with 37 of them now active on-line. Other local retailers, who already have their own e-commerce website, are able to gain a free listing on shopiom.com.
For more information on joining the scheme, the contact is Michael Alliston on 687361.
To visit shopiom go to: www.shopiom.com
