The Shotfarm Monthly
If you’re a manufacturer, you may have noticed that the uploader’s gotten a bit of a facelift over the weekend. Instead of our old Flash-based uploader, we’ve installed a really pretty drag-and-drop interface. The basic upload process is still the same, but when you get to the file selection page, now you can drag files Continue Reading…
by Meg Robinson. In our line of work, we see a lot of websites. Some are pretty amazing and some are…well, decidedly less so. But what’s really interesting is the disparity between the websites of retailers and manufacturers. To make a blatant generalization, it seems that across the board retailers are putting more effort into Continue Reading…
by Andrea Roble. The eCommerce industry is growing rapidly, and competition is fierce. Therefore, I think it’s extremely important to keep on eCommerce trends to ensure your business is at the leading edge of technology and marketing techniques. I recently did some research regarding up-and-coming eCommerce trends in 2012, and I found many experts are Continue Reading…
We just couldn’t resist the pull of the eTail West conference (or the weather in Palm Desert), so the shotfarm management team is hitting the road. Mike Lapchick, Meg Robinson and John Ferguson will be manning booth 125 and educating retailers and brands on how to streamline their image workflows. The eTail show promises to Continue Reading…
Shotfarm is excited to announce the arrival of a new member of its management team: John Ferguson. John joins the company as the EVP of Sales and Business Development and will be leading the account team in bringing shotfarm’s new products and services to market in 2012. John has a strong background in image solutions, Continue Reading…
By Rob Cardenas. We have touched a lot on how important centralizing rich media is, but what good is it if you have an outdated eCommerce site or no site at all? In the past it was very difficult and expensive to get an eCommerce site together but now there are plenty of eCommerce platforms Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. Last week Andrea wrote a great blog regarding her inner struggle between shopping online and in-store. It’s a great read and if you haven’t checked it out yet you can take a look here, but Andrea briefly touched on a topic that I wanted to expand on a bit more: rich media. Continue Reading…
The shotfarm team is excited to announce the rollout of our new Rich Media Hosting 2.0 platform, a robust update of the Rich Media Hosting offering we launched in 2011. Now all of shotfarm’s hosting customers are able to add the benefits of a world class Content Delivery Network to ensure that their eCommerce sites Continue Reading…
Spring Cleaning with Bulk Delete Many manufacturers are getting ready to upload their new spring lines. Today, we are rolling out new functionality for bulk delete. Until now, users have the ability to delete up to 72 assets at a time from the gallery by selecting all and clicking delete. Anyone who has used this Continue Reading…
by Andrea Roble. I have a confession: For my age, I’ve typically been a very old school shopper. I’ve always preferred to shop in store as opposed to on the internet. There’s a few reasons for this. First of all, it’s really hard for me to sit in the same place for a long period Continue Reading…
It’s been proven time and again that Rich Product Content leads to greater conversions, higher sales and fewer returns. Sure, it’s a no brainer, but it can take time to evaluate and implement rich media technologies and create new content to maximize their impact. So where are you in your plans to employ Rich Product Continue Reading…
Have you taken a good look at 360 spin photography lately? It’s a pretty compelling case. In a digital world where the holy grail is replicating the tactile in-store experience, spin photography arguably provides the most detailed visual product information possible. By giving consumers the ability to investigate every angle and feature of a product Continue Reading…
Shotfarm founder Mike Lapchick teamed up with SPS Commerce Director of Product Management Eric Chaffee to provide insight on a few ways that retailers and manufacturers can work together to improve the online shopping experience for customers. Increasingly, retailers are realizing that they need to improve how they manage their product data as they integrate Continue Reading…
by Sally Mjoseth. With the craze of the holiday season finally dying down, it’s an important time to reflect on the past while also looking forward and planning for the year ahead. This holiday shopping season showed a very positive change in online sales, as shoppers spent a whopping $35 billion as reported by InternetRetailer.com. Continue Reading…
by Andrea Roble. How many of you keep your New Year’s resolutions every year? I can honestly say I’ve never, ever kept mine. I’ve tried, but it just never seems to happen. I realize this isn’t the greatest thing to admit, but I was sure I wasn’t the only person in the world who failed Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. A few weeks ago I stopped in at one of my local watering holes and started chatting with a young lady. Turns out she worked at a local manufacturing company and I was of course anxious to fill her in on what I did. I described the ins and outs of shotfarm Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. When I was younger Christmas morning was one of the best days of the year. I remember my sister always waking up super early, around 4:00 a.m., to get me up to open our presents. For some reason the promise of gifts wasn’t even enough to get me out of bed. Most Continue Reading…
by Sally Mjoseth. It’s that time of year again! Cheer is in the air and the holidays are around the corner. Despite the cold Midwest temperatures, this has always been my favorite season. I love preparing for festivities, decorating my house with lights and garland until it’s nearly unrecognizable, and putting thought and effort into Continue Reading…
The TGA recently highlighted shotfarm’s partnership with Briggs & Riley to help expand the company’s presence within the travel industry. Shotfarm has been rapidly expanding within the luggage category in particular, with more than 150 luggage retailers and manufacturers included in their membership.
by Sagar Chowdhury. In the old days of brick and mortar, a good location near heavy foot traffic might’ve been all you needed to get shoppers into your store. Perhaps some eye-catching signage, a solid reputation in the neighborhood, and maybe an ad in the local paper were all you needed to get—and keep—business humming along Continue Reading…
Last week shotfarm officially announced a really exciting partnership with supply chain management company SPS Commerce. SPS will be using shotfarm’s product images and information to populate its Retail Universe community. The Retail Universe is a free platform that connects members of the retail supply chain with new partners. One of the exciting feature is Continue Reading…
by Sagar Chowdhury. Last year, I wrote a piece called “The Web Is Presently Getting Tense.” It was a reaction to Wired Magazine’s cover piece “The Web is Dead,” which outlined the upcoming (now current) trend of retailers, news agencies, and more shifting away from the traditional internet (did I just call the internet traditional? Continue Reading…
by Andrea Roble. Working at shotfarm has exposed me to a lot of great opportunities thus far—one of which is communicating with clients internationally. I appreciate that technology makes it possible to communicate with people thousands of miles away from me, but there’s one thing that always seems to get in the way: the time Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. I’ve written a few times about the importance of retail websites having great high-resolution product photography. It’s an extremely important piece of the puzzle and can be a great way for online retailers to differentiate themselves from their competition. Something I haven’t touched on is the similar importance of manufacturers’ product photography. Continue Reading…
by Sagar Chowdhury. In June of last year, we published an article entitled Flash in the Pan—an essay that detailed our thoughts on the years-long Adobe Flash vs. Apple drama, how we sided with Steve Jobs’ opinion that HTML5, CSS and JavaScript were truly open standards, and that Flash, in all of its dysfunctional glory, Continue Reading…
Shotfarm’s user base has more than tripled in the last six months. No, seriously. Thanks to you we’re seeing the explosive growth we’d hoped for…and, luckily, that we planned for. In anticipation of the crazy holiday season, today we’ve launched shotfarm 2.0: a series of infrastructure updates that will allow our system to scale as Continue Reading…
by Sally and Andrea (of course). Our first blog article! We’re extremely excited to reach out to you all and introduce ourselves as the new account activation specialists at shotfarm. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our experience here thus far, and feel we have joined a great team (including Walter, shotfarm’s resident dog and mascot–he’s great!). We Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. The other day, in between my research sessions of theoretical physics and Dr. Michio Kaku, I was taking a look at some different retail websites. I’m in the market for some new ski equipment and wanted to get some different ideas online before I went out to the store to try some Continue Reading…
by Sagar Chowdhury. In the past year and a half or so, I, and my fellow Shotfarmers, have occasionally shared our thoughts and tips regarding DIY product photography for small businesses, and we’ve led you to some hopefully helpful how-to articles published elsewhere in the Webverse. Well, late last June, I spotted an article in Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. There are some days when I feel like I’m 100 and other days I still feel like I’m 17. I’m not sure what brings this feeling on but you probably have days that are similar. The truth is I’m somewhere in between 24 and 26, and I’m starting to realize what a Continue Reading…
by Morgan Funke. That’s been one of my mantras—focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. – Steve Jobs, BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998 Why Continue Reading…
by Sagar Chowdhury. Last week, I caught a little blurb in Mashable about Google Analytics adding a window into real-time web traffic with Google Analytics Real-Time. Essentially, GA’s new version provides real-time user statistics and reports. In fine Google fashion, they turned it on for a select few users last week, clearly beta-testing to make Continue Reading…
Another great article on shotfarm! STORES Magazine talked to shotfarm power-users Travis Benson from Bob Ward’s and Ryan Hirschberg from Altrec to find out how shotfarm’s philosophy of centralization has enabled retailers to collect images faster and provide better information on their sites, giving consumers more confidence to make buying decisions. Read the full article Continue Reading…
by Morgan Funke. The topic of color came up at the office the other day, and it reminded me of a time when I bought a jacket online but what came in the mail was a totally different shade from what I expected. I was only slightly irritated considering the jacket was heavily discounted (probably Continue Reading…
By Sagar Chowdhury. After publishing Part 3 of this series, “The Product Page,” in August, I knew that it was nearly time to start talking about customer service. Customer service is a huuuuuuge factor in building an excellent reputation and retaining customers by the thousands. But, having personally written about customer service in this blog Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. I stumbled across an interesting article this morning. The article was an E-Commerce Times piece titled “Pre-CRM: Relating Before There’s a Relationship”. The article goes on to outline the challenges of interacting with potential customers in an increasingly online world. Growing up my father owned a business in our little town, he Continue Reading…
by Morgan Funke. I read Seth Godin’s Sunday blog post this morning and couldn’t help but chuckle at myself for being the very “believer” he writes about. Godin talks about marketing with the placebo effect and how effective it can be, allowing varied perceptions of reality. From a young age we’re taught to respect others’ Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. The other day I came across an article about shopping cart abandonment and the contributing factors that really, for some reason, stuck with me. Over the course of my online shopping history I know that I’ve certainly been guilty of loading up an online cart only to leave it. I’m sure many Continue Reading…
by Shag Chowdhury. Over the last couple of months, I’ve been plugging away at a small series of pieces dealing with how to improve eCommerce conversions. The very first installment of said series was dedicated to building trust with the consumer. This month, Inc. Magazine published an article that nicely reinforces some of the points Continue Reading…
by Shag Chowdhury. Pretend you’re blind. And deaf. And as it happens, an accident has left you with a strange nerve condition, which slightly numbs your sense of touch, taste and smell. In other words, you can’t see and hear, and your other senses can’t help you much. But you’re a consumer. We all are. Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. The other day I was walking through the Patagonia store with a friend of mine that I would call “behind the technology curve” when I saw a jacket I liked. All of the store clerks were busy with other customers and I couldn’t seem to find a price tag on the jacket. Continue Reading…
by Alisha O’Loughlin. As a user of your product, I can photograph and post and whatever I am feeling at the time. This dawned on my just the other day when I was making french toast on my new griddle. Six pieces of french toast, two for me and four for my husband, sizzling nicely Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen. A few days ago we posted an article on our social media pages that went over some great tips on how to reduce email unsubscribes. I know that many of you check out our blog but aren’t connected to us through our social sites (shame on you), so you might have missed Continue Reading…
by Morgan Funke. It’s no secret that the two main user groups in shotfarm right now are manufacturers and retailers. The relationship that exists between the two is an important one; it’s a symbiotic relationship where the manufacturer and retailer both benefit from the other. The manufacturer needs its retailers to sell their products, and Continue Reading…
by Shag Chowdhury. Obviously, the last week has been a turbulent one, what with Hurricane Irene’s East Coast approach and the storming of Libyan rebels into Tripoli. But, arguably, one of the biggest, most life-changing news stories this week—for techies, stock market analysts, corporations, and average Joes alike—was the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO Continue Reading…
by Alisha O’Loughlin I found this article on word-of-mouth marketing extremely eye opening. I love to see good ol’ traditional advertising infuse itself in today’s tech world. Prior to reading this article, I truly thought the internet was squashing traditional advertising altogether. It turns out the Internet is now the leading source of information for Continue Reading…
When it comes to developing a software product, there’s no more important perspective than the customer’s. That’s why we’re begging (er…asking politely) that you take just a few minutes to tell us what you think of shotfarm. We really WANT to implement your suggestions, so we just need to know what they are! What would Continue Reading…
by Lee Syrjanen Recently, I’ve been reading more and more about tablets. I must admit when tablets first came out I didn’t know how long they’d last, but as my research has continued it’s become pretty apparent that I was wrong. Very wrong. A recent Forrester poll indicates that many online retailers report seeing as Continue Reading…
by Shag Chowdhury Around this time last year, Facebook had a reach of 500 million people worldwide. In the year since, its growth leaped by a staggering 30% to a global user base of more than 700 million people, leaving every other social media site/application even further in the dust. Enter Google+. While Facebook’s reach Continue Reading…
by Shag Chowdhury Many of you beloved Shotfarm partners are retailers, with brick and mortar stores in which customers roam through the aisles to browse and buy. Now, imagine that, in one of your physical stores, one hundred people push their carts to the checkout section and get in their various checkout aisle of choice. Continue Reading…
