Sellerdeck’s 2013 Users Conference to Focus on “Growing Your Sales in 2014”

The annual conference for Sellerdeck’s customers will be sponsored by PayPal for the 4th year, and held at its prestigious offices in Richmond, Surrey.

This year there will be a strong line-up of speakers from PayPal and Global Freight Solutions, as well as Sellerdeck itself. These presentations will provide insight into the following key areas:

Enabling mobile commerce
Internationalising your business
Shipping and logistics
SEO, PPC and social marketing
Three streams of workshops covering operations, marketing and technology

There will also be a chance to hear about product developments, including Sellerdeck 2014, along with the opportunity to book expert technical help in 1-2-1 sessions.
Ben Dyer, CEO of Sellerdeck says, “This year everyone is concerned about how to maintain and expand sales in an economy where consumers are more reluctant to spend. Therefore, we’ve chosen sessions that give insights into m-commerce, the value of overseas markets and how to attract new visitors.”

He adds, “However, the conference is as much about delegates networking and sharing their experiences with fellow merchants, as it is about listening to industry experts.”

Duncan Rounding of Genesis Technical has attended several conferences: “As both a developer and merchant I found the previous conferences really worthwhile. The content was very interesting and relevant, plus meeting with other like-minded merchants was a valuable experience.”

Tickets
Tickets are available at £50 + VAT for Sellerdeck Cover/Developer subscribers, and £99 + VAT for non-subscribers. Click to book your ticket.

Contacts
For more information, contact:
Sellerdeck’s PR: Jane Lee, Dexterity, sellerdeck@dexterity.co.uk, +44 (0)1273 470199, @janemlee

About Sellerdeck
Sellerdeck supplies E-Commerce software and EPOS systems to small and mid-sized companies that want to be in full control of their online business. The company’s desktop application gives merchants control over key components such as hosting, payments, fraud detection and customer feedback without having to rely on third-party, cloud-based solutions.

Established in 1996 as Sellerdeck Software and rebranded in 2012, Sellerdeck is the oldest established E-Commerce developer trading today and has enabled tens of thousands of UK SMEs to make an estimated £11bn in sales over its 17 years.

Turning browsers into buyers – Sellerdeck announces the launch of Sellerdeck 2013

Sellerdeck 2013 is the first new version of the E-Commerce platform to launch under the company’s new name and adds a swathe of enhancements that are designed to turn visitors who were just browsing into happy customers. Sellerdeck changed its name from Sellerdeck Desktop in June 2012.

While the previous two versions of Sellerdeck’s product – Sellerdeck Desktop v10 and Sellerdeck Desktop v11 – focused on streamlining the checkout process and customer service features, Sellerdeck 2013 offers merchants the chance to make it even easier for customers to find the products they are looking for with improved search functions.

New merchant-defined filters mean customers can quickly narrow down their search to items in a particular size, colour, brand or price range, for example. Dynamic pricing and product option features mean that visitors won’t be shown items that are out of stock and will always be aware of the price they’re paying.

Sellerdeck 2013 also brings additional enhancements to SEO. The new automated pagination feature lets merchants specify the number of products appearing on a page. And though these pages are automatically generated, they are static HTML pages with a fixed filename, which lets search engines index them easily.

There are also improvements to the Design Wizard, which now comes with a set of eight different page layouts and 11 different themes. The Design Wizard automatically adjusts the page and sidebar widths, repositioning key elements such as the search bar and cart summary and modifying their styles as required according to the layout and theme selected.

“One of the biggest problems online merchants have is people coming to their site but leaving without buying anything. With our new platform, we’re aiming to help merchants make the whole experience so seamless for visitors that they have every reason to make a purchase – and come back again and again,” said Ben Dyer, CEO of Sellerdeck.

“Our research has shown that well-designed, secure websites with plenty of product information – as well as large, detailed images of products – are in the best position to win over a potential customer, and Sellerdeck 2013 will help merchants tick these boxes so they can increase conversion rates,” Dyer continued.

While configuring and applying the new features is a simple – and fast – process, upgrading to Sellerdeck 2013 is also designed to be as hassle-free as possible, with no in-depth technical expertise required.

Sellerdeck 2013 comes in four different versions – Catalog, Business, Business Plus and Enterprise – to suit all sizes of organisation. Prices begin at £515 excluding VAT, or £340 ex VAT for customers upgrading from older versions of Sellerdeck Desktop.

For more details about Sellerdeck 2013, to obtain review copies, images or to arrange an interview with Ben Dyer please contact:

Ben Camm-Jones
e: ben@clarity.pr
t: +44(0) 20 7100 1333
m: +44(0) 7515 877 621

Sellerdeck Online Enables SMEs To Create Mobile-Optimised Ecommerce Sites

The Mobile Store is compatible with any mobile device and is available for all Sellerdeck Online subscription packages at no extra charge. It lets Sellerdeck Online merchants create a mobile-optimised version of their E-Commerce stores automatically, in just one click. To see what visitors would get if they visited an Sellerdeck Online site from a desktop or a mobile device, try www.oxashopuk.oxatis.com from each platform.

“As the number of consumers using smartphones and tablets to research and purchase products and services on the move is on the increase, the Mobile Store offers a new revenue opportunity that’s not to be missed,” says Simon Armstrong, marketing manager for Sellerdeck.

The Mobile Store benefits Sellerdeck Online merchants by:

Encouraging impulse purchases as buyers can now easily browse the catalogue (categories, product pages) and continue through to checkout in an optimised environment right from their mobile phone or tablet.
Making order tracking easy for customers, as they can see the status of their orders at any time via a mobile device.

The mobile commerce (m-commerce) development complements the existing Mobile Assistant app which enables Sellerdeck Online merchants to process their E-Commerce orders on the go via an iPhone or iPad. This is the latest in a line of innovative features announced by Sellerdeck Online, such as SmartFeeds allowing the products to be shown on price comparison sites, MarketPlace Manager for direct integration and synchronisation with Amazon and eBay, and the My Social Store Facebook app.

*Barclays spending on mobile devices, Oct 2011

**Econsultancy and RedEye research Nov 2011

Independent customer feedback is increasing trust and converting sales

Sellerdeck’s Feefo service provides a full management system for feedback, giving customers and merchants the chance to communicate effectively and increasing the chances of leaving the customer satisfied. Sellerdeck customers integrating Feefo into their sites typically see a 10% lift in total orders.

Feefo (www.feefo.com) has fast become the leading supplier of customer service ratings in the UK and is used by high-profile companies such as Fat Face, Lands’ End and Charles Tyrwhitt. Customer feedback provided by the Feefo tool can not only help merchants hone their levels of customer service but get a better idea of exactly what their customers are looking for, too.

The system is particularly useful to specialist retailers such as online garden machinery supplier and Sellerdeck customer Mower Magic (www.mowermagic.co.uk). Jez Hall, Director of Mower Magic, decided to integrate Feefo after hearing about it in Sellerdeck’s online forums. However, he was unsure of how he could garner enough feedback to create an instant impact.

“Sellerdeck advised us to approach all customers who’d purchased from us over the last three months. The Sellerdeck software automates the process, so we contacted more than 1000 customers, asking them to comment on their experience. The response was amazing and in a few days we had feedback across much of the site,” Jez said.

Ben Dyer, CEO of Sellerdeck, commented: “Having feedback published alongside product information can make a massive difference to conversion rates on a merchant’s website. Even if the feedback is negative, merchants can quickly act on it to improve their levels of customer service, increasing their chances of success over the longer term.

“And while merchants can approach Feefo directly in order to integrate the feedback system into their sites, they’ll find Sellerdeck’s prices – a result of our bulk purchasing power – very competitive.”

Information about pricing and integrating Sellerdeck’s Feefo service into websites is available to Sellerdeck customers on 0845 189 1859 (calls cost 3p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge) and at www.sellerdeck.co.uk/index.php/E-Commerce-services/category/feefo

For more details about Sellerdeck, further case studies, an interview with Ben Dyer or images please contact:

Ben Camm-Jones

e: ben@claritycomms.com

t: +44(0) 20 7100 1333

m: +44(0) 7515 877 621

Sellerdeck Releases v10.0.3

Sellerdeck is pleased to announce the release of the latest Sellerdeck v10 update v10.0.3.

Version 10.0.3 fixes a significant number of issues from earlier Sellerdeck versions. It also includes several changes aimed at improving performance, particularly for larger sites, and a further enhancement to Sellerdeck Payments.

For information about the improvements in this release, see the key changes summary in the Release Notes.

For showing stock in extended information pages and other additions, see the new Advanced User Guide.

If you are not already using Sellerdeck v10 you can take a 30 day trial of this new release.

Sellerdeck Introduces Web-based Ecommerce Solutions to Enhance Options for the UK SME Market

Sellerdeck Online

The new, web-based Sellerdeck Online E-Commerce range comprises five monthly subscription packages. All the packages include everything needed to design, build and manage an E-Commerce website. In a break from traditional software pricing where additional fees are often charged for high-level features, Sellerdeck Online pricing is based on usage with all the subscription levels offering identical functionality including advanced features such as:

Dynamic integration with eBay and Amazon marketplaces
Publishing products on a Facebook business page
Promoting and tracking products on price comparison sites such as Google Product Search, Kelkoo, Twenga, Pricesavvy and Ciao.

Nick Kington, managing director of Sellerdeck Online comments, “In today’s E-Commerce environment, start-up and SME businesses are looking to take advantage of all the channels and services available to develop and grow their online businesses. With the launch of this new range of Sellerdeck Online products we are looking to provide British businesses with access to competitively priced, ‘all-in-one’ E-Commerce applications with all the integrated functionality necessary to build a successful online store.”

This launch follows on from the joint venture announced in June 2011 between Sellerdeck and Oxatis, the top-selling E-Commerce provider in France, Spain and Italy. The resulting pan-European group provides E-Commerce systems to the start-up and SME markets in UK, France, Spain and Italy and has a customer portfolio approaching 20,000 e-tailers with over 11 million orders processed and more than £1 billion of online sales per annum.

Sellerdeck Desktop v11

Sellerdeck has also recently shipped version 11 of its desktop software. This allows customer accounts to be created automatically and enables shoppers to view their account details and track the progress of their orders online. It adds support for single-use discount coupons, usability enhancements and SEO improvements including fast ‘single product per page’ implementation.

Pricing

The Sellerdeck Online monthly pricing includes telephone/online support and hosting. The packages are Bronze £19, Chrome £35. There are introductory discounted prices (valid until 31 December 2011) for Silver £59, Gold £99 and Platinum £149. All prices exclude VAT. The functionality for each package is identical and is dependent on the number of products, page views, storage and user profiles.

Sellerdeck Catalog v11 desktop starts at £499 excluding VAT.

Sellerdeck Survey of Ecommerce Sales Shows SME Sector Remains Strong in Q4 2010

In addition respondents reported their average shopping cart value increased slightly during the period from £67.30 in the fourth quarter 2009 to £68.90 in the same period in 2010.

E-tailers reported that the early snow placed extra pressures on their customer service operations as people were anxious about their orders arriving in time for Christmas.

Richard Smart, managing director, Smart Packaging, www.smartpackagingstore.co.uk reports that, “Although our customer service queries increased over 400% due to the unprecedented weather conditions, we still managed to increase our sales by 19%. We found that by working very closely with our main carriers we were able to offer a dedicated Weather Help page on the site which indicated the ‘troubled’ postcodes which then helped customers when ordering.”

Ben Biscoe, managing director of Fairyglass www.fairyglass.co.uk comments that, “While the snow caused a few problems with deliveries, it also meant that customers did not venture out to shop. As a result we had our best online sales ever this Christmas, up around 15% on last year.”

Nick Kington, managing director at Sellerdeck comments, “Despite the snow and ice, SMEs selling online have continued to report healthy increases in both the number of orders processed, and most importantly the revenues achieved in the run up to the crucial Christmas trading period. This survey highlights that more consumers have opted for the convenience of online shopping this Christmas, although businesses have had to work extra hard to overcome the customer service difficulties created by the weather conditions.

Contacts: Phil Rothwell, Sellerdeck.0845 129 4888 (calls cost 2p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge)

Sellerdeck PR: Jane Lee, Dexterity. +44 (0)1273 470199, Sellerdeck at dexterity.co.uk

About Sellerdeck:

Founded in 1996, Sellerdeck (www.sellerdeck.co.uk) is a British company specialising in helping small and medium retailers trade, both online and offline, using its E-Commerce and electronic point of sale (EPOS) packages.

Sellerdeck offers E-Commerce products for web designers and self-builders, including both web-based and desktop solutions. The range includes Sellerdeck Enterprise, Sellerdeck Business, Sellerdeck Catalog, Sellerdeck Express and Sellerdeck Designer. Sellerdeck powers more UK E-Commerce sites than any other company.

Sellerdeck EPOS systems give a comprehensive feature set that is straightforward to operate at great value. The range extends from a low cost, single till installation for the smaller store, to integrated multi-till and multi-site systems with head office functionality for centralised product, stock and price updating and reporting.

Trademarks: Sellerdeck, Sellerdeck Catalog, Sellerdeck Business, Sellerdeck Express and Sellerdeck Designer are registered trademarks of Sellerdeck Software Limited.

Sellerdeck Releases v10.0.4

Sellerdeck is pleased to announce the release of the latest Sellerdeck v10 update v10.0.4.

This is available for all Sellerdeck v10 customers to download from the Software Patches and Updates section of the Download Centre.

Version 10.0.4 fixes a number of issues from earlier releases and adds fields for Brand and for three types of Product Identifier (EAN, UPC and ISBN) as required for submissions to Google Product Search. For an explanation about product identifiers and for information about the improvements in this release see the release notes.

If you are not already using Sellerdeck v10 you can take a 30 day trial of this new release.

UK SME Online Retailers Experience Slowdown in Sales

In contrast, in Q2 2010 growth was running at over double this rate (15%), and with the Q1 2011 figures showing an average 9% increase, the trend is downwards. However, these latest results still compare very favourably with high street retailers where June gave only 1.5% growth, which was better than expected.

The average order value has remained virtually unchanged at £72.08 for Q2 2011 compared to £72.16 for Q2 2010. The survey does highlight that there are still e-retailers experiencing strong growth. For example, many specialist web stores in the arts and crafts sector are thriving.

“Our Sellerdeck E-Commerce site www.knitwell.co.uk has been running for over 7 years and we are still experiencing strong growth with a 13% increase in revenue and 6% increase in order quantity for our Q2 2011 figures over the same time last year,” says owner Michael Calvert.

He adds, “The knitting marketing has seen a resurgence with celebrity endorsements from the likes of Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz, combined with more people wanting to take up a new, inexpensive, but rewarding pastime. The cold winter last year also helped, with scarves becoming fashionable again which attracted younger knitters.”

Monica Hardman, managing director of English Yarns (www.englishyarns.co.uk) comments: “In April our 2011 turnover for the year was down 23% compared with 2010. So we implemented a discount programme with coupon codes to increase traffic to our site and incentivise visitors to purchase, firstly to those in the UK and EU and then customers in the rest of the world. Within a month we were into positive figures again with an increase of 3% in May and 12% in June for the year to date.”

Nick Kington, managing director at Sellerdeck Online comments, “These figures are not a big surprise. Consumer spending is clearly being hit hard and online retailers are not immune to tough times. However, some web merchants are thriving, highlighting that a combination of good merchandising, marketing and customer service can bring success even in the current climate.”

Contact: Simon Armstrong, marketing manager, Sellerdeck, 0845 129 4800

About Sellerdeck Online:

Sellerdeck Online (online-E-Commerce) provides web-based E-Commerce and shopping cart software solutions for start-ups and SMEs. Sellerdeck Online products are supplied, supported and maintained through an alliance between Sellerdeck, the best-selling UK E-Commerce provider and Oxatis, the market leader in E-Commerce solutions in France. All products combine flexibility, affordability and ease of use with the functionality needed to build and manage a successful online business and are used by many thousands of companies to power their E-Commerce stores.

Sellerdeck Releases v10.0.2

Sellerdeck is pleased to announce the release of the latest Sellerdeck v10 update v10.0.2.

Sellerdeck v10.0.2 is an interim release containing a number of fixes for known issues and adds several enhancements to Sellerdeck Payments and Feefo customer feedback. For more information please see the release notes.

This is available for all Sellerdeck v10 customers to download from the Software Patches and Updates section of the Download Centre .

If you are not already using Sellerdeck v10 you can take a 30 day trial of this new release.