Returns can be a major expense for all retail businesses—especially eCommerce businesses. In this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, we address all things returns. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, and Marcus Burnette, a WooCommerce care team member for GoDaddy, to discuss product returns.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on just how much returns can eat into eCommerce margins, what motivates customers to make returns, and how many customers are making returns.

From there, they cover several strategies to help with returns, including setting up a return policy, how to keep returns easy on both customers and merchants, the Returns and Warranty Requests WooCommerce extension, using pick lists and address validation, the WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro extension, better images, and return window and cost optimization.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether using too many hooks can slow down a WooCommerce site and what to look for in choosing a marketing agency.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

Returns and Warranty Requests* - https://woocommerce.com/products/warranty-requests/

WooCommerce Print Invoices & Packing Lists* - https://woocommerce.com/products/print-invoices-packing-lists/

WooCommerce Product Reviews Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-product-reviews-pro/

Postcode/Address Validation* - https://woocommerce.com/products/postcodeaddress-validation/

WooCommerce 360º Image* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-360-image/

Strategy of only charging for refunds - https://www.loopreturns.com/blog/should-online-brands-offer-free-return-shipping/

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Sources for statistics:

https://www.invespcro.com/blog/ecommerce-product-return-rate-statistics/

Industry benchmark: 15-40% of products ordered online returned (versus ~9% of things bought in-store)

67% will check returns policy before making purchase

92% will buy from a store again if return process is easy

https://www.salecycle.com/blog/featured/ecommerce-retu...

A solid checkout flow is a crucial step in getting customers to complete purchases—eCommerce businesses can improve conversion rate by more than one-third by optimizing checkout flow. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Simon Porter, a GoDaddy support engineer, and Léa Oriol, a GoDaddy product manager, to discuss checkout flow optimization.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on pet peeves with online checkouts, checkout features that improve the odds of a sale, reasons for cart abandonment, and website trust indicators.

From there, they cover several strategies to help with checkout flow: Reducing unexpected costs and checkout roadblocks like account creation, streamlining forms and coupons, offering customers estimated delivery dates, adding payment gateways to a site, and diagnosing checkout flow issues with Google Analytics Pro.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses how to set up products that customers can purchase one time or via a recurring subscription, and the most important metrics for a WooCommerce store to track.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

Jetpack - https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/

Checkout Field Editor* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-field-editor/

WooCommerce Social Login* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-social-login/

URL Coupons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/url-coupons/

WooCommerce Shipping Estimate - https://www.skyverge.com/product/woocommerce-shipping-estimates/

WooCommerce Lead Time - https://barn2.co.uk/wordpress-plugins/woocommerce-lead-time/

WooCommerce Google Analytics Pro* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-google-analytics-pro/

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate

Optimizing checkout process can increase conversion rate by 35%

Top reasons customers abandon carts

Roughly 70% of carts are abandoned<...

The online shopping journey continues to become more personalized—leading to a better experience for customers and more lucrative results for merchants. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Tamara Zuk, a GoDaddy support engineer, and Benjamin Green, a GoDaddy support specialist, to discuss personalization with WooCommerce.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on good versus bad uses of personalization, the tradeoff of giving up personal data for a more customized shopping experience, and what the near future may hold for personalization.

From there, they cover several strategies to help with personalization for a WooCommerce site including: Showcasing cross-sells and recently-viewed products, targeted in-cart cross-selling, automated emails, retargeting ads based on shopper behavior, and on-site recommendations.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether it’s possible to use WooCommerce as a CRM tool and whether it’s worth learning to code to manage a WooCommerce store.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

Cart Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/cart-add-ons/

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/

Recommendation Engine - https://woocommerce.com/products/recommendation-engine/

Product Recommendations for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/product-recommendations/

The toilet seat tweet - https://twitter.com/GirlFromBlupo/status/982156453396996096

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://www.coredna.com/blogs/the-importance-of-personalization-in-ecommerce

94% of companies say personalization is critical to success, but three-quarters marketers struggle to do it

Adding personalization to eCommerce increases sales by 7.8% initially, longer term 19%

75% of customers like it when brands personalize promotional messages

56% more likely to use online retailer with "good personalized experience"

https://c.smarterhq.com/resources/Privacy-Personalization-Report.pdf

63% will stop purchasing from company after creepy interaction

Creepiest tactics: AI chat popups, push notifications on behavior, ads with products or brands, being targeted too many tim...

Customer nurturing is the essential process of turning leads into customers, customers into repeat customers, and repeat customers into brand advocates. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Léa Oriol, a GoDaddy Product Manager, and Simon Porter, a GoDaddy Support Engineer, to discuss customer nurturing.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on first-time buyers, the allure of loyalty rewards, the transition from one-time customer into repeat customer, and what businesses can do to create significant brand loyalty.

From there, they cover several strategies to help with nurturing including lead gen and lead capture, automated email marketing, setting up loyalty points and rewards in WooCommerce, and encouraging brand advocacy.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses backup frequency for WooCommerce sites and the role of AI for small- and medium-sized eCommerce businesses.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

OptinMonster - https://optinmonster.com/

MailOptin - https://mailoptin.io/

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/

WooCommerce Points and Rewards* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-points-and-rewards/

ReferralCandy - https://www.referralcandy.com/

AutomateWoo Refer-a-Friend add-on - https://woocommerce.com/products/automatewoo-refer-a-friend/

SurveySparrow chatbot - https://surveysparrow.com/products/chatbot-for-website/

Chatfuel - https://chatfuel.com/

Product Recommendations - https://woocommerce.com/products/product-recommendations/

The famous flannel top - https://www.landsend.co.uk/Womens_Brushed_Flannel_Shirt/pp/P_38136.html

The famous popcorn - https://www.bepopcorn.ch/

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/lead-nurturing-statistics/#gref

96% of visitors to a website aren't ready to buy

Companies that blog 11+ times per mon...

Gift cards are really popular items among online shoppers, which is why selling them can be very lucrative for eCommerce stores. On this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, we take a deep dive into offering gift cards at a WooCommerce store. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Ian Misner, the head of GoDaddy’s WooCommerce care team, and Erica Ross, a GoDaddy Customer Support Specialist, to discuss gift cards.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on why people buy gift cards, how purchasing behavior differs when a customer is using a gift card, buying gift cards for yourself, and the sheer number of unused gift cards.

From there, they cover several strategies, like using the PDF Product Vouchers extension to sell digital and physical gift cards, incorporating the Name Your Price extension, and ideas for gift card promotions.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses sending cart abandonment emails through wp_mail() and using Facebook Messenger for customer service and promotions.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

PDF Product Vouchers* - https://woocommerce.com/products/pdf-product-vouchers/

Name Your Price - https://woocommerce.com/products/name-your-price/

Cart Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/cart-add-ons/

WooCommerce Checkout Add-ons* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-checkout-add-ons/

WooCommerce Memberships* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-memberships/

AutomateWoo* - https://automatewoo.com/

Facebook for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/facebook/

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://thergca.org/RGCA/Resources/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use/RGCA/Resources/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use/Tips_for_Safe_Gift_Card_Use.aspx?hkey=3529daa3-2086-447d-b453-04e1c671e3c8

Gift cards are the most popular gift for 14 years in a row

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/demand-for-digital-...

Click-and-collect and local pickup options have been growing steadily for years—but the pandemic significantly accelerated that growth. And... all signs point to customers continuing to use local pickup even once the pandemic is over. In this episode, host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Benjamin Green, a GoDaddy care specialist, and Tamara Zuk, a GoDaddy support engineer, to discuss local pickup for WooCommerce businesses.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on the local pickup adoption rate by businesses, using click-and-collect, making impulse buys while picking up a click-and-collect order, and a local pickup option as a marketing tool for businesses.

From there, they cover several strategies to help incorporate local pickup into a WooCommerce business, including the built-in options in the WooCommerce core, the Local Pickup Plus extension, inventory management solutions, defining a local pickup workflow, and incorporating store finder plugins.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses whether it’s possible to turn a WooCommerce site into a static site, and what to look for when hiring influencers.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

Local Pickup Plus* - https://woocommerce.com/products/local-pickup-plus/

Bulk Stock Management* - https://woocommerce.com/products/bulk-stock-management/

WooCommerce Print Invoices & Packing Lists* - https://woocommerce.com/products/print-invoices-packing-lists/

Store Finder for WooCommerce - https://woocommerce.com/products/store-finder-for-woocommerce/

WP Store Locator - https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-store-locator/

WP Rocket - https://wp-rocket.me/

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1132011/click-and-collect-retail-sales-growth-us/

Click-and-collect grew 60.4% in 2020

https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/09/30/nearly-44-of-top-500-retailers-with-stores-now-offer-curbside-pickup/

5x growth in number of stores offering pickup by end of 2020

https://www.invespcro.com/blog/buy-online-...

It’s all about subscriptions in today’s episode, a popular business model that’s seeing rapid adoption across the eCommerce world. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce experts: Nik McLaughlin, a GoDaddy Technical Account Manager, and Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, to discuss the ins and outs of subscriptions.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on subscription boxes, reasons behind cancelling subscriptions, media and content subscriptions, and streaming services.

From there, they cover several strategies to help eCommerce businesses incorporate the subscription model and get the most out of it: adding WooCommerce Subscriptions to a site, using WooCommerce Memberships for a more robust subscriber experience, tiered subscription pricing, and subscriber retention techniques.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses reasons why a store might see low conversions from advertising as well as the right scenarios to work on localization for a WooCommerce store.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/

WooCommerce Memberships* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-memberships/

WPML - https://wpml.org/

Say What? - https://wordpress.org/plugins/say-what/

Loco Translate - https://wordpress.org/plugins/loco-translate/

Google Language Translator - https://wordpress.org/plugins/google-language-translator/

Translating WooCommerce Memberships - https://www.skyverge.com/blog/translate-woocommerce-memberships/

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Sources for statistics:

• https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-subscription-e-commerce-market-is-expected-to-reach-us-478-bn-by-2025cagr-68-univdatos-market-insights-301115593.html

• Subscription eCommerce market projected to grow 68% per year
• Almost three out of four D2C eCommerce businesses will sell subscription services by 2023

• https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/ecommerce-subscriptions

• 40% of people have canceled an online subscription
• Types of subscriptions: 32% for replenishment, 55% for curation, 13% for access

Product photos just might be the most important aspect of a WooCommerce store’s product pages. On this episode of eCommerce Unscripted, the panel dives into all aspects of product photography. Host Sam Greenspan is joined by two WooCommerce and photography experts: Marcus Burnette, a GoDaddy care specialist focusing on WooCommerce, and Tabitha Turton, a GoDaddy Product Manager, to discuss taking and using better product photos.

The panel shares statistics and anecdotes on the importance of product photos on an eCommerce site, the downsides of deceptive or low-quality photos, stock photos, and product photo pet peeves.

From there, they cover several strategies including using larger images, incorporating user-generated photos, adding 360-degree views, using variation images, AB testing images, and taking better photos of your own products. The panel gives a whirlwind lesson on product photography, including cameras, staging, lighting, and camera settings.

Finally, in the Q&A, the panel addresses setting up subscription-based digital products and the right frequency to email a customer list.

Check out GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress Ecommerce hosting which includes many of the premium extensions discussed in this episode for free! https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/ecommerce-hosting

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Extensions and services referenced (* - included in the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Ecommerce bundle)

Instagram feed - https://elfsight.com/instagram-feed-instashow/woocommerce/

WooCommerce 360° Image* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-360-image/

WooCommerce Additional Variation Images* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-additional-variation-images/

Name Your Price - https://woocommerce.com/products/name-your-price/

WooCommerce Subscriptions* - https://woocommerce.com/products/woocommerce-subscriptions/

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Submit questions for future episodes

https://forms.office.com/r/SFk0b9Xjg5

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Sources for statistics:

https://www.seattlewebdesign.com/blog/seattle-web-design-online-marketing-blog/post/three-huge-statistics-about-ecommerce-product-photography-and-what-to-do-about-them

75% of online shoppers rely on product photos when deciding on a potential purchase

Of the products that are returned, almost one in four are returned because the product looks different in person

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/why-product-photography-is-important/147451496051

Quality of images influ...