Mercado Introduces Metrics-Driven Merchandising

Mercado Software, an e-commerce search and merchandising company, has long helped heavy hitters such as Guess and MSN optimize their online retail sites, but you don't have to be a huge enterprise to get in on the action. Through its partnership with Web analytics firms such as FireClick, Mercado is introducing a new service, called metrics-driven merchandising, that even small Web shop owners can use to increase sales.

"What our customers are realizing is that Web analytics can be put to better use if integrated with their site," said Corey J. Leibow, president and CEO of Mercado. "If they see a product that isn't selling, they can take action immediately, promote it, offer free shipping, or if there's an excess, they'll know when to put it on sale. With metrics-driven merchandising, you're able to increase your conversion rates in real-time."

Jamestown Distributors, a woodworking and boatbuilding supply company, is the first online retailer to use Mercado's metrics-driven merchandising. The Rhode Island-based company uses FireClick's Web analytics with Mercado Commerce Search and Navigation (CSN), software that lets online retailers maximize site search and merchandising and includes analysis and testing tools.

"By using Mercado and FireClick together, we are able to better manage our marketing and merchandising campaigns, " said Michael Mills, vice president of the Rhode Island-based Jamestown Distributors. "We can monitor in real-time our Web site's merchandising performance — ensuring that our team can promote the products that convert better, as well as to fine-tune search results based on business factors such as seasonal specials, profit margins and owned inventory."

In fact, Mills called the reports generated by the software "really addicting" because he can quickly monitor the performance of his inventory. He evaluates conversion rates, or how often an item is getting viewed versus how often it's purchased. "We can get a real quick snap-shot of our conversion rates across the board, on a weekly basis, averages over six months, one-week blocks and then compare, say, a two-week period to the last three months."

Mills can also look at keywords and the split between organic and paid searches, see how many clicks came through for a particular keyword, how much money is earned by a product and how many sold, among other things. "You can slice and dice attributes, research revenue over any time period and get these reports lickety-split," he said.

Furthermore, Mills says the solution helps him organize his Web site because he can display products based on how well they do. The application is brand new, he said, so he has yet to compile sales stats based on its implementation, but for now, he's happy that it's saving him time and providing pertinent performance data.

"Where to place a product on the site is a huge judgment call," he said, "and we launch a lot of new supplies so the more I can do to automate where I place a product, the less I have to worry about. The FireClick integration is a great Web app and I can't wait to see how we grow as we use it."

The FireClick integrated solution will be officially announced in mid-October, and can be used with any Mercado software package. Pricing varies because it depends on which Web analytic product you use, as well as the size and type of business and number of products.

The company highlights features of its CSN package below:

Organize your catalog with automated attribute extraction and categorization: Mercado UniClass Auto-Extractor allows you to organize complex and varied product data sources. Consistency and structure within your product indices guarantees better search and navigation performance and user experience. This is especially important in e-commerce environments offering a broad and deep suite of products.
Intelligent Search and Navigation: CSN is a patented index that handles the most complex product data requirements. By accounting for all possible ways that someone might seek out products, the solution bridges the gap between shopper vocabulary and catalog terminology.
Commerce Management Console (CMC): Bundled in CSN, this allows business managers to sell to online customer s whether they are consumers, businesses, or distribution partners. It also allows you to cross-sell, up-sell recommend related items or popular products, substitute products and schedule seasonal, best-seller and other timely promotions.
Ensure repeat business by testing, analyzing and tuning: The commerce console lets provides testing and measurement tools that help you refine your sales strategy by market segment and business factors, such as inventory levels and profit margins. By leveraging features like A/B and multivariate testing, you gain insight into how your customers' interact with your site and respond to promotions. From there, you can fine-tune your methods based on real-time customer feedback, analytics and related business metrics.
Michelle Megna is managing editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.

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