From soup can labels to Web site badges, labeling has been a large part of product recognition and brand loyalty. The problem for most companies today is that while a label often contains well-known symbols—like Energy Star or Recycle— consumers often have no real understanding of the actual meaning of the label and no means to interact with it.

Even when companies display labels and product symbols on the Web, which provides the means to make that interaction possible, few companies take advantage of interactive labeling to educate and visually stimulate consumers

Jump To Green, Inc., hopes to change labeling online with the company’s flagship technology, JumpGauge, which helps consumers identify and understand product attributes through interactive labeling.

JumpGauge interactive labels fit in a small space but expand with a simple mouse-over action to reveal the full backstory of the product or service. (Click for larger image).

Creating a Backstory

Most Web sites tell a product’s backstory by linking pages of information from main areas of the Web site, but with JumpGauge the information you need easily fits into a small 50- by 100-pixel space. Your customers and site visitors can then mouseover the interactive label for further details.

Stas Antons, Jump To Green’s co-founder, believes that interactive labeling offers multiple benefits. "These labels provide a visual stimulant to consumers; they see a water droplet symbol, for example and immediately identify that with conservation,” he said. “With a JumpGauge on your site, your customers are able to immediately find out how that attribute applies to your company and products.”

When people shop, they often research and look for specific, motivating details about a product before making a purchase. According to Antons, research shows that e-commerce sites sell more when they provide more information about their products to consumers right on the page where they purchase the item.

With JumpGauge your backstory and product labeling provides a visual stimulant and offers people an interactive element to keep them on your page and interested in learning more about what you have to offer.

The E-commerce Benefit

Using the JumpGauge, according to Antons, lets customers glance through some topics and perform more in-depth research on others. "It really lets people investigate the things they find important and interesting about your products and services."

On a product page for a solar-powered backpack, for example, your gauge might offer several icons such as Rechargeable batteries, Solar Power, Made in America, Sustainable Materials and others. Shoppers can mouse-over each icon in the label to learn more about the specific attribute they are interested in.

The best feature is that the JumpGauge lets you provide a lot of extra information to the customer while they are shopping, yet it takes up very little space on your page.

JumpGauge Technology: How it Works

On an e-commerce retail site, if vendors have chosen to integrate JumpGauge technology, the gauges are available to retailers.  Site owners initially consult with Jump To Green—the resulting interactive JumpGauge labels are created after your site, including all product information, has been scanned.

Jump To Green handles the scanning and organization of the content and then delivers the backstory across any area for any segment with JumpGauges.  Once the gauges have been created, site owners copy-and-paste the widget code to their own site to display the interactive labels. 

Web site owners can invest in JumpGauge for products on their retail sites and also for human resources and company profiles. A JumpGauge can be created based on any information found on your site during the data-scanning process.

Jump To Green can provide the backstory for any product or service, and for all kinds of reasons. “Using JumpGaug, you can tell your consumers anything from the manufacturing history of a product to how great a company you are to work for,” said Antons.

Availability

Jump To Green officially launched JumpGauge after it beta tested the interactive labeling service with more than 30,000 products in green and eco-friendly markets. Pricing starts at $250, and goes up depending on how many channels and products you have.

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.