Every e-tailer relies on a handful of tools, software and hardware, to make their work more efficient -- and ideally, profitable. For Andy Erickson, it's a group of three: his shopping cart and site-building software, ShopSite; his Web analytics tool, Urchin; and a hosting service that he feels secure about.
As the owner of Colorado-based Legendary Toys, which specializes in games and toys relating to myths and legends (think Harry Potter), Erickson's task are myriad. In true entrepreneurial fashion, Erickson and his wife do most of the heavy lifting, from maintaining inventory to packing and shipping. Erickson also does site updates himself, which is why he's a big fan of ShopSite.
The e-commerce site building software makes him more time efficient, he says. He bought the advanced version for $1,295 and hasn't regretted it.
"I do a little bit of HTML coding so I've been able to use [ShopSite] to generate the templates I use," Erickson says. These templates make all the difference, because his site has 200 pages and several hundred products. Using ShopSite's templates, "I can make a change to the whole site by generating a little code in the template, and it updates every page at the push of a button."
The fact that ShopSite generates static pages was a big selling point for him. In planning the site, Erickson researched shopping cart software and found that some of the packages generated dynamic pages -- a feature he waned to avoid because of its implications for search engines.
With ShopSite, "the pages are all right there, so it's a lot easier for the search engines to find me and index everything."
Additionally, ShopSite aids inventory control by ensuring that shoppers can't order out-of-stock products.
"I can enter in how much we have of everything, and when someone tries to order beyond that, ShopSite tells them we're out," he says. Or, it can be set up to tell shoppers the total number of units remaining in inventory.
Erickson also likes that ShopSite's shopping cart integrates with PayPal. Although Legendary Toys accepts credit cards, "I find some customers would rather pay with their PayPal," he said. When a PayPal user makes a purchase at Legendary Toys, the ShopSite software routes them to PayPal at point of purchase, then routes them back to Legendary Toys.
Another key selling point for Erickson was that ShopSite helps Legendary Toys create relationships with repeat customers. By default, the software allows shoppers to register with the site, so they can store their payment information or set up preferences for receipts. Erickson builds on this by giving those shoppers who register a coupon for a special discount. ShopSite also enables shoppers to sign themselves up for an opt-in e-mail list, "which I use to upsell later on," Erickson said.
24/7 Service
Conveniently, Erickson's shopping cart software integrates with another important tool on which he relies to make Legendary Toys a success: his Web hosting company, Lexiconn.
 |
| Legendary Toys invested in a Pro version of ShopSite and a dedicated hosting provider -- investments that are paying off. |
For one thing, Lexiconn offers its own tool for ShopSite that integrates with the U.S. Post Office site. "I tell my shopping cart [software] what everything weighs, and when customers order, they put in their ZIP code and can know in real time what their shipping is going to cost." ShopSite performs this same function with UPS delivery service.
At $50 a month, the hosting company's price is not the most rock bottom for mom-and-pop merchants. (The company also offer a package through which merchants can lease ShopSite, for a higher monthly rate). But it's the company's service that earned Erickson's kudos.
In the middle of Thanksgiving weekend last year, the Legendary Toys site ran into a major problem that required his host's assistance. Because of the holiday, Erickson figured he was probably out of luck -- but Lexiconn fixed the problem that very weekend. Indeed, the service has always been 24/7, he says.
He says that while he might get similar service from some other hosts, there are downsides. "Then I'd have to use their shopping cart," he says. "There were a few different hosting companies that use the shopping cart software that I wanted, but in my research, Lexiconn was highly recommended."
By the Numbers
Lexiconn also integrates with Erickson's other key to success, Urchin -- a Web analytics tool he relies on heavily. When he wants to learn about his customers, he looks at the stats that Urchin provides.
| Vital Statistics |
| Name: |
Legendary Toys |
| Founded: | July 2003 |
| Sales/revenues: | Undisclosed |
| Content management/storefront system: | ShopSite Pro v7 |
| Database backend: | StoneEdge Order Manager |
| Visitor analytics system: | Urchin (through Lexiconn) |
| Hosting provider: | Lexiconn |
| Payment solutions: | Merchant account, PayPal |
| Number of employees: | 4 |
| Number of tech staff: | 1 |
| Key strategies: | • Invest in advanced shopping cart software
• High-quality hosting provider
• Track visitor activities |
IE 7
Firefox 2.0
