I had the pleasure to attend IRWD recently in Orlando, FL. Here are some of the highlights of an interesting 3 day-journey in the world of web and mobile-based retailing:

1. Content (content and more content)

To offer content that is entertaining and relevant to your customers is key. You should claim ownership over your own content. One growing trend seems to be leveraging in-house resources to maintain and improve one’s website content, starting with product descriptions. Instead of copy/pasting a manufacturer’s description of a product, make it your own. Not only will it help strengthen your identity, but it will also help the SEO rankings of your site.

2.(The importance of) Data

Each conference dedicated a portion, if not the entire session to the importance of knowing a site’s users. Where do they come from? What are they and where are they going? Ask yourself: what do they need to understand your product? Forget about “if we build something, visitors will come”. Instead, try to understand how your customers interact with your site through Web Analytics. If you know what they visit, where they drop off, where they stay the longest, you will be able to make informed decisions on how to articulate the experience on your site. A wise man quoted Avinash Kaushik by reminding us that “For every $1 invested in analytics, 10 cents should be spent on the analytics tool and 90 cents on the analyst”.

3. Navigation and Guided Navigation

Guided navigation also referred to as “refined search” or “faceted search” is the ability to refine search results through filters. A filter can be a list of brands, products types, or a price range, etc. About half of your visitors start by typing a keyword into a search box (searchers) and the other half browses (navigators). Searchers can benefit from filters, as it provides the opportunity to refine results. A clear structure of your top navigation with departments (preferably with categories displayed in a fly-out navigation) and breadcrumbs are crucial for navigators.

4. “Perfection doesn’t exist …only good attempts.” (Charles Caleb Colton)

Your home page and your catalog navigation will never be perfect, especially not the first time around. Start by redesigning your site based on the content and the products that will drive good near term returns. Then test, experiment and keep refining in order to support your long term needs.

5. Rankings versus Sales

The Rugs Direct team brought an interesting perspective on search engine optimization in retail. Look at your organic search results and try to understand the impact of removing performing keywords from your home page for example. Compare the metrics against your sales. If the sales are low, you may consider removing them, even if it means losing rankings. Focusing on profitable products can have a cost. It’s important to find a balance between what people are looking for and what is profitable for your company. This was one of my favourite findings of the conference.

I have to admit that I expected the usual battles between analytics experts (data is king), information architects (let’s layer the information) and designers (how to make it all pretty). Surprisingly, all the messages that rose from the sessions converged: it’s all about understanding your customer. In three years, the focus has shifted from putting the customer in the driving seat to finding your own path as a retailer, by getting the user’s information and doing something with it. Take a full picture of your customer and make sure he has a memorable journey end-to-end, from the site, mobile site to brick-and-mortar.