Wize Blog

Wize is a Connected Innovator

We’re excited to announce that Wize has been named one of the 12 Connected Innovators invited to attend this year’s Supernova conference, co-hosted by TechCrunch . It’s a great honor, and a terrific opportunity for us to share the spotlight with other companies that are using technology to connect people in new and valuable ways.

Wize was started with the belief that Web 1.0 – the idea of companies “pushing” static pages to its customers – was not enough, and that Web 2.0 was about making peoples lives better. Wize is focused on answering important questions by extracting the data out of web pages, leveraging the wisdom of real people, and by encouraging a meaningful dialog that can actually help people make great decisions with confidence.

As we continue to look for ways to leverage the concepts and technologies of Web 2.0 and beyond, we appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Connected Innovators program.

Basket Size Increases in Store

In last week’s blog, I mentioned a recent Forrester report and what it said about online shoppers doing research online and shopping in stores. The report also included this nugget regarding basket size, loosely defined as the number of things that customers purchase at one time – and the amount of money they spend: “45% [of consumers who have researched a product online and bought it offline] say that they buy additional products once in the store, spending on average $154 in incremental purchases.”

This is pretty straightforward stuff, and fairly intuitive. Still, it’s worth thinking about. Merchandising works. Touch and feel are important. The immediate gratification of an in-store purchase is not easily recreated online.

With online sales driving an increasing percentage of in-store purchases, the companies that understand how to create true multi-channel experiences clearly have an upper hand. But customers are jaded by manufacturer and retailer sites, and they are not sure they can trust sellers to be open and honest. Was Microsoft the best judge of the Zune, or was their independent customer base?

Wize is perfectly positioned to help customers find the information they need and to drive them to the best stores. Our content – aggregated reviews and ratings from thousands of independent sites – allows us to provide customers with reliable third-party information to help them make purchases decisions. Retailers, manufacturers, and others can contact us for more information on the Wize Syndication Program to see how we are helping customers get the information they need.

Online Shopping Doesn’t Just Happen Online

According to a Forrester report published this week, “slightly more than half of online consumers have researched a product online and then purchased it offline in a traditional brick-and-mortar location.” While the number itself (51%, according to Forrester’s report) is not surprising, the behavior is worth noting. People in the group surveyed define themselves as online shoppers, yet when they make a big purchase they often head right to the store. One of the reasons for this, according to the report, is that customers often buy a product in stores because they want it immediately. Another is that they want to avoid shipping costs.

In our own customer studies, We’ve watched person after person talk about a store’s reputation, and about the importance of being able to return a product to a physical location. “Have you ever had a problem with a bad vendor on the internet?” we asked. “Have you ever tried to return a product on the web and not been able to?” Our customers shook their heads: no, no, no. But the fear exists.

I watched customers look at a list of stores and prices and consistently choose Amazon.com to make their purchase. When I asked why, participants told me that they were shopping Amazon for the lowest price. But here’s the thing: Amazon did not have the lowest price. In almost every case, the lowest price came from a small niche retailer. But Amazon.com was the most reputable store with the lowest price, and this made a huge difference.

There is an enormous opportunity for internet retailers to thrill customers with service, and to improve their credibility. And there is a huge opportunity for retailers who operate multiple channels to drive offline sales from their websites. Customers who, in Forrester’s words, “are driven by immediacy,” have an enormous need that is still way too hard to meet.

In my next blog, I’ll reference the same report in discussing how visiting a physical location increases basket size.

Using the Web to Help Each Other

According to the Blog Herald, there are more than 70 million blogs on the web. According to the Student PR blog, 100,000 new blogs are created each day. Clearly, a lot of people out there feel that they (we) have something worthwhile to share. Whether they write because of their need to connect, communicate, express an opinion, or make a living, people are blogging, in droves. But there are other important ways to contribute on the web.

According to the numbers at Wize.com, more than 1.3 million user and expert reviews have already been used to generate more 30,000 Wize Rank ratings. That’s a lot of people who not only have something important to say, but want to use their knowledge – and their experience – to help people. It’s 2,031 reviews by people who want to help others understand the joys and risks of owning an iPod Nano, and 1,441 people who did the same for the SanDisk Sansa.

Why do these people do it? Some of them have an axe to grind due to poor product performance or bad customer service. Many more write to sing the praises of products they love. Clearly, the idea of helping others is important in both situations. 43 Things, which I referenced in a previous blog, tells us that more than 21 thousand people have a personal goal to “help people”.

It’s interesting to think of how little that takes these days. What others ways do people help each other on the web? We’d love to hear what you think.