Online book retailer Bokus prepares for the future with Apptus eSales

Apptus eSales displays the right products to the right shoppers at the right time

Lund, Sweden, July 5, 2010 – Apptus Technologies AB, a leading provider of eCommerce search and recommendations solutions, today announced that Bokus (www.bokus.com) has launched their new-look eCommerce website incorporating Apptus eSales, its new personalised search and recommendations suite.

Bokus is one of Sweden’s largest online book retailers, carrying nearly 6 million titles.  In 2009, their eCommerce site received up to 80,000 visitors per day and delivered 8,000 – 15,000 books per day, using an early product from Apptus for their site search and navigation.  After merging with Akademibokhandeln in 2008, Bokus embarked upon a significant redesign of their existing website, including a competitive re-evaluation of both organisations’ eCommerce suppliers.

Europe’s leading search technology company Apptus, offers a safe passage for all users of FAST on Linux and Unix to Apptus’ search platform Theca.

Apptus, Europe’s leading developer of search and content enrichment services for online directories, today announced that they will offer all users of the FAST Enterprise Search Platform to replace it with their own platform Theca at no cost for licenses. The announcement was made as a response to the spring news that FAST’s present owner Microsoft will abandon all further Unix and Linux platform support for FAST.

How to engage customers in your E-Commerce Website

The following tips-and-trix arcticle was published at Smashing Magazine on Rating and Reviews. “One of the most influential factors in our buying decisions is the opinions of our friends and relatives. Likewise, a large majority of online shoppers now trust what other customers say about the products they buy more than the e-tailers themselves. The reason is that we trust people who are “on our side,” even if we do not know them personally. Making it easy for users to keep your product pages alive is a crucial aspect of an e-commerce website. Your environment should be inviting enough to involve your loyal customers as well as unhappy customers to submit their reviews. Negative reviews can be as useful as positive ones, or even more helpful. In particular, if you respond to reviews, addressing issues and suggesting solutions, you can easily turn a negative comment in a positive one.”

Reference: Rung András, read more at Smashing Magazine

From Print dependency to online opportunities.

At the recent EADP Conference at Mallorca, Spain, we attended a seminar with Eniro’s CEO Jesper Kärrbrink. He talked about the fact that the directory business must transform, because there simply are no alternatives. So he suggested that they, instead of fighting the change, should do it with a smile, although it’s going to be a painful transformation.

Adjusting to the decline of printed directories.

Attending the “Yellow Pages Today” conference in Stuttgart in May, we heard a majority of the speakers talk about how the Yellow Pages business is rapidly changing. The competition is no longer in a single market, but in many local search markets. This means that the business has to shift focus from products to service, and become a provider of leads to the SME market. At the moment, a majority of Yellow Pages advertising revenue still come from printed directories. In most markets, 50 % of SMEs do not have a website. And a very small percentage of Yellow Pages sales people are “selling leads”. All this will probably change.

Swedens best sites: Ikea

In the 2009 list of Sweden’s best sites by Internetworld, Ikea reached a prominent position with the following motivation:

Ikea’s tools and guides for choosing the right furniture has no counterparts in Sweden. Everything from the simple multiple-step guides to choosing the right furniture for the downloadable planning tools for the entire kitchen, bedroom and study indicates that a store could be so much more than a product catalog in html. Navigation is clear and logical without being boring. Ikea has since some time inventory status position in the department stores on each product and now strengthens its multi-channel thinking with printable shopping lists. Way to go, Billy!

Reference: Internetworld

One of the world’s largest providers of mobile devices chooses Apptus

One of the world’s largest global providers of mobile multimedia devices has chosen Apptus Technologies to create a search and recommendation engine for their mobile entertainment portal. The portal is a vital part of the mobile device provider’s strategy to broaden their offering.

Online sales growth continues to lead the way in UK

Retail sales continued to grow fastest online in March, new figures out today show.

Some £4.5bn was spent online in March, according to figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, a rise of 15% from the same time last year. The rise came as warm weather inspired people to shop for new clothes, where retailers saw a 27% rise in sales. Footwear and accessories were the fastest growing areas of the market, with rises of 58% and 55% respectively.

Reference: Chloe Rigby, Internet retailing  /  Read more at Internet Retailing

Truvo

Truvo delivered content to over 600 000 customers websites with Apptus.

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