👋 Tom Locke

🚨 Have you woken up to an email this morning from Shopify talking about ‘Shopify Tax’ and the impending additional cost. 🚨 Are you not sure what this means or worried about the additional costs involved? Don’t worry, we’ve pulled together a high level overview of it for you. Check it out here - https://lnkd.in/es-VahPU Give us a shout if you need any further help #ShopifyExperts #ShopifyTaxUpdate #Markets

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At Vervaunt we've been much more hands-on with Shopify Flow over the last 6-9 months after seeing some big improvements, leading to much more useful and complex flows being achieved. I still think there's a few big improvements needed around the UI and configuration before it becomes a real Zapier-esque self serve system, but hope that will eventually come (Gavin Ballard posted about this a few weeks ago which had a lot of good context and discussion). But one element i'm a big fan of are the ready-to-go Flow Templates. This is going to be the common route of connecting vendors in the tech stack together in the medium term. It makes so much more sense handling these fully within the Shopify infrastructure and the days of an app having a big private library of integrations as a USP are numbered. I've cobbled together a quick video of connecting Census > Slack in about 3 clicks to highlight the ease of this for a merchant.

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I’ve got some bad news, ecommerce peeps. Sorry, but you didn’t test the new buttons on the site - your order page, the enquiry form, some other important thing. So now, 17% of people visiting your site can’t proceed with being customers of yours! Of those 17%, -5% move on immediately to another supplier. -5% waste a whole bunch of time, get annoyed and for the next 3 years tell all their friends how awful an experience they had on your site. -5% try a desktop computer with Windows 10 and Google Chrome and it works fine. -2% contact you to complain, and you write it off as an anomaly as between your 10 customer support staff, the times it comes up per support staff is LOW. It might not seem like a lot, but this ends up resulting in $2 million in lost annual revenue! And while all of those numbers are completely made up, there is a ring of truth to every joke, but it’s really not going to be funny to you when you realise there was an avoidable issue sitting between you and revenue! The other day I was on an internal meeting where they were discussing something that was working and tested on every main device except the iPad Mini. Now, while that is not important to most people, in a high volume situation it might be that customer you’ve always wanted to land, who is currently on a beach on holiday but has brought along their iPad Mini to look at supplier options while they read a digital book. But they cannot contact you or buy from you because you just test on Windows - Chrome and Internet Explorer. So many hypotheticals of course, but so much truth to this, as I can attest from personal experience! As if it doesn’t work on iPad mini, it probably doesn’t work on any iPad, and if that’s the case then it may not work on any iPhone either!

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Have you got questions about ‘Shopify Tax’ and the impending additional cost? There are 3 levels of the new Shopify Tax system. Manual Tax (free), Basic Tax (free), Shopify Tax (% Fee but Capped) If you’re only selling to the UK/EU market, as it stands at the moment the Basic tax is very much inline with your current experience with the tax set up on shopify. You can create manual tax overrides but you handle the registrations, and taxes are based of off that. Need to know more.....Don’t worry, we’ve pulled together a high level overview of it for you. #ShopifyExperts #TaxChanges #SupportingEachOther

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FAQ: What other costs should I expect outside a website build? Firstly you will need a domain name, we normally recommend clients purchase their own domain name through 123-reg.co.uk, if you dont already have one, we can help with this if needed. - Around £10 a year You will also need to pay for hosting, we can host your site or you can host the site yourself. - Around £20 a month You may also want to look at ongoing marketing going forward, including SEO, Social Media and Paid Advertising.

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ICYMI - last Thursday was the Vervaunt Pulse Ecommerce Summit, now in its third year, and such a fixture in my diary that even a half term scheduling conflict couldn’t deter me from going. The day started with a presentation from Josh Duggan and Paul Rogers that many have suggested felt like a live action version of their monthly newsletter (link in the comments) - and finished with an inspirational keynote from ASKET’s Vidar Trojenborg. There were a number of highlights throughout, but for me, personally, amongst all the trends and tech - it was a reassuring reminder that the fundamentals remain the same: 🎬The importance of brand and storytelling 🎯Why you need to really know your customer 📈The value of testing for incrementality and the dangers of focussing too much on the top line 🔮And finally, how branded services may once again be the future of digital marketing - and perhaps, even, the future of selling Lots of familiar faces and wonderful new connections, too. Anne Thouas Charlotte Kent Helena Knightley Britt Mansveld Nicola Becerra Gracia Amico Adam Davies Geeta Randev Nicholas Freddi Ash Madhav Ntola Obazee Safura Harrison Charlotte Haydon Roberts Laura Marangon Suffice to say, I am already looking forward to next year.

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I hosted a 2-hour 'Training by Doing' session yesterday evening with a US web design agency via Zoom. Once I quickly understood where they are now and where they would like to get to when it comes to integrating SEO into their agency... I got them to share their screen, logged into one of their clients sites, and I talked them through making SEO tweaks/improvements live on the fly whilst explaining how to spot impactful opportunities, and talking through the why. It makes a massive difference than me just talking through a set of slides. Being hands-on doing the doing whist learning is so impactful. I also totally love it. #SEO #SEOTraining #WebDesign #Agency

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At the moment I'm auditing 10+ Klaviyo accounts per week One thing I'm seeing is a decline in new customer acquisition New website traffic + Pop Up form submissions in most Klaviyo accounts have been on a steady decline throughout this year This decline usually dates back 3-4 months before they realise their is an issue and they reach out for an audit It's important to stay on top of your marketing that is geared towards new website visitors as opposed to retargeting The performance of this is a leading indicator of your sales in a few months time

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In the ever-moving remote world, I still think the environment has a huge part to play in creating success. Tom Kay joined us on episode 6 of CharleChats: The Ecommerce Podcast and shared his journey on moving to Cornwall to launch Finisterre. I highly recommend this ep for entrepreneurs interested in others journey to achieving huge success! Link in comments!

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Giving Business to Businesses A Business website helps to drive customers attraction and showcase your business portfolio to rank no. 1 on search engines Get your Business Website Developed Another project added to the portfolio finestplastering.co.uk #Bussinesdevelopment #WordPressDevelopment #CustomDevelopment

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Can't wait for this episode to go live next week, a brilliant chat with two absolute characters in Peter Gardner & Adam Pearce - CRO for Shopify brands! This image sums up the episode, with an incredible amount of insight, tips and knowledge, with a good amount of 'humour'! #ecommerce #ecommerceaustralia #ecommerceaustraliapodcast #cro #seo

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🚀 Just stumbled upon this mind-blowing article about Screwfix's ecommerce strategy! Amazed 🤯 but not surprised... Let me just say Deliveroo for a sec... more about that further down... Screwfix has truly redefined what it means to be an omnichannel retailer in the digital era. 🛠️ From starting as a humble mail-order business in the '70s 👴 to now having over 900 stores across the UK and Ireland, they've mastered the art of delivering convenience to their customers. 💪 What's even more impressive is their seamless transition to online dominance. Ecommerce now accounts for a crazy 60% of their total sales, compared to just 33% before the pandemic hit. Talk about adapting to the times! 📈 🥾 But here's the real kicker: Screwfix's mobile sales and app make up over 65% of their digital sales, and a whopping 80% of orders are picked up through their click-and-collect service. That's what I call catering to the needs of busy trade professionals on the go! 🚚 and that is where ALL online stores need to focus on. So when you're wondering why your online dominance can't beat the big boys, take a leaf out of their book... And they're not stopping there by the looks of it. Screwfix is doubling down on convenience by expanding its delivery services and partnering with Deliveroo (YES DELIVEROO) to offer an impressive range of products through their app. Who would've thought you could get your DIY essentials delivered to your doorstep with your favorite food? 🍔 Gamechanger? But it doesn't end with convenience as Screwfix is also investing in revamping their digital presence, making its website faster and more user-friendly. They're utilising some form of cutting-edge machine learning and AI technology to personalise the shopping experience for their customers. It's going to be like having your own personal shopping assistant! 🤖 If you're as blown away as I am by Screwfix's ecommerce journey, don't take my word for it, READ: Article thanks to Retail Week (I read religiously)... https://lnkd.in/egCaKpDw Kudos to Screwfix for setting the bar so high! 👏 #EcommerceExcellence #DigitalAgencyLife #ScrewfixSuccessStory #RetailRevolution Share

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I read a really interesting article that was discussing which was more important. A stand out design for your website or investing in SEO. The comments on the article were all really good but the simplicity of one of the comments just stood out so I thought I needed to share it here. He said "Imagine you have a stunning palace and your palace is hidden in a dense forest. If there is no road to the palace no-one gets to see it's beauty! SEO is the road that leads to the palace." Is your palace your beautiful website or it is your product that isn't getting any visibility? Either way, are you doing enough to drive traffic to your website.

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Analysing Shopify Plans for UK Businesses 🇬🇧 Introduction I have conversations with businesses of all shapes and sizes regarding Shopify's pricing structure. To shorten the plan selection process, I will answer some of the frequent questions I get. Before we get into it, here is a quick summary of the current UK Shopify plan fees: Basic Shopify: £25/month (£19/month if billed annually)(Rolling) Shopify: £65/month (£49/month if billed annually)(Rolling) Advanced Shopify: £344/month (£259/month if billed annually)(Rolling) Shopify Plus: Starting at £1,600 per month (Anual Contracted) Q&A: Key Information on Shopify Plans Q: When is the Basic Shopify plan most applicable?: Basic Shopify is most applicable if you only require one staff account. Q: Which Shopify plan is ideal for brands with specific shipping requirements?: Advanced Shopify is usually the go-to plan for brands with specific shipping requirements when integrating with carriers. Q: Should hosting and security be a consideration when selecting a Shopify plan?: No, hosting and security are included in each Shopify plan, so this should not be a consideration in the plan selection process. Q: How generous are the inventory locations across Shopify plans?: Inventory locations are plentiful across all plans and should be sufficient for most businesses. Q: Are free trials available for Shopify plans?: Free trials are offered for the first month on most plans. Q: Do Shopify Plus plans offer any discounts?: Shopify Plus plans generally offer a tiered discount based on the contract duration you sign up for. Q: How can I maximise transaction fee savings with Shopify plans?: Transaction fee savings are notable in the advanced/plus plans. To maximise transaction fee savings, the sweet spot to join Advanced tends to be around £300K, and for Plus, around £2 million in revenue. Q: Are website domains included in Shopify plans? A: Unlike other platforms, website domains are not included in Shopify plans. Consulting with a Shopify agency is generally advised when deciding on the right plan; including an agency in the Plus plan selection process is even more critical. The Shopify Plus sales team will run a total cost of ownership exercise before drafting a contract for you; an agency will then roadmap out the use of Plus tools to maximise plan ROI. Have I missed something? Comment away... #ecommerce #shopify #ukbusiness #onlinestore #businessgrowth #shopifyplus #ecommerceplatform #shopifystore #smallbusiness #startup

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7 Traits of a Terrible B2B Website... 1. Self-focused copy, ignoring customer needs 2. Claiming awards but showing no proof 3. Boring, generic testimonials 4. No 'Book a Meeting' option 5. Confusing sliding banners 6. Lacking any personality 7. Hiding your pricing What would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments.

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