Ekm Systems Latest News

Valentines Day trade online: Could pet treats really be more popular than lingerie? Ecommerce business insight by ekmPowershop.com

17 February 2010

ekmPowershop.com, the UK’s leading ecommerce software provider shows some interesting findings for Valentine’s gifts bought online this year. We saw the usual; chocolates, flowers, underwear and general items in red or heart themed all selling out fast. But the big surprise we found from our panel of online shop owners – the increased demand in pet treats! Certainly the most prominent finding for ekmPowershop.com this year, as our study profiled over 6000 online shops in the UK over the Valentine’s period. When probing our busy online shop owners, Kelly Copeland of www.prettypawsaccessories.co.uk commented on what has become a massive growth industry both off and online: “We do a lot on the heart ID tags, collars, "I love my mum" T shirts and any other Valentine type stuff. People want to buy their pets something now as they're a loved one also.” And Dana Parry from www.spottiedottie.co.uk added “I'm doing a roaring trade in Valentine treats for dogs!“ As a nation of pet lovers it appears as though Valentine’s trade is reaching new levels, largely attributed to the online sector. Where could you buy your cat a diamante collar on the local high street? It’s possible there may be the odd shop up and down the country, but by in large most people wouldn’t know where to find such a shop… but they do online. As a holiday season, Valentine’s is a short, sharp burst. However for the week preceding February 14th many online shop owners say it’s as busy as Christmas, particularly within the industries you might normally associate with Valentines, as Jason Stanley from www.cupidlingerie.co.uk observes: “It is probably on a level with Christmas in terms of volume of sales per day...but for a shorter period… We have also noticed an increase in sales of bra solutions (clear backed, and diamante backed bras) for backless dresses. Maybe the ladies are anticipating a special night out” Jason also observed how men in particular ramp up their spending over the Valentine’s period: “We always notice an increase in sales of the higher end brands, and an increase in sales to gentlemen in the lead up to Valentine's Day.” So do men buy more presents at Valentines? Do men feel pressured to do so? Do women expect a present without buying one back? Or do men just shop online at the last minute more than women? Either way, whether you are male or female – don’t forget… pets have feelings (and Valentines) too.

Ecommerce Review February 2010

12 February 2010

SYB Magazine's February Ecommerce Review features Jim Barnes from Thebushcraftstore.co.uk and Michael & Simi from Toolbuddy.co.uk.

Get involved with the ekmPowershop.com wishlist

15 January 2010

What are your top feature requests for 2010? Join the ekmCommunity forum and have your say on this year's developments to the UK's leading ecommerce platform.

We want to know your top feature upgrades on ekmPowershop for the coming year.

ekmPowershop has been built on customer feedback, and this year we aim to push out more new features than ever before - all by the request of our customers.

We've set up a thread on ekmCommunity and so far we have had some great ideas, as well as common requests which we are sure will make the final shortlist.

At present we are gathering ideas from the forum, and will be putting the most popular requests onto a poll in the next week or so.

So make sure you get your say by visiting ekmCommunity as soon as you possibly can.

Don't have an ekmCommunity account?
It's free! Simply sign up via this link to get access to our community forum. Share your thoughts, get help and support from fellow online shop owners, and keep up to date with the latest news and developments from Ekm Systems.

Bumper Christmas ends 2009 on a high: Ecommerce industry leaders ekmPowershop.com survey the biggest year yet for independent online retailers

07 January 2010

ekmPowershop.com, the UK’s leading shopping cart provider surveyed over 6000 online shops in the run up to Christmas 2009. The biggest independent survey of its kind in the UK found that independent retailers are growing more resilient against the perceived clout of the ‘retail giants’.

Most of the headlines were rather predictably grabbed by the bigger retailers like Play.com, Amazon and John Lewis, but what about the SMES? They are the heart and soul of the British economy and employ the bulk of our population. Independent businesses are thriving online as our studies show.

Across the board, merchants have seen an increase on last Christmas (2008) in the region of 23%. That’s solid proof that despite the recession, retailers can still grow their businesses by diversifying through online channels. It’s also an encouraging sign of consumer confidence picking back up as we start to loosen the purse strings.

Steven Hickey, Head of Commercial Development at ekmPowershop.com reflects on the biggest annual survey for online retail in the SME sector – one which the online retail industry looks forward to every year:

“As a hosted platform with more merchants than any other company in the industry, we can query our servers and get live, accurate data like no other provider can. The stats we produce are used by both the hosting and payment service providers as a glimpse at the coming 12 months and any changes or shifts in buying patterns we may be in for. At the moment the big shift seems to be in value based purchases; as people shop around for the best price and make a more considered purchase with their diminished funds compared to 2 years ago before the recession set in. Stocking hard to find products and offering a more personal level of Customer Care also seems to be a big advantage for the smaller online businesses.”

Caroline Rutter from online retailer www.PrettyCool.co.uk comments on how smaller retailers have greater flexibility which gives them a competitive edge over the retail giants:

“We have many, many products that the retail giants only stock when they see shops like ours selling weeks before hand. For instance, our bendy necklaces have been on our site for two years and we sell many each week, but you will not see them on the retail giant sites”.

Stocking hard to find items and offering a more personal touch makes smaller online shopping websites a more popular choice than in previous years. As they develop over time it seems as though things will only get better too.

Sarah Burns from online jewellery retailer www.Jewellery2clear.co.uk observes how her business competes with the major retail brands online: “It is possible for smaller companies to compete if they rank high enough within the major search engines, and can provide diverse products at the right price. Such a service that can in many respects be better than larger organisations”.

Even industries where we might expect there to be a downturn over winter months such as swimwear and swimming equipment have felt the surge online this Christmas. Carla Lloyd from www.FunSwimShop.co.uk added:

“The online environment does create more of a level playing field for retailers, smaller companies can compete if they offer products people want and invest time and money optimising their site for the search engines. Orders are up 100% on this period last year.”

Antony Chesworth, Managing Director of Ekm Systems Ltd has seen the year on year growth of independent online retail since he created ekmPowershop.com eight years ago:

"We see too much emphasis given to the giants of the retail sector both online and offline, when year on year we see how small independent businesses with small budgets win big by having their own online shop. Many of these small independents today will become the giants of tomorrow."

For more insight on how to effectively sell or market your products over the internet contact Steven Hickey, Head of Commercial Development, Ekm Systems Ltd, 0871 230 7116.

ekmPowershop wins the Start Your Business Magazine Awards 2009 - 'Best Small Business E-commerce Product'

04 January 2010

ekmPowershop.com is proud to have been crowned ''Best Small Business E-commerce Product'' by the Start Your Business Magazine readers, writers and subscribers for 2009.

Winners amongst other categories included HSBC, Google, 1&1 Internet. Sage, Subway, Regus, Blackberry and Dell. The awards ranged from 'Best Small Business IT supplier' and 'Best CRM Product' through to 'Best Small Business Resource' and 'Best Small Business E-commerce Product'.
Antony Chesworth, Managing Director of Ekm Systems Ltd commented, “It’s a great honour for ekmPowershop.com to receive this award. It means a great deal to all the staff at Ekm Systems to have been commended by such an established publication like Start Your Business Magazine, and its readers."
Naturally, the entire team at Ekm Systems are extremely happy to be joining the likes of Google and Subway in the SYB Magazine accolades for 2009.
As part of our constant drive to improve the ekmPowershop platform, we are optimistic that next year will give us a great chance of winning the award again.
Please see the top tip section of this month's newsletter to see how we are looking at enhancing your ekmPowershop solution over the coming months.
Most importantly, have your say on features you would most like to see on our award winning ecommerce platform over the coming year.

Craft Business Magazine Feature: 10 top tips for craft retailers in 2010

09 December 2009

With the online sector continuing to thrive, it's more important than ever for retailers to ensure their websites are up-to-scratch. Steven Hickey, Head of Commercial Development at ekmPowershop.com, shares his top ten tips for success

1. Get a shopping cart First and foremost, it is essential to ensure you have a good shopping cart, so make sure you get one sorted ASAP. A good, build-it-yourself package can cost as little as £19.99 plus VAT per month, so do some research and test a few options out before making your decision. Make sure you trial the demo beforehand, ensuring you receive free support from the platform you have chosen to build your site with, and take the time to check that your package is fully hosted and does not require any additional technical knowledge. Remember, the more of the process you can do yourself, the greater the money you will be able to save.

2. Choose a good design Most packages will offer templates allowing you to customise the site with your own logo and colour scheme, so it is essential to ensure you are completely satisfied with the final design before using your system, as the website's overall appearance will be of utmost importance when it comes to converting traffic into sales.

3: Select a Payment Service Provider Any shopping cart solution will need to have a payment system integrated into it order to process credit and debit card transactions. The evolution of systems like PayPal and other payment gateways has bypassed the merchant banking process, making it quick, easy and free to process transactions online. Set up an account with a well-known system like PayPal, Google Checkout or SagePay, and make sure your shopping cart is fully compatible with the chosen system.

4. Search engine submission and SEO Make sure the package you choose has its own search engine submission, so you can be sure your website will be featured on all the major search engines and attract as much attention to your products as possible. Most good packages will include this free, and your ecommerce provider should be able to offer guidance and ensure you are able to find the deal that best suits your business.

5: PPC Remember, while SEO has no physical cost, the results can take time, so it might be worth considering PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising on sites like Google Adwords. Unfortunately, it does mean paying per click, but the traffic to your site is guaranteed, and instant.

6. Email Marketing One of the easiest, but most under-utilised weapons in an online business’s arsenal is email marketing. Every customer has an acquisition cost, so why not keep in touch with your customers via email, sending out monthly newsletters and details of any special offers or competitions you have in-store? And, as you get more customers, you'll have more prospective shoppers to market to, creating repeat revenue and an opportunity to really maximise your sales.

7. Social networking Don’t be fooled into thinking platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Bebo are simply for idle chit-chat. The power of profiling on these sites means you can not only create a profile for your company and keep your customers up-to-date with all the latest goings on, but also specifically target certain demographics too.

8: Supply chain and delivery The Royal Mail strikes last month highlighted only too clearly how vulnerable online businesses can be when it comes to the delivery of their goods, so make sure you use a selection of two or three couriers, so you always have a contingency in place if there is a problem with one of your suppliers.

9. Technical support and assistance Of course, there is always something to learn when a business embarks upon a new project. However, with the right provider, building your online shop should be easy, so make sure you only go to the best.

10. Go For It! Finally, the most important thing of all is to make sure you give it a go! Businesses are currently running their own online shops for as little as £20 per month, so it certainly won’t cost you the earth and, if you get it right, it might just make all the difference to your profits during these challenging times.

The Official “Mega Monday”… was there ever any doubt?

08 December 2009

Ecommerce software providers ekmPowershop.com offer further industry insight into the online shopping boom this Christmas. Many dubbed last Monday (30th Nov) as this year’s ‘Mega Monday’ for online shopping in the UK. It was the busiest day of the year at that point, with independent retailers notching up a 21.3% rise in sales compared with the busiest day last year. So understandably some industry analysts were blowing the Mega Monday whistle a little early. Sales were at such an astounding level that it was the busiest day on record. ISPs even recorded plummeting email delivery rates due to the sheer weight of order confirmation emails sent from online retailers. Cause for excitement, without doubt. However, more shrewd members of the online fraternity tipped the first Monday of December to better the premature ‘Mega Monday’ of last week, seeing record growth for another consecutive year online. Only last week, our independent study of over 6,000 online shops confirmed that the 30th November was in fact busier than the official 2008 Mega Monday. However, we also predicted there to be a ‘Mega Monday Double’; with an even bigger Monday to follow this week. True to form, Monday 7th December was in fact nearly 20% busier than the previous week, well and truly taking its mantle as the true ‘Mega Monday’. That same panel of 6,000 online shops have indeed shown a rise of 19% from last Monday. That’s a staggering 44% greater than last year’s busiest day. Online giants Play.com were processing thousands of pounds per second yesterday; but it is the independent retailers who are stealing the show. Rubbing shoulders with retail giants, and processing over £6,000 per hour during peak hours. Steven Hickey, Head of Commercial Development at ekmPowershop observes “There are tens of thousands of independent retailers in the UK, and they have been vanishing at a frightening rate this year. I hope they see the boom online and diversify before it’s too late for them. Year on year we see how small businesses with small budgets win big by launching a online shop, and putting a bit of hard work in. It’s at times like Mega Monday all the hard work pays off. “

Mega Monday Double?

04 December 2009

Mega Monday strikes a week early… or is the biggest, blackest Monday yet to come? In recent years, ‘Cyber’ or ‘Mega Monday’ has been coined by the online retail industry as the busiest online shopping day of the year. This year it seems to have fallen early – before the advent month of December had even started. So are we all buying presents a tad early this year? Or are we in for a bigger Monday in December? Last year’s busiest day fell on Monday 8th December in the UK. Industry analysts are already counting the pennies spent, and have blown the whistle a week early in declaring this year’s Cyber Monday as the 30th November – with Visa estimating around £300m being spent online. According to ecommerce provider ekmPowershop.com, a survey of over 6000 online shops revealed that online spending is up on last year by around 21.3% in the independent retail sector. Antony Chesworth, Managing Director of ekmPowershop.com comments “We have seen another year of increased spending in the online sector. Despite the recession and businesses closing due to the climate around them, consumers still seem to be increasing their online spends. The perceived savings offered by online retailers over the high street is proving to have counteracted the impact of the recession for online retailers in general. Some are still facing the challenges of the economic downturn, as despite year on year growth in demand; supply chain failure is now becoming a more prominent issue. The continued rise in demand pitted against issues of supply seems to be the biggest challenge for the online sector over the next 12 months in the UK. ” To put the level of year on year growth, and popularity of online shopping into perspective: John Lewis actually recorded bigger sales in one day last month (November 22 2009), than on Cyber Monday last year (the biggest day of 2008). Could they be in for an even bigger Monday in the December weeks to come? Along with the rest of the online community, they will be hoping, and probably projecting ‘Yes’.

Steven Hickey, Sales and Marketing Manager of ekmSystems features in 'Start your Business Magazine' November Issue: New to Ecommerce? It's not how you do it, it's who you do it with

30 November 2009

Is your business capitalising from the popular and growing online economy? if not, you may be affecting your business in terms of getting revenue and making a profit. Steven Hickey of ekmPowershop talks about how ecommerce can help your business.

Ecommerce can be a minefield for any business looking to capitalise on the booming online economy. The growth in popularity of shopping in the online realm means most businesses that have not yet taken the leap, are not only turning down revenues in the immediate instance; but also reduce their chances of stability and survival in the medium to long term. So how and where do you start? Perhaps you have already looked into ecommerce for your business, but put the idea on the back burner due to the maze of jargon, elaborate propositions and expensively priced solutions on the market. To any layman, there is much jargon which many ‘web design’ companies still rely heavily on; in order to extract large sums of money for what should be a painless and relatively quick process. It all depends massively on which route you take when you commission the project: i.e. what sort of company you use and to what extent you are willing to do certain elements yourself. From design agency quotations, to build it yourself platforms; off the shelf solutions through to custom built projects. What is the difference? Sometimes there is very little to separate the huge fluctuation in costs. In many cases, a cost effective, off the shelf solution can look, feel and perform better than a multi-thousand pound custom build. Granted, a bespoke build can provide the precise functionality you require, and meet your specific business needs, where an off the shelf solution possibly may not. However, as technology advances, bespoke systems come with hefty upgrade and maintenance charges. However, very often, businesses commission custom built ecommerce websites when they don’t actually need to. 9 out of 10 ecommerce websites I come across can and should be built using off the shelf ecommerce platforms, where only a low monthly fee should be the biggest cost involved. The truth of the matter is that in the majority of cases, such websites cost less, perform better and offer greater flexibility and ‘future proofing’ for your business. Every day I work with a plethora of ecommerce businesses, be it from new website start ups, to existing site migrations. The migrations are probably the most interesting in terms of the ridiculous sums of money which have been spent to get the business selling online, and the extortionate sums procured for new features and upgrades. For instance, one company came to me with an ecommerce website which accepted credit and debit card payments through a system called WorldPay. When the client wanted to expand the payment methods offered to also include PayPal and Google Checkout, they were quoted £2000 by their ‘web guys’ for each method. Any good off the shelf solution will have such methods and payment gateways preconfigured, so you as the website owner simply need activate them in your control panel, as opposed to waiting (and paying) for the module to be programmed and added to your custom build in x amount of days. If you had an ecommerce package which allowed you to add your own content, products, payment methods etc. without any technical knowledge or expertise, would you take that option? Or would you pay a company a hefty premium for doing the exact same thing? Perhaps you are too busy to warrant the level of involvement required to do such work for yourself. In which case, the costly option beckons. But consider this: more and more businesses are actually employing people to take care of the content management of their website in house, as opposed to paying over the odds for an outside company. Quite often a part time salary works out to be much more cost effective than paying an agency to keep the website up to date and current. As a business, you must acknowledge the profit/loss dependencies of an ecommerce project. If a business sells purely online then the margins are all too important for most to ever even consider quarterly hosting fees and an agency that charges you a premium for changing your phone number, adding new products or implementing new features, like a customer login facility for instance. But surely paying more means you get a better ecommerce website? Don’t be fooled… the sad fact is that the online / web design sector is still fraught with empty promises, dazzling price tags, elaborate arrangements and dare I say it… cowboys. How do you spot them? Well, the word ‘retainer’ usually follows them around (and your bank statement) like a bad smell. You will also find that your break even point is merely a pinprick on the horizon thanks to the exhaustive setup and running costs. Listen closely when you ask for any new features or content… If any of the above rings true then the message here is clear: move your online venture to a platform where the running costs actually allow your revenues, margins, and your business to profit. And if you haven’t started your ecommerce project yet, the message is also clear: there is a solution out there which will enhance your business rather than burden it, just be prepared to do some of the work yourself.

That 'C' word again...

03 November 2009

Established online traders will be bracing themselves for the Christmas rush. New traders - start getting ready now! The first week or so of November should see the initial spike in traffic and orders. From thereon in, it will intensify day by day; week on week. Don't forget to decorate your online shop Any shopper in the high street would expect shops, stalls, precincts etc. to be decked out in Christmas decorations, festive themes, sparkly lights and the odd novelty Santa Claus wandering around, just to let them know it really is Christmas. As a nation we do go to huge lengths to make our shopping environments as festive possible; it gives the shoppers that warm glow inside and loosens the grip on the purse strings... so don't make the mistake of thinking online shopping is any different. Make the extra effort and you might find your average spend on site goes up. You also need to ensure that a competitor website doesn't beat you to the punch; because they have made an effort for Christmas where you haven't. Our custom design team can transform, adapt or even lightly theme your online shop for the festive period. Below is an example of a website alteration which made the busy period even busier for one shrewd ekmPowershop owner. Banners start from £49 + VAT and a complete Christmas theme like the one above costs as little as £250. If you would like to make the most of Christmas this year, please feel free to contact our design sales team via email or call 0871 230 7116 option 1 to speak to a member of the team.

ekmPowershop integrates 3-D Secure with PayPal Website Payments Pro: providing our merchants with increased protection from charge backs

29 October 2009

As a preferred PayPal partner, we are pleased to be the first shopping cart provider in the UK to offer PayPal's new 3-D Secure integration for PayPal Website Payments Pro merchants. *What is 3-D Secure? 3-D Secure is the technology behind Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code. It basically adds an extra layer of security on credit card transactions over the internet - by asking the customer for a password (authentication) at the point of purchase. If you have a Visa or MasterCard yourself, you will possibly have gone through 3-D Secure to make a purchase over the internet. Clearly this reduces the chances of fraud massively; as the password is unique, and specified by the card holder. Unless the card holder shares their password with anyone, nobody else can buy goods over the internet with their card. So long as the merchant they are buying from uses a payment gateway offering 3-D Secure. *Why now? In January 2010, Mastercard compliance requirements will prevent merchants from processing Maestro payments unless done through 3-D Secure. So we wanted all PayPal Website Payments Pro merchants to still be able to offer the ability to take payments via Maestro and avoid any disruption to their online businesses. *How do I start using 3-D Secure with PayPal Payments Pro? If you already use PayPal Website Payments Pro with your ekmPowershop then you need do nothing. The integration is free of charge and is already live on all ekmPowershop websites using this particular PayPal product. For more information on using PayPal on ekmPowershop, please click here.

Barclaycard ePDQ offer exclusive to ekmPowershop merchants

20 October 2009

ePDQ is the fast, simple, reliable and secure way to accept card payments over the internet and by phone, fax and mail. We have introduced our 3% inclusive fee offer to ekm customers, to help small businesses reduce their overheads and grow their online business. ePDQ CPI key features * Process all major debit and credit cards * On-line reporting and transaction management tool * Comprehensive fraud tools, including Card Security Code and * Address Verification checks * Protection of your business from unnecessary chargebacks with a free Internet authentication Service * (Verified by Visa and MasterCard®SecureCode™) * PCI DSS compliant * A dedicated UK support team, available 8am to midnight, 7 days a week Barclaycard Offer to ekmPowershop customers Simply pay a nominal £1 monthly fee and you can benefit from a total transaction fee of just 3% for the entire lifespan of your ePDQ agreement. We have even waived the £150 joining fee. To take advantage of these excellent rates call 0800 616161 and remember to quote “ekm” as your campaign reference. Alternatively, request a call back and remember to enter “ekm” into the promotional code field. * Terms and conditions Customers must sign up for a minimum period of 12 months. There’s a minimum billing charge of £10 a month. A 0.85% non-secure fee will be added to any online transactions that are not processed using Verified by Visa or MasterCard®SecureCode™ and any mail and telephone transactions that are not processed with the Card Security Code. Existing EPDQ customers are not eligible for this promotion. Only UK merchants with an annual online turnover of less than £600,000 are eligible to apply This offer applies only to the ePDQ CPI product. The ePDQ MPI and Lite products are not eligible for this promotion. ePDQ terms and conditions will apply. Barclays reserves the right to withdraw this offer at any time.

Export your ekmPowershop orders to Sage Accountancy Software using Tradebox

12 October 2009

ekmPowershop and Tradebox have forged a new partnership. This new integration means ekmPowershop owners can export their order data into their choice of Sage Accountancy Software. What is Tradebox? Tradebox Finance Manager is a unique accountancy plug-in solution for online retailers wishing to impose financial control over their online trading activities. Designed as middleware, Finance Manager acts as an automated bookkeeping tool, downloading orders from ekmPowershop and creating all of the financial entries in Sage Accountancy solutions to account for your online sales. ekmPowershop merchant discount Tradebox are offering an exclusive 10% discount to all ekmPowershop owners on any of the Tradebox Finance Manager packages by using the following discount code: EKM10DIS. For more information on Tradebox please visit the Tradebox website or contact them via email or call them on (0191) 280 4279. And don't forget your discount code EKM10DIS to get your 10% discount.

ekmResponse official launch: Email Marketing made easy

30 September 2009

Ekm Systems Ltd, the online ecommerce experts who pioneered the UK's hosted ecommerce software model with ekmPowershop.com have officially launched ekmResponse.com on to the UK market. ekmResponse is the latest email marketing solution which makes it cost effective for UK businesses of any size to effectively track, deliver and run a successful email marketing campaign online. Having been designed with simplicity in mind, it offers an affordable and useful tool to businesses, individuals and clubs in all manner of industries and sectors, both online and offline. The rewards of communicating with customers via email marketing are well known; ekmResponse provides an affordable and reliable channel which keeps marketing costs minimal while driving results. We would like to say a big thank you to the hundreds of beta testers, whom have all been credited with 1000 email credits for participating in the private and beta phases of ekmResponse's development. *Benefits of using ekmResponse 100 Contacts Totally Free ekmResponse is completely free to use for up to 100 contacts. There are no catches and we do not ask for any payment details - it is completely free. If you need more than 100 contacts then you can easily upgrade to a paid account within your settings menu. Free Technical Support You will have access to our dedicated customer services technicians, via both email and telephone. All of our agents are trained to help with any technical issues and more importantly, to offer advice on how you can improve your email marketing campaigns and increase your sales. Our call centre is based in the UK in our own offices and is open between 9am – 5:30pm during the week and 10am – 4pm on Saturdays. No Contract We are confident that you will find ekmResponse so easy and powerful to use that we do not tie you into a contract. You can cancel your account at anytime with no release fees or penalty charges. No Software to Install ekmResponse is a online based system, which means you simply need a username and password (which we provide you with) to access your control panel anywhere in the world. All you need is a PC with an internet connection to create, manage and monitor your email marketing with ekmResponse. Automatic Upgrades ekmResponse is always evolving and being upgraded with the latest technologies, without you having to lift a finger. Our team of developers are always working on new features and functionality, which are uploaded on a daily basis. ekmResponse ensures your email marketing campaigns are always delivered on the cutting edge of email and internet technology. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee In the unlikely event that you are unhappy with ekmResponse we offer a full money back guarantee. Terms and Conditions apply. ------ Gordon Maker from PC foods says: “Another great idea and execution from Ekm Systems, well done! You are making running an ecommerce business so much easier and streamlined. ekmResponse has been very easy to use from the start and I managed to get my first marketing campaign sent within a few minutes. The easy transfer of customers email addresses from ekmPowershop into ekmResponse and also a CSV file was easy to upload within a matter of minutes. Having an ekmPowershop and all my marketing under one platform is a big plus and will save valuable time in my marketing tasks, that combined with very competitive pricing and free support is a definite plus in my eyes.” For further information on ekmResponse or to sign up for your free 100 contacts you can email us, visit www.ekmresponse.com or contact us on 0871 230 7116 option 1.

ekmPowershop owners help Ickle Pickles neo natal charity in the Ickle Pickles Parade 2009

30 August 2009

ekmPowershop.com recently teamed up with a selection of our kindest children’s clothes retailers, in a charity event called the Ickle Pickles Parade. Ickle Pickles is a neo natal charity; set up to help raise funds for specialist equipment, to look after premature babies who need intensive care when they are born. In 1975, half of all babies born weighing less than 1.5kg died. Today, 90% of all babies who weigh 800g or more survive. A worthwhile cause, which any family could benefit from if ever faced with a premature birth. The first ever Ickle Pickle Parade was held on Sunday 9th August 2009 on Tooting Common in celebration of the help and care of St George’s Neo Natal Unit, Tooting. The sun shone all day and an eager crowd of 200 (families of all ages) were warmed up from 10am by ‘Amanda Action’ before setting off on the 2 mile sponsored walk around the Common. A swathe of sponsors and donors pitched in to make it a successful, and enjoyable day for all concerned. ekmPowershop.com and Ickle Pickles would like to personally thank:

for the 10% – 15% discount codes they kindly offered exclusively to participants on the day. A flyer was distributed at the fun run, in all participants’ goody bags and around the event; with the voucher codes and a small advert. We would also like to thank Rainbow Totz Childrenswear for kindly donating an ‘Ickle Monster’ T shirt for the prize draw on the day. Rachael Marsh, from the Ickle Pickles Charity wrote to us after the event: “I am writing to you to express our gratitude to ekmPowershop.com for supporting of the Ickle Pickles children’s charity. Your customers’ generosity in donating us the Ickle Monster t-shirt and money off vouchers was an immense support for our event on the 9th August and very much appreciated. Luckily the sun shone and we had over 600 people attend throughout the day. We are still receiving monies for the day but believe we have raised in excess of £6000 which for a first event is fantastic.” The whole initiative for ekmPowershop.com and its customers to join Ickle Pickles was instigated through the efforts of our new PR service, ekmPress. So we’d like to say a big thank you to the Press Team for making the connection; and making ekmPowershop.com (and the above online shops) a part of the Ickle Pickles Parade. ekmPowershop.com and Ickle Pickles intend to keep in touch on further fundraising events; as it is such a worthwhile cause close to many peoples’ hearts. If you would like to make a donation to the Ickle Pickles then please feel free to visit http://www.justgiving.com/icklepickles/donate/. . And look out for the Ickle Pickles online shop coming soon…

New features for your ekmPowershop...

30 August 2009

At ekmPowershop we never stop pushing the functionality and performance of our market leading ecommerce platform. Here are a couple of recent enhancements and upcoming new features on ekmPowershop: *Customer Login Your online shop now has the ability for customers to create their own account and login. From the login section, customers will be able to view their orders and also contact the shop owners. All generic ekmPowershop templates should have the customer login element installed. If your template does not have this once the login feature is activated, then please contact us to have it added. Custom design templates will incur a nominal £25 charge to add this element. For more info on this feature please see our support section. *CSV Import/Export The long awaited import/export upgrade has now been released on a beta testing basis. As the feature is in its Beta testing stage, anyone wanting to test the feature on their online shop will need to contact us and a test shop will be set up on our beta server. The new import/export system certainly looks impressive from our own test runs, allowing you to: - Upload multiple images for products - Upload product variants - Assign category images - Delete categories - Upload meta data And much more. Basically, the new import system allows for pretty much all of the editability you get in the control panel, but with the power of bulk modification. At present the feature is not being released on live shops. If you would like to become a beta tester then please contact us for more info. *Image File Manager (bulk image upload) We have recently released the new image upload system across the ekmPowershop network. The new image file manager allows for bulk upload and assignment of images to products within your ekmPowershop, intended to make the upload of images quicker and easier than the previous method; which made you add images one at a time. Web designers using the ekmPowershop platform will also be glad to learn that all design images can now be uploaded in bulk through the same system, as well as product images. In order to make use of this new feature, you must first migrate over to the new system. Please click here for more info on the migration and our support guide on the image file manager feature. To read our support guide on the new image file manager please click here or contact us for more info.

Start Your Business Magazine Feature | How to setup an online shop: The definitive one stop guide from the UK’s leading ecommerce provider

14 August 2009

Setting up an online shop (ecommerce) is no longer the expensive, daunting task it used to be. The advent of online based systems like ekmPowershop, with content management and technical support means that for a low monthly fee; you can quickly and easily set up and run your own online business. If your business is based in retail, or sells a tangible product, then a text and image based website with a contact form is doing very little for your business - compared to an ecommerce website / online shop.
It is no secret that online retail is booming, despite the huge downturn on the high street. Online retailers are asking ‘what recession?’ whilst the bricks and mortar outlets find themselves facing closure in record numbers.
If you haven’t diversified into the online sector yet, there’s a chance that it’s down to the costs involved.
Many businesses which really could and should be offering the ability to buy online still do not. This is due to the perceived costs involved, predominantly caused by the web design sector. If you go to a web designer to build your online shop then you will be looking at a hefty price with no guarantee of performance or ROI.
The paradigm of website creation and development has shifted, moving toward the website owner being able to control content, add items/products/content themselves and generally having control of their own website with systems like ekmPowershop.
How do you do this with no technical knowledge? Easy - CMS (Content Management Systems). The market is now brimming with providers of Ecommerce content management systems like ekmPowershop, which provide you with a fully hosted online shop, with a user friendly interface for you to build your ecommerce website.
Businesses no longer need to wait for their web designer to make changes, update details, or add new content to their website. Businesses now have the right tools, like ekmPowershop available to control their own website; and ultimately put the time and effort in required to make a success of their online business.
Step 1: Find an ecommerce provider
Do your homework: try the demos, speak to the provider. If the system does not have a demo or a free trial, then do not use it. It is important that you can be confident in the usability of the interface which you will be using to build and manage your online shop. ekmPowershop for instance has a free online demo and a 30 day money back guarantee. Look out for this level of assurance when choosing your ecommerce provider.
Step 2: Choose a good design Most packages offer templates for you to customise, add your own logos, choose colour schemes etc. Make sure you are happy with a particular template before you decide to use the system. How the website looks is an important factor in converting traffic into sales.
You may also want to consider a bespoke design, which most good providers like ekmPowershop should be able to provide at a reasonable cost.
Step 3: Choose a payment service provider
Another historical barrier for many businesses setting up effectively online has been the hassle, time and cost involved to set up a merchant bank account. This used to be the only way to process online credit and debit card transactions. Now, the evolution of systems like PayPal and other payment gateways have bypassed the merchant banking process, making it quick, easy and free (excepting processing fees) to process payments online.
When deciding which payment system to use, make sure they offer you a selection of compatible payment gateways – so you can shop around and find the best processing rates (usually anything from 2.5% - 5% of the transaction value). Ecommerce providers like ekmPowershop work closely and directly with payment service providers like PayPal, SagePay and Barclaycard – and quite often they can negotiate exclusive rates on the processing fees for their merchants (you). The payment service providers do not communicate with all ecommerce providers, as there are so many. So make sure you choose a provider that has that line of communication for piece of mind.
Step 4: Marketing your website
Make sure the package you use to build your online shop has a search engine submission, so you know your website will be in the major search engines for people to find your products.
Most good systems like ekmPowershop should include free search engine and shopping directory submission, to generate traffic and sales to your website.
Step 5: Technical Support and assistance
Of course there is always something to learn when a business embarks upon a new project. However, with the right provider, building your online shop should be easy; with the correct level of support. First of all make sure that support is included in the price – no nasty surprises or being left in the lurch. ekmPowershop offers unlimited support as part of the £19.99 + VAT monthly fee, and has even introduced a free tutorials service for new customers.
Finally, the most important tip would be to give it a go! Businesses are running their own online shops for in the region of £20 per month. So it won’t cost you the earth to try. And if you get it right, it might just make the difference where developing new channels are concerned in these challenging times.
Author: Steven Hickey, Head of Sales and Marketing - ekmPowershop.com

Should online retailers be thankful for the recession?

15 July 2009

Shopping online is set to more than double by the end of 2011 (PayPal Inc 2009). Whilst the rest of the economy limps along: how have industries from finance, travel, white goods, cars, clothing (the list goes on) managed sustained growth, month on month? Traditional retail in the UK will show signs of recovery by the end of 2011, according to the PayPal UK Online Retail Report, conducted by Experian. No coincidence either, that 2011 is expected to be online retail's strongest year ever. So how and why has the online sector benefited from the nation's economical plight - specifically online retail? An element of 'considered consumption' is attributed to the online retail sectors steady growth - seemingly unaffected by the recession. Obviously now that credit and 'easy money' are no longer fuelling our spending habits, we have to really think about what we need over what we want. Carl Schleibe, Managing Director at PayPal UK would certainly concur: "As we all try to make our budgets work harder during the recession it is hardly surprising many of us have headed online to seek a better deal. In fact almost nine million of us now shop online at least once a week." And if we really want that new skirt, latest phone or a new car - we really have to shop around. Saving money and finding the 'best deal' matters a lot more to consumers than it did 18 months ago. Yes, we are living within our means (a new concept for younger generations) and have therefore become a nation of bargain hunters. And the place to go when comparing prices and looking for the 'best deal'? If you're reading this - you know the answer already.

PR opportunities for ekmPowershop owners: ekmPress

30 June 2009

As part of our endeavour to give ekmPowershop owners that extra boost to their online business, we have devised ekmPress... In the past few weeks, we have been scouring the national press (online and print), as well as events and activities which might gain extra exposure to our merchants' online shops. Our dedicated PR team have been successful in placing many shops in magazines, events publicity and other pieces already. PR The nature of PR means that journalists and editors of magazines, newspapers, e-zines, blogs etc. let us know what their next article or piece is about. Along with others, we submit our most appropriate tender - then the publisher decides whether or not to use the material provided. Naturally, the best tender for the PR piece wins. So far we have had a lot of interest from publishers and journalists, with a notable amount of successful features. However, we can always improve the uptake; with as many responses from ekmPowershop owners as possible. Check out the latest opportunities on ekmCommunity To see if your online shop might be appropriate to feature in our latest PR efforts, we have a dedicated area on our community forum where you can view the latest opportunities. Click here to view the latest PR opportunities, or contact PR@ekmsystems.co.uk if you have any opportunities you would like to share which might be of interest.

Sage Pay - 3 month free processing available to ekmPowershop customers!

28 June 2009

Special offer exclusive to ekmPowershop customers: Sage Pay understands that it is important for businesses to reduce overheads, which is why they offer this excellent promotion to all new ekmPowershop customers.

3 months free unlimited Sage Pay processing when you sign up to Sage Pay – Saving a minimum of £60!
Promotion code “ekm3m”

Kieran Fisher, Managing Director of Bodybuilding Warehouse (www.BodybuildingWarehouse.co.uk) - an online bodybuilding & sports supplement superstore - took up the 3 months free processing offer in November 2008: “We process well over 1000 transactions each month and have grown rapidly in a short space of time. The Sage Pay offer saved us over £300 in card processing costs – now we have started paying the standard rate, we’re still saving money. Since the fraud screening, AVS, CV2 and 3D Secure are all included in the price, we also reduce potential chargebacks. I would recommend Sage Pay as a payment option to others using ekmPowershop - the setup process is straightforward and anything that'll save you time, money or both is always a good thing!”' Internet Merchant Accounts via Sage Pay Sage Pay have teamed up with the Bank of Scotland to offer an Internet Merchant Account at very special rates: - Take advantage of these excellent rates by completing the Sage Pay Application form. For more information contact Sage Pay Customer Services on 0845 111 4455 or email them for more details.

ekmHealthCheck: Is bad SEO costing you sales?

22 June 2009

The SEO health check service has thrown up some surprising results for many ekmPowershop customers. Many customers thought they would need thousands of pounds and a 'specialist SEO agency' to make this possible. Here are just a couple of customers who now know it's well worth taking an ekmHealthcheck first... Freeflow Bikes: "I run a very big online cycle shop and I have found the hints and tips learned from ekm's SEO Healthcheck service invaluable, as they break it down so that you can then go on and replicate it yourself. They give you the basics (and some); so that you can manage your meta descriptions and tags better. In the package they did for me, they reviewed 10 of my pages. Once you get these 10 pages looked at, you will be then able to go through the rest of the pages yourself. ekm give us the tools and the know how: the rest is up to us." Neil Macmartin www.freeflowbikes.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fireside Accessories: "I had the SEO Health Check done on my site a few weeks ago & found it to be very useful & informative. I'd always been apprehensive about SEO techniques etc & had previously employed a company to do it for me (with very limited success!). The ekmHealthcheck differs in that they put the wheels in motion then give you the tools to continue the work for yourself. In summary it's probably the best £350 I've spent since setting up my online store. Furthermore, in just a week or so I had attained three no.1, 1st page rankings with important keywords that were nowhere to be seen before ekmHealthcheck did the SEO work." Stephen Greaves www.fireside-accessories.com By simply optimising meta data, page titles and other SEO elements properly, we have had customers reaching page 1 for some of their biggest keywords, and in some cases sales have increased by over 400%. For just £350 + VAT we can carry out an SEO health check on your ekmPowershop. It takes just 15 working days for us to complete the work (10 pages of your choice), prepare the report and go through the SEO consultation process with you. For more information on this great new service, please email us on healthcheck@ekmsystems.co.uk or call 0871 230 7116 to speak to a member of the Healthcheck team.

SEO: Beware of the 'Resources Layer'...

29 May 2009

It's becoming a recurring theme in the monthly newsletter now: many ekmPowershop merchants are commissioning 'SEO' companies to bolster their Google rankings, and in many cases are finding their websites penalised by Google. This is purely down to the techniques used by certain SEO companies. Naturally, the promise of page 1 positions and the flurry of traffic that comes with it is a temptation often too hard to resist. But as many of you are experiencing; using the wrong company with the wrong techniques can quite literally see you banished from Google. What is a Resources Layer? A resources layer is a 'work around' for the issue of hidden content. As we know, content is king with SEO - but people respond best to images and sparse text. So to have both lots of content and still keep the navigation quick and smooth, the implementation of resources layers came about. Most commonly executed through expandable div layers or java script frames (similar looking to i-frames). Hidden Content? By no means are we saying that you should not use resources layers, as there is much evidence to suggest Google has no problem with them. They aren't necessarily classed as hidden content as long as it is obvious to the user that there is more content accessible through the resources layer (either by being clearly clickable to expand, or with a scroll bar to navigate through the 'resourced' content). So what's the problem? Two words: keyword stuffing. From the cases we have seen with ekmPowershop merchants being 'sandboxed' or penalised over their resources layer, it has been due to keyword stuffing. Basically, this is the blatant repetition of keywords with no particular context - equivalent to spamming your way to the top of Google. So if you are looking to reduce clutter on your website, without reducing content for SEO purposes, then resource layers are useful - just don't let a black hat SEO company keyword stuff your website out of the listings! Community Forum For comments from ekmPowershop owners on this topic, please see the 'resources layer thread' on our community forum, ekmCommunity. And remember... It's Cold in the Google Sandbox.

List your products for free on PayPal Offers: PayPal show and sell

26 May 2009

At ekmPowershop.com we know how important orders are to an online shop's survival. PayPal now have a cash back based shopping platform called PayPal Offers, where ekmPowershop customers can list their products for free. As part of the PayPal 'Show and Sell' scheme you can list your products for free and benefit from extra sales to your online shop from the PayPal Offers shopping site. PayPal Offers PayPal offers receives around 2 million visits per month. Simply having a search listing puts your products within easy reach of PayPal's huge base of high-spending online shoppers. PayPal drive traffic to the PayPal Offers site through far-reaching advertising campaigns. And the product feed from your site will be automatic – no inventory integration required. Show and sell When you add the correct PayPal logo to your site, PayPal will add you to the PayPal Offers search engine. The PayPal Offers site attracts 2 million visitors per month - and your listing is free. How to get listed It's easy to get started. Just download one of PayPal's official web logos and display it on your: Homepage Product Page Payment/checkout page: Then you can apply for your free listing in the PayPal Offers search engine - and enjoy the full benefits of offering PayPal. To get started, click here, or for more info please feel free to visit PayPal Show and Sell.

2 months FREE email marketing for all ekmPowershop customers

30 April 2009

After months of intensive development, our powerful email marketing software, ekmResponse is nearly ready for its full launch. We have had a handful of private beta testers using the new software for a couple of weeks now, so many thanks to those people. On Monday 11th May we will be opening the platform up to all ekmPowershop customers for FREE FOR 2 MONTHS. This will be the Public Beta stage. All ekmPowershop customers will be allowed to send 2500 emails per month over the Beta period (2 months). We know many of you use email marketing software, and in many instances part with a sizeable sum of money each month for doing so. ekmResponse promises to be the most cost effective solution of its kind on the market. And for ekmPowershop customers only: we will give you 2 MONTHS FREE usage of our new email marketing software. For more information, or to register for your 2 FREE MONTHS of ekmResponse please email sales@ekmsystems.co.uk or call us on 0871 230 7116.

Ebay import/export (Beta) now live on ekmPowershop

29 April 2009

Ebay traders will be happy to hear that they can quickly and easily import their products and categories from their Ebay store to their ekmPowershop, and vice versa. ekmPowershop attracts dozens of eBay traders each month, looking to diversify their business and set up an online shop. Now, any ekmPowershop customer with an Ebay store can import their products and categories quickly and easily through the new eBay integration. The feature also allows for products from the ekmPowershop to be populated in the eBay store. This is a new feature still in its beta stage, so please do provide feedback if you have any problems or any suggestions for improvements. Support For assistance using the new tool please feel free to contact support@ekmsystems.co.uk or refer to the eBay import/export support guides on the ekmPowershop website: Creating a Connection Between ekmPowershop and your eBay Shop Importing Products from eBay into ekmPowershop Exporting Products from ekmPowershop into eBay: This is a new feature in its Beta stage, so if you have any feedback we would greatly appreciate it via our community forum on this dedicated section (click here).

SEO: Are you using H1 tags?

18 April 2009

ekmPowershop auto generates H1 tags on your product pages, derived from your product name. However for the main page, extra pages and category pages there are no H1 tags by default. This is due to the varying nature of the content you might want to include in the tag. *What is a H1 tag? A H1 tag is very much like the headline on a newspaper page/article; it provides a quick outline of the content for your web page. Like a newspaper headline is the first thing you read when you read an article, a search engine spider will read your H1 tag before your content. The key obviously is to make the content which follows, match your H1 tag and as well as the other elements of SEO on your webpage. *Are they important? The use of H1 tags is important for SEO - the extent to which is always debated. However it is on the list of things to do if you want your website to gain maximum exposure. Don't worry if you cannot add these yourself as we are here to help. Our custom design team can insert these for you for a nominal fee, or our support team can advise you how to do this for yourself. For advice on this please feel free to contact us on support@ekmsystems.co.uk.

Ecommerce defies the recession: Sales up on 2008 already

29 March 2009

Diversifying your business activities reduces vulnerability: in the current economic climate, online channels will save thousands of UK small businesses. According to IMRG, February 2009 saw around a 15% increase on 2008 in terms of online sales.Yet another tell tale sign on the shift in social buying habits and the progression of the internet as an economic entity. It's an unfortunate state of affairs for the high street - as online sales continue to rise, the share is being taken directly from traditional retailers; a double blow when there's a recession to contend with. Why such a divide? We speak to hundreds of businesses every day: some embrace the internet and have literally saved their business by moving with the times. However, there is still a prominent faction (particularly amongst older business owners) whose attitude towards the internet is still rigidly opposed, bordering on resentment. They stigmatise the internet as 'killing the high street'. How long before they realise the trend cannot be bucked? And for £19.99 + VAT per month they can join the revolution... Perhaps the phrase 'no-brainer' springs to mind; what's more, secondary benefits of online trade are becoming ever more apparent: Eco friendly trade A virtual transaction has an infinitely smaller 'carbon footprint' than that in the physical realm; a customer need not drive or catch a bus into town. Nor is there a need for plastic shopping bags (a current topic of contention which the Government is stamping down on - in favour of recyclable/reusable bags). Should the Government 'incentivise' small businesses to trade online where possible? Green is fashionable and as we all know, legislation is moving with the paradigm of being friendly to Mother Nature. Yes there are grants available if you look in the right places, speak to the right people, and have a good deal of time for the bureaucracy and administration required to obtain one. Most business people do not generally have a lot of time for such a rigmarole, and the grants get spent on expensive 'bespoke builds', often with little prospect of performance. See this month's customer spotlight for a prime example of someone who went down the bespoke route before finding ekmPowershop. The answer... find £19.99 + VAT per month for your own stand alone online shop which is proven to perform; through years of refinement and continual system development. At ekmPowershop we are determined to help change the landscape of modern, independent retail forever.

It's Cold in the Google 'Sandbox'...

27 February 2009

ekmPowershop owners report their online shops have disappeared from Google's listings: all thanks to unethical 'Black Hat' SEO companies The past 2 months have seen an influx of 'sandboxed' ekmPowershop owners. The myth of the 'Sandbox' and whether it exists will be debated for ever and a day. But one thing is certain; if you use 'Black Hat' techniques and you will see your rankings plummet, as Google's punishment for your cheating the system. And the hardest part to swallow: these shop owners have paid a premium for the disservice. Pirate SEO companies SEO sales calls... many of you will receive dozens of them every day. They promise page 1 rankings in no time. However, in order to deliver, many SEO companies implement what are known as 'Black Hat' or 'Unethical' techniques. Some companies are more prominent and renowned in the industry for this than others. What sort of 'Black Hat' techniques - and which company is doing this? The two most recent examples (in the past week alone) have both been severely penalised for 'paid for links' and 'keyword stuffing'***. The same SEO company being responsible for both of these blundered campaigns. Of course we cannot name this company, but our community forum has some interesting viewpoints and very useful information on this. It is a potentially business-destroying minefield, so we are obliged to bring it to your attention. Please click ekmCommunity Rogue SEO Traders for the full discussion from ekmPowershop owners. How do I know which SEO company to use? Of course, every industry is subject to unsavoury 'smash and grab' companies whom fail to deliver what they have been paid for. In any other context they may be arrested for theft - but as it's business, there seems to be a blanket of security which allows such companies to operate for years relatively unpunished. We do not refer ekmPowershop.com customers over to any SEO companies. However this does not mean that there aren't any good ones out there - just do your homework first. Check their track record, contact their testimonials - and Google search any bad press or reports they may have had. But most importantly, read this link to avoid being the latest casualty - because it is very cold in the sandbox. ***For more info on 'black hat' techniques, please feel free to contact our support team.

Ambition Magazine: ekmPowershop.com 'Ask The Experts' feature

20 February 2009

As the biggest and most widely used ecommerce solution on the market, ekmPowershop.com have been helping entrepenuers sell their products online for over 5 years. Here are a couple of ekmPowershop.com owners with an insight into how selling online can be easy, affordable and professional.

MAMMA MIA

- Tell us a little about yourself/your business.
My name is Catherine Cunningham and I am from Dublin, Ireland. I set up www.mammamia.ie last August. I knew I had the ambition and drive to make my own business work as I had spent so many years working for others and learning the do’s and don’ts of running your own business.

- Why did you choose ekmPowershop?
I spent the guts of a thousand Euros on a “website” that did not meet my requirements at all. I wanted a shopping cart and he produced a brochure. I felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall. Then one day I was talking to a Paypal representative in Ireland who told me about ekmPowershop.com. He highly recommended ekmPowershop.com and advised me to scrap my lost cause and start again with ekmPowershop.com. I did exactly that and never looked back.
- How has your experience with ekmPowershop.com been?
Anything is possible with ekmPowershop.com and I commend their ongoing patience and enthusiasm for the work they do. I just get the impression that they really love their work. So all in all, my journey with ekmPowershop.com has been nothing but a pleasure. Each time I have had a problem they have sorted it out within a couple of hours – even when the issue has been because I screwed up!
- How successful has your online shop been?
Despite the ongoing recession, my store has taken off really well. I am only in my first year of business but I was in a financial position to give up my job and work at this from my home. From Christmas it gained momentum and is getting busier every day.
- Would you recommend ekmPowershop.com to others?
I would, and I have done to so many of my friends who want to take the leap. ekmPowershop.com is the only one I would recommend as they have made my life so easy!

BEST COFFEE BEANS

- Tell us a little about yourself/your business.
Best Coffee Beans is a wholesale ethical coffee business supplying coffee shops and restaurants nationally. Through our online shop we are also able to supply retail coffee and equipment to people at home or at work. We only supply speciality, freshly roasted coffees.
- Why did you setup your business, and what do you hope to achieve?
We set up the business nearly three years ago with the single aim to prove that Fairtrade and ethical coffees could also be the best tasting coffees. We achieved much more than we thought and have expanded to supply professional equipment and now have a barista training school, to ensure our customers make the best coffee.
- Why did you choose ekmPowershop?
We had a very detailed look at the different options available for our online store and in-fact tried two other leading solutions before turning to ekmpowershop which turned out to be a far superior solution for us with excellent customer support. It was easy to use and edit to make it bespoke to our needs. There is also the option of buying in additional design expertise, which we have done more recently, to make the perfect bespoke solution.
- Do you have any "top tips" for using ekmPowershop, and ecommerce in general?
Choose you ecommerce solution carefully – both look and functionality are important in a competitive market. You need the customer to have a good experience when shopping with you or they won’t buy or come back again.
- How has your experience with Ekm Systems been?
Our experience now over several years with Ekmpowershop has all been good. Good customer support and on the rare occasion things have gone wrong they have been quickly resolved to our satisfaction.
- How successful has your online shop been?
Early on our shop was showing prominently on searches and this boosted our early success. It reflects our business well and has always given the good first impression needed to bring in new customers and allow our business to grow.
-Would you recommend ekmPowershop to others?
Yes, I still have not seen a comparative solution with the same value for money.

ekmPowershop.com takes over the British Isles!

14 February 2009

ekmPowershop.com takes over the British Isles! A new benchmark in shopping cart technology Many of you will now be aware of the multitude of hosted, pay monthly ecommerce platforms. The market now has literally hundreds of such companies offering this form of online CMS with shopping cart functionality. ekmPowershop.com proudly stakes its claim as the first solution to introduce this model to the UK market. First pay monthly platform In 2002 setting up your online shop was a little different: You needed at least £1000, a software based system, your own hosting, and technical aptitude to produce anything worth bragging about. ekmPowershop.com evolved ecommerce; giving control to the non technical business owners, one man bands, corporate brands and pretty much anyone else who can browse the internet. Industry analysis from both Hitwise and IMRG suggests we have had the market cornered for a good 18 months or so now. We now power 5000 online shops (1 in every 5 in the UK). But when you look at it like this: It really hits home how rapid and widespread ekmPowershop.com has now become as the UK's leading ecommerce platform. We are obviously very proud, but more than anything; extremely grateful to all of our customers who make this all possible. As we expand, we are always fine tuning ekmPowershop.com to serve as many different businesses as possible. Our sustained and speedy growth means we can invest and diversify - so watch this space for new services and products in the coming weeks and months.

Biggest Christmas on record for ekmPowershop.com merchants! Sales up by over 65%

31 January 2009

It was the worst Christmas on the High Street in 14 years; the institute that was Woolworths shut the doors on its Winter Wonderland for the last time too. Things are getting tough for conventional retail. Without seeking pleasure from the plight of others, or to sound the drum of resolution too strongly: online retail is still growing and dare we say it as we enter a recession - 'positively booming'. Industry growth for independent online retail We've done a little homework on the sales activities of ekmPowershop.com merchants from Christmas 2007 compared with 2008. Across the board, turnovers had increased by an incredible 68%. 68% increase - Really? The more sceptical onlookers may find themselves uttering "there's lies, damn lies and..." but when we put the figures next to those of Protx, they reported a 63% rise in transaction volumes over the same period of comparison. And we must stress the 2 studies were completely independent, perhaps making the figures even more credible. Triumph for the independent retailers online... Steven Hickey, Head of Marketing at ekmPowershop.com believes the trend is set to continue: “Small businesses can now affordably set up and run an online business, and really rub shoulders with the bigger players in the retail world. Sticking to the format of a professional looking online shop, and good customer care, the boom in independent online retail is sure to continue; as the High Street becomes ever more difficult to sustain a profitable business”.

Who shops the most: men or women?

06 January 2009

To most it may seem a rather daft question with an obvious answer; and perhaps through our own social stereotyping, we would automatically assume that the fairer sex shops the most. Infact, many men would have you believe that women do nothing but shop! So here's a little food for thought, and perhaps a poignant case to the contrary: In the run upto Christmas 2008.... 52%* of all purchases made online were by men! That's right guys, the big shoppers online this year were male. *Study based on a sample of 5000 online shops in the 4 weeks preceding Christmas 2008

Ekm Systems Press Release: David beats Goliath in the online Christmas rush!

01 January 2009

Independent retailers may be fearing the backlash of a recession, but salvation awaits them… online.

According to latest research from ekmPowershop.com, ecommerce industry leaders, Christmas 2008 was the busiest month on record for independent online retail. Small and medium businesses are thriving over the internet, and in many instances their online shops are subsidising the declining trade in their bricks and mortar shops. In the 4 weeks running up to Christmas 2008, many ekmPowershop.com merchants were processing in the region of £3000 per hour. On ‘Mega Monday’ (Monday 8th of December – the biggest day for online shopping) this reached as high as £5000 per hour. Stephen Greaves, from Birmingham based fireside-accessories.com reflected on this December’s bumper month: “My online shop has been going for around 2 and a half years now. We have been more than pleased with the performance but this December was phenomenal really – we saw an increase of 70% – 80% on last year!”. Stephen is a testament to the ‘Bricks and Mortar’ type business which has adapted and embraced the online sector: “We used to manufacture, but now we simply sell, purely online and to be quite honest it has literally saved, and transformed our business”. Stephen’s business has accelerated more than the industry average, but Protx (The UK’s leading payment service provider) reported around a 50% increase on merchant turnover across the board this December from Christmas 2007. Steven Hickey, head of Commercial Development at ekmPowershop.com believes the trend is set to continue: “Small businesses can now affordably set up and run an online business, and really rub shoulders with the bigger players in the retail world. Sticking to the format of a professional looking online shop, and good customer care, the boom in independent online retail is sure to continue; as the High Street becomes ever more difficult to sustain a profitable business”.

Antony Chesworth, MD of Ekm Systems features in Lancashire Business View's Young'uns 2008

18 December 2008

Antony Chesworth, Managing Director and owner of ekm Systems, is featured in the Lancashire Business View's ''Young'uns 2008'', a feature celebrating Lancashire's young business talent. From main article: If you were to believe the government, manufacturing will be confined solely to our sepia-tinged Heritage feature before much longer. But tell that to our Young'uns, many of whom still come from the making stuff industries. We believe that our county - for so long built on a manufacturing base - has little need to worry. For, as so often before, we're just going to carry right on. Cotton was once our bread and butter, but that's now overseas. Leyland DAF fell on its knees, but we built it back up again. And judging by the range of industries contained in our inaugural showcase of the influential figures of tomorrow, we're not going to let the demise of manufacturing hurt us either. There's a heavy make-up of creative businesses in our list and a fair number of internet-based operations, including the incredible story of EKM Solutions and the brains behind it. Told it would never make money; he carried on regardless, and now his software facilitates one in every five online shops in the UK. Call us stubborn, headstrong, visionaries or pioneers, our business men and women, entrepreneurs and workforce have a history of creating enterprise in their own backyards in the face of anybody else's negative predictions. And, as you'll see over the next six pages, it's in our future too. From profile: ANTONY CHESWORTH, 28 Managing Director and Owner ekm Systems Ltd This Young'un has shown incredible determination, enabling him to become one of the most important players in the UK software market. ekmPowershop.com now powers one in five online shops in the country, with an impressive client list boasting brands such as Lotus cars, ITV, PGA Golf, NHS and Michelin Tyres. But it wasn't always so rosy. Antony set his business up just eight months into his post-university career, in October 2002. Initially, the fact the business had no money became a major obstacle, making it very difficult for him to get his fledgling business off the ground. He was forced to survive by running up very high credit card and other debts for the first couple of years and it wasn't until May 2004 that the company really started to take off. During this time it was hard to carry on with the company as many people, several business support organisations and experts included, advised him to give up and get a job saying that the company just wouldn't work. But Antony carried on ploughing through knowing that his idea would eventually take off and at the start of 2004 things started to happen and customers started to slowly trickle in. By April of that year, Antony had managed to get up to 150 customers on the ekmPowershop.com system and brought in his first member of staff. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength and is now the biggest ecommerce solution company in the UK with a turnover of more than £2 million and employing more than 25 people.

Steven Hickey, Sales and Marketing Manager of ekmSystems features in 'Start your Business Magazine', December Issue

18 December 2008

Steven Hickey of Ekm Systems Ltd offers his industry expertise, in offering 'Credit Crunch' guidance to businesses considering going online in times of economic uncertainty. Last Christmas, online retail peaked in the region of £5bn. This year that is set to grow to £7bn. So how has the internet seemingly developed an immunity to the credit crunch?

ekmCompass public release; redirect your visitors to the most relevant website based on their geographic location

10 December 2008

We are pleased to announce another innovative application for ekmPowershop owners to utilise - ekmCompass. ekmCompass is an IP redirection tool which determines where your visitors are based geographically - and redirects them to the most relevant website. So for instance, if you had multiple websites in different languages; you can set up redirects to ensure visitors from certain countries are sent straight to the most relevant site for them. Perhaps you provide a service or product which is only applicable in certain countries, or for different countires you have different services/products available. ekmCompass will basically allow you to specify which website you want people to see based on which country they are browsing from. ekmCompass costs just £4.99 + VAT per month and is fully hosted. It is a javascript based application, and works with any website; just like adding Google Analytics to your website. And of course, like any of Ekm Systems products and services - support is free. For further information on ekmCompass, including a free online demo please visit www.ekmcompass.com or email sales@ekmsystems.co.uk. Alternatively you can call us on 0871 230 7116 option 1 and we will be more than happy to help with any enquiries.

Sell your digital products with ekmPowershop.com! ekmDigitalVault now available in Beta

27 November 2008

We are pleased to announce digital delivery is now available on ekmPowershop.com. ekmDigitalVault is now in its beta form, and allows ekmPowershop.com owners to sell downloadable products. Beta Development ekmDigitalVault is in its beta stage at present. So we are looking for beta testers to try it out, give us their feedback and generally have a good go on the new system, so we can release it in full. Want to use it? You can start selling digital products today with your ekmPowershop.com by subscribing to our beta testing platform. And as it's a beta, it's free! Of course for the duration of the beta testing stages we would not ask you to pay for it. Pending its full release we do intend to offer the feature as a 'bolt on' for a small monthly sum, similar to ekmPinpoint. So if you would like to start using the beta environment and start selling digital products (PDFs, MP3s, .docs, XLS etc.) then please contact our support team click here or call 0871 230 7116 option 2.

SEO-Put the finishing touch to your ekmPowershop.com with fully editable page titles

26 November 2008

You can now put anything you want in the title tag We have worked long and hard over the past 18 months to really push the SEO capabilities of ekmPowershop.com. Obviously better SEO means more traffic and more sales for our customers. Something we are committed to as a matter of high priority. ekmPowershop.com is a contract free platform, so it is in our interest to ensure we stay ahead of the game in terms of performance on traffic and search engine rankings. As part of our pursuit to increase ekmPowershop.com traffic levels we have introduced SEO friendly URLs, customisable meta data, static pages, auto generated meta data and finally.... editable title tags. What is a title tag? For those of you who are new to ekmPowershop.com or SEO, the meta title on your website is the blue bar at the top, and it's the first thing Google reads when it hits your site. The way it used to be... Up until now the title has been generated automatically by the ekmPowershop.com system. It is good SEO practice to order your keywords by priority and keep them consistent in your title, meta keywords, meta description, H1 tags etc. Now you have the power... The automation of ekmPowershop.com doing the keyword arrangement through the vital elements mentioned above ensured that the consistency of keyword referencing was adhered to. However you now have free reign; so try and stick to the consistency and keyword ordering rule when you customise the content of the tag. If you are not sure about this then please feel free to contact our support team for advice or help. How to customise the title tag: If you do not wish to use the custom title tag tool then the system will auto-generate in the same way it always has done. However if you wish to get in there and really optimise your title then you can do this by: Activate custom meta data via the 'Advanced Settings' area of your ekmPowershop.com. Navigate to the category or product page you wish to customise. Click 'edit'. You will see the green 'Custom Meta Data' tab. Click on the grey 'Change Meta Data' button. Enter your content into 'Meta Title' box. Click 'Update. if you go to the page in 'View Shop' you will now see your new customised title tag. Be careful! This is a great tool but you now have potential to also damage your search engine rankings. Ensure you separate your keywords with a deliminator like the pipe (|) or back/forward slash (/). There are other characters you can use too. Also be careful not to keyword stuff i.e. repeating keywords. Google does not like this and you will see your site penalised for such techniques. Safety First The tool has a limit of 66 characters so you cannot over do it, which again Google would penalise you for. However do not feel compelled to fill it on every page. Less can be more... Keyword focus is also important - Google likes precision as well as relevance. Do not make the robots trawl through saturated content - this also ranks you lower if Google has an easier, less cluttered alternative to index above you in the rankings. If you need any help on using this new feature, SEO, or any other aspect of the ekmPowershop.com solution then please do not hesitate to contact our support team for advice or help.

ekmPowershop introduces new payment gateway - Moneybookers integration now live

31 October 2008

We are pleased to announce that all ekmPowershop users can now automatically use Moneybookers as their payment processor. Moneybookers, as one of the world’s largest payment providers, gives you access to the largest network of national and international payments, as well as an instant client base of over 5.5 million consumers - all with a single integration, and single contract. Special Introductory Offer And to celebrate, Moneybookers are offering all ekmPowershop users rates starting from 0.99% per transaction. Join Moneybookers with ekmPowershop and feel the benefits today... Benefits of using Moneybookers with ekmPowershop to you: Increase revenue by up to 14% instantly Increased basket conversion with our checkout technology Instant payments in your account All in one solution, covering payments, banking & marketing Secure system, already used by over 23,000 merchants Instant access to a new market of over 5.5 million Moneybookers account holders growing by over 10,000 new customers a day For more details and to sign up, please visit www.moneybookers.com/partners/ekmpowershop Moneybookers is authorised under UK and EU law and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK

Protx offer free processing for Christmas and New Year!

27 October 2008

ekmPowershop have teamed up with Protx, the UK’s largest independent Internet payment service provider, to offer a Christmas and New Year promotion. Protx is offering ekmPowershop customers 3 months free processing when you sign up to Protx*. Sign up to Protx before 31st January 2009 to take advantage of this very special offer. With Christmas fast approaching, many online retailers see a huge spike in sales and what better way to process these extra transactions than through the innovative Protx platform. Protx provides a fully secure, PCI compliant, online processing platform and ensures maximum uptime for complete piece of mind at such an important time of year. Other key benefits to your business include: All major card schemes are supported Real-time or batch authorisation Delayed settlement, repeat and refund options Multi-currency payments Mail order Telephone order system is included with our ecommerce products Fully customisable payment pages Real-time reporting 7 days a week support Maximum security of transaction processing and data storage Extensive fraud screening options including: 3rd Man, AVS, CV2, Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode To qualify for the 3 months free processing, sign up to Protx here and use the following promotional code “ekm33101”. For more information contact Protx Customer Services on 0845 111 4455 or visit http://www.protx.com. *Protx offers an unlimited number of transactions within the 3 month promotional period.

Customer Notification - Rogue Design Services

29 September 2008

This month's company news is to re-iterate a notice posted on our forum www.ekmcommunity.com. For those of you who do not use the forum, we have been alerting our customers of the potential perils of employing cheap web design services on your ekmPowershop. Recently we have been inundated with requests from ekmPowershop owners whose templates need ‘fixing’. These have been custom designs commissioned by third parties who do not understand the data tag structure. Issues from meta tags being left out (meaning the sites’ SEO will be non existent), edit buttons missing for certain key elements (such as product and category titles on the homepage), and hard coded links (basically a sign of sloppy coding) are the most prevalent. The companies/agencies whose bad work is brought to our attention, are the same repeat offenders. We feel it vital to inform you that, yes ekmPowershop is a powerful platform and we urge you to have the design customised in order to maximise the potential in your online venture. We also encourage the use of third party web design – and we do not hide the fact that we also offer custom design services, the calibre of which is plain for all to see www.ekmpowershop.com/customdesign.asp All we are saying is be careful if you take what appears to be the cheaper alternative as you quite often get what you pay for (or not, as the case is increasingly becoming). We are now taking measures to try and quell the surge in such inadequate design work. We hope this will help alleviate the occurrences in templates which require ‘fixing’. Web design companies work extensively with ekmPowershop as their ecommerce platform. By in large they get the job done and the clients are happy. First and foremost we want to make ekmPowershop even more widely used and further cement our place in the market as the leading supplier of ecommerce in the UK. Web design agencies bringing their clients on board and customising the site is a big part of this. However, rogue designers who feed off the existing customer base and return sub standard work is something we do have an issue with, in the interest of the ekmPowershop owners themselves. And this is why we are creating the awareness of what is becoming a bigger problem. Our support resources are being drained in fixing faulty custom designs, rather than focusing on supporting the ekmPowershop owners, which is what we are here for. We encourage the use of ekmPowershop through all channels and obviously the customisation ability of the system is of massive appeal to design agencies small and large. At this point we would urge you to speak to our design team. We will even work with your budget and get the most out of your online shop; with efficiently coded and aesthetically pleasing graphical work, which is unrivalled. For a full custom design, amendments, template modifications, or any other design work on your ekmPowershop, feel free to contact us on sales@ekmsystems.co.uk or call 0871 230 7116 and speak to a member of the design sales team. To view and/or join the forum please visit www.ekmcommunity.com and stay informed on such notices and issues affecting your online shop. First and foremost, the forum is a great support resource. Please rest assured we will make sure it remains this way.

The 'C' word

28 September 2008

The credit crunch may be crippling the high street - but for the net it's business as usual, with the roll up to Christmas indicating another period of year on year growth. It might seem a little early for most people to be talking about Christmas, but for all retailers it is literally only just round the corner. Logistics, delivery dates, promotions and special offers are just a handful of the day to day aspects of your business which will escalate to intensive levels. There are an estimated 25 million online shoppers in the UK - that's almost half of the population. IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) estimate £7bn will be spent online this year, as consumers choose convenience and low prices over packed shopping centres and out of stock items. Sales start as early as Christmas day Argos may have started a new trend for online traders too: This year, for the first time ever they will be opening their sales a day earlier than normal, on Christmas Day. And only online. Maybe a keen idea if you are looking to make the most of your trade sales over Christmas. Yes, people will be shopping online on Christmas Day! ekmPowershop's Christmas Checklist... Search engine and shopping directory submission Newer ekmPowershop owners must bear in mind that it takes 4- 6 weeks to be indexed in the search engines from the date of submission. We submit daily but all the same it is very important that you have completed the ‘Marketing and Promotion’ section of your ekmPowershop account. Froogle (Google Product Search) submissions take around 3 – 5 days but get them in early to build up your traffic. Remember people are shopping for Christmas now. Discounts and Promotions Make use of the editable areas on your ekmPowershop site to make people aware of any Christmas offers you might be running. The ‘Discount Management’ section in your ekmPowershop ‘Settings’ has a comprehensive range of discounts for you to create. Consumers always like to think they are getting a ‘good deal’, especially at Christmas when they are spending more money than any other time of the year. Shop Design You will notice many websites on the internet change the theme of their site or modify it for Christmas. Even If you are only inserting a couple of images or banners, consumers will warm to sites paying attention to and taking interest in the festive season. Just like any local department stores decorate their windows/interiors with tinsel – people want to go inside for the ‘festive mood’. Stock We mentioned earlier that the high street is the first place to experience non availability/out of stock when it comes to high demand items. You have time to plan ahead for the surge in demand and unlike many high street chains; you do not have to share your stock amongst multiple outlets. Over 180 million deliveries were made last year in the run up to Christmas, from online orders - so make sure you have your supply chain in place well in advance. Need Help? So as the dark nights draw in so too does the busiest time of the year for all retailers across the world. Our support team are always here for you and we are at hand to offer help so do not hesitate to use us in this busy period. Feel free to email us on support@ekmsystems.co.uk or cal 0871 230 7116 option 2.

Credit Crunch. What Credit Crunch? Sell online and benefit from the high street's demise

29 August 2008

Over £145m is still spent over the internet each day, and isn't showing any sign of slowing during the credit crunch so far. Much of the online sector's sustained growth is apportioned to consumers turning to the internet for bargains, as the impending recession becomes more real, and lenders dry up on the funds they once threw at anyone asking. So unfortunately there is less money to be spent on retail as families concentrate on keeping their heads above water, prioritising the essential items over commodities. IMRG Capgemini (Interactive Media In Retail Group) studies reveal that 17p in every pound is now spent on the internet, and they predict that 30% - 50% of all retail sales will take place on the internet in the next 5 years. In June, clothing and footwear were the biggest casualties on the high street, whilst conversely, online sales were up 32% and 38% respectively. The benefits of shopping in the physical realm are clearly losing their appeal; for great choice, products you would not normally find in the shops, great savings, and not to mention convenience - shopping online is becoming more and more prominent in the UK economy. So the good news for ekmPowershop owners: Yes there is an economic storm in the UK which is rocking the retail industry rather vigorously; but seek shelter in the haven of ecommerce and enjoy a more certain future. People are still buying - they'd just rather do it online.

Refer a friend

28 August 2008

After great success earlier in the year, we are extending our 'Refer a Friend' scheme which all ekmPowershop owners are eligible for. We all want to grow our businesses - and at ekmPowershop we are no different. If you are happy with ekmPowershop then why not tell your friends? Here at ekmPowershop we have expanded rapidly in the past two years and we hope you find that the result is the best solution on the market. To continue pushing the solution we deliver to you we intend to carry on growing. We now power almost 5000 online active shops in the UK. We aim to make that 10,000 in the next 5 years - and YOU can help. Register on our 'Refer a Friend' scheme today and you could receive: Refer a friend to ekmPowershop and receive 1 month's free rental (worth £19.99 + VAT) Refer 5 friends and win 6 months receive rental (worth £119.94 + VAT) Refer 10 friends and win 12 months receive rental (worth £239.88 + VAT) To register for this scheme please email to sales@ekmsystems.co.uk and put 'REFER A FRIEND' in the subject. We will then give you a link for you to email your friends

Summary of new features

30 July 2008

You only pay £19.99 + VAT per month for what is a market leading solution - but we still want and need to give you more for your money. ekmPowershop has become the most widely used ecommerce platform in the UK, and we intend to keep it that way! With great feedback from the forum and customers getting in touch, we have pushed ekmPowershop further in terms of functionality and we will strive to deliver exactly what you all want and need. Of course we have to prioritise certain developments, which we do on a customer led basis. Listening to your customers is a huge part of any business, as many of you will know. At Ekm Systems the philosophy is the same and our drive to satisfy all of our online shop owners continues. A few of the recent developments are detailed below, and we are working on some great new features - next month we may just give you a hint of developments and expected release dates. Here are some of the more recent additions to the ekmPowershop framework in the past few months, just in case any of you out there are not aware: - Lightbox feature - Stock control with variants - Related products/upsell feature - Integration of Gate2Shop payment gateway - 10 new templates to choose from If you have any questions or any issues using the new features please call our Customer Services team on 0871 230 7116. Or email us at support@ekmsystems.co.uk and we will be able to offer assistance.

ekmPowershop partners with PayPal to make payments easy for your business

29 July 2008

ekmPowershop has partnered with PayPal to bring you online payments the easy way, allowing you to accept debit and credit cards, bank transfers and PayPal balance through a single provider. PayPal offers you a range of payment solutions to suit the needs of your business, each allowing you to accept payments safely and securely in the way that suits you. PayPal is a global leader in online payments and is the preferred online payment brand in the UK*. PayPal supports payments from 190 markets and in 17 global currencies. In 2006 PayPal processed the equivalent of £18 billion in online volume. With PayPal merchants can quickly, simply, and securely receive payments through a wide range of payment methods including all major debit and credit cards, bank transfers and PayPal balance. Recent research has shown the success of PayPal: 1 in 3 UK internet shoppers cite PayPal as their preferred way to pay online*. Only 40% of online shoppers make it past the website payment process – the rest just give up (Marketing Sherpa’s Economic Benchmark guide 2006). PayPal’s Express Checkout has a conversion rate of 77% meaning merchants can convert more browsers in to buyers (Based on analysis conducted on top 100 PayPal merchants in the UK and US combined (in terms of volume) using Express Checkout). PayPal is proven to increase merchants’ online sales by an average of 14% (PayPal survey of US small and medium businesses doing a minimum of $120,000 annual online sales). PayPal is the most visited financial services destination in the UK (Nielsen NetRatings August 2007). With Express Checkout customers can pay easily, quickly, and securely in as few as three clicks. The buyer checks out on the merchant site by clicking the PayPal button, the billing and postal information stored in the buyers PayPal account is then confirmed on PayPal and returned to the merchant site where PayPal has already pre-populated the necessary fields so the buyer can confirm the transaction – this eliminates the need for buyers to fill in extensive web forms with billing and shipping address, one of the main reasons for cart abandonment. Express Checkout is available as a sole solution or as part of Website Payments Pro, the all in one solution. All PayPal solutions enable merchants to retain control of the buyer experience and branding with customers always being able to return to the merchants’ site. Join the search listings on PayPal Offers PayPal is launching a new search functionality this summer on www.paypal.co.uk/offers which will allow consumers to find and compare products at online retailers who accept PayPal. Learn more. All you need to do is use PayPal Express Checkout, PayPal's three click checkout and add the PayPal logo to your homepage. By doing this you can feature in the product search listings on PayPal's main shopping platform. Apply now and open your doors to 20 million UK accounts. To find out more about getting started with PayPal call 0800 358 7912. *PayPal Q2 2007 Brand Tracker, conducted by Factworks. PayPal is preferred by 29% of online shoppers versus 26% for Visa, 11% for Mastercard and 1% for Google Checkout. Independent Forrester research states that 1 in 3 online shoppers in the UK cite PayPal as their online payment method of choice. †† All card data must be stored, transmitted, and processed by PayPal and not by the merchant.

ekmCommunity locked down for ekmPowershop owners only

27 June 2008

The forum has proved a massively popular platform since it was launched recently. The uptake has been impressive, but as well as attracting ekmPowershop customers, it has also attracted some 'unsavouries'. Perhaps an inevitable outcome - the forum was being used by a handful to solicit their services, spam the forum with irrelevant links and posts, and general conduct which really detracted from the whole point of the forum in the first place; to provide a platform for ekmPowershop owners to support, help and share information in order to improve their ecommerce venture. We took steps to counteract this and as a result any forum accounts which did not match up with an ekmPowershop username were removed. Of course anybody can still view the forum - they just cannot post if they do not have an ekmPowershop account. . So if you are an ekmPowershop owner and have not yet joined the forum then you can join to day at www.ekmcommunity.com/register.php. Join the almost 1000 members already on there today and help push ekmCommunity in the right direction for all concerned.

Display your product images in a lightbox

26 June 2008

Ever seen a website with images displayed in a lightbox? What is a lightbox? When a visitor clicks on the image, the website goes dark and the images are presented in the middle of the screen in a 'lightbox' effect. Well now your ekmPowershop can have this feature too. It is what's known as a 'lightbox' effect - and looks great for displaying your product images in an overlaid fashion. A lovely aesthetic touch and visual feature for your product pages. This particular feature uses the 'lightbox2' framework which greys out your website when the image is highlighted in the 'lightbox' effect. To activate this new feature in your ekmPowershop control panel: Log in to your ekmPowershop and go to 'Settings' Navigate to 'Enable/Disable ekmPowershop Features' You will see a new tick box for "Product Images Displayed Using Lightbox2" Select this and click on 'Update' The lightbox feature is now active on your ekmPowershop. If you have any questions or any issues using the new feature please call our Customer Services team on 0871 230 7116. Or email us at support@ekmsystems.co.uk and we will be able to offer assistance. Feature article

New update to ekmPowershop

29 May 2008

The stock control system has had a massive overhaul, after an intensive development process and great feedback from our beta testers (many thanks to ekmCommunity members for that). All ekmPowershop sites now have a comprehensive stock control system which allows for stock quantities to be placed on product options/variants. The new enhancement to ekmPowershop's stock control system also features: Low stock levels notification. The numeric value you set within the drop down box will be the trigger value for when your ekmPowershop sends you a notification email to advise the stock is running low. Stock control manager. This facility allows you to edit various elements of your stock in a bulk manner, such as changing product prices, stock levels and product delivery charges - along with several other parameters. Product variants. When adding your products, you may find that you wish to have certain variations of that product. For example, you may be selling a shirt that is available in various sizes and various colours. Not only may you have these two variants, but you might have differing stock levels of each variant. Improved category management. When you have selected a product to be seen in a different area, you will now have the power to be able to change the listing order as well as the original product added. We have also added 5 guides to our support section of our website which will help you with the new feature. What Is Stock Control Stock Control Settings Stock Control Manager Stock Control: Setting Up Product Options Stock Control: Setting Up Product Variants Of course this is a new development and so any feedback or issues are welcome as we endeavour to ensure ekmPowershop remains the most powerful ecommerce tool on the market. If you have any questions or any issues using the new feature please call our Customer Services team on 0871 230 7116. Or email us at support@ekmsystems.co.uk and we will be able to offer assistance.

Refer a friend

30 April 2008

The 'Refer a Friend' scheme has got off to a good start. So far we have 20 friends of ekmPowershop owners now trading online with their very own online shop. For those who are not sure what it's all about - we are running a competition for all of you ekmPowershop owners to refer a friend onto our solution. In exchange we are offering free ekmPowershop rental and a free custom design to the person who refers the most friends. The reward structure is as follows: Refer 1 friend to ekmPowershop and win 1 month's free rental (worth £19.99 + VAT) Refer 5 friends and win 6 months rental (worth £119.94 + VAT) Refer 10 friends and win 12 months rental (worth £239.88 + VAT) The person who refers the most friends over will also receive a free design makeover worth £550 + VAT. To register for this scheme please email to sales@ekmsystems.co.uk and put 'REFER A FRIEND' in the subject. We will then give you a link for you to email your friends to sign up via. The link will contain unique code for us to track your progress.

ekmPowershop introduces Gate2Shop (G2S) payment gateway

29 April 2008

At ekmPowershop we strive to offer our customers as much control over every aspect of their online shop as possible. A huge part of ensuring you get such control is by offering a wide choice in terms of payment processing. We are happy to introduce another payment gateway - Gate2Shop on the ekmPowershop system. G2S, powered by SafeCharge with over 8 years of experience, offers a secure global payment solution for both Vendors and Shoppers worldwide. G2S's proprietary state-of-the-art fraud technology ensures maximum conversion rates with minimal fraud. G2S is so confident in its Fraudulent Prevention Technology that it even offers Vendors a money-back guarantee on fraudulent Charge backs. G2S's reliable and secure payment experience is fast and easy meeting the growing needs of all Vendors from the "start-up" to the highly established Vendors. G2S's extensive payment options includes: all major credit cards, debit cards, 3-D Secure, Virtual Terminal (MOTO), rebilling services support and 24/7 customer support to ensure that shopper's abandonment rate is kept to an absolute minimum. To find out more or to start using G2S please go to http://www.gate2shop.com/en/home

ekmCommunity picks up momentum!

28 March 2008

Since the last newsletter the number of members on ekmCommunity has nearly doubled. This is great news for all of those ekmPowershop owners already registered on the forum - as it means more people to talk to and to share your hints and tips with. With almost 500 members the forum is now attracting attention from people outside of ekmPowershop - regards SEO, design etc. This is excellent if you find it useful. However if you feel that someone is perhaps using the forum to blatantly advertise their own services above the interest of the members, then please let us know. So far there have been over 10,000 posts on the forum and most of them have been very useful. It has provided a great resource for link exchange which is vital for SEO. However there is room for more in this community so please feel free to join up via this link www.ekmcommunity.com/register.php

Introduce a friend to ekmPowershop

27 March 2008

We all strive to grow our own business - that is why we are all here trading online in what is undoubtedly the second, more substantial internet boom. Here at ekmPowershop we have expanded rapidly in the past two years and we hope you find that the result is the best solution on the market. To continue pushing the solution we deliver to you we intend to carry on growing. We now power 4000 online active shops in the UK. We aim to make that 10,000 in the next 5 years - and YOU can help. Refer a friend to ekmPowershop and receive 1 month's free rental (worth £19.99 + VAT) Refer 5 friends and win 6 months receive rental (worth £119.94 + VAT) Refer 10 friends and win 12 months receive rental (worth £239.88 + VAT) The person who refers the most friends over will also receive a free design makeover worth £550 + VAT. To register for this scheme please email to sales@ekmsystems.co.uk and put 'REFER A FRIEND' in the subject. We will then give you a link for you to email your friends to sign up via. The link wil contain unique code for us to track your progress.

ekmCommunity launches

28 February 2008

ekmPowershop now has its own forum - www.ekmcommunity.com. A great resource for all ekmPowershop owners to meet and share their own knowledge and experiences from their own online shop. So far we have found that everything from discount management to custom design has its own topic of discussion on the forum and best of all - people helping one another in order to strengthen their own online shop's performance. So why not join today? At present there are over 250 members sharing their own personal thoughts and the forum is just over a week old. This is a very exciting prospect for future months - we hope the membership base will carry on growing to involve all the more people and ultimately benefit as many ekmPowershop owners as possible. To join simply follow this link www.ekmcommunity.com/register.php We are finding the forum to be a great 'self support' platform whereby many users are having their problems answered by more experienced shop owners. Obviously we are very pleased with this as the forum offers a 24/7 point of contact - often problems or questions are being resolved before the shop owner needs to contact us for support. We do monitor the forums as much as we can but if you do have any support queries and want the official answer then we of course advise you to contact us direct. The forum is also providing a great medium for feedback for us, as your ecommerce provider, on new developments and features. Naturally, there are negative comments as well as praises - and we of course welcome these too. Here at Ekm Systems we are committed to delivering the best possible ecommerce package on the market and we never stop progressing the functionality. Please remember however we can only monitor the forum to a certain extent and post official replies when necessary or appropriate. We have also found many budding web designers on the forum - offering minor alterations and HTML editing services. Again this is great for the ekmPowershop community and we encourage you to 'tweak' your designs to maximise those sales. However if you want a fully customised design with graphical expertise then try our professional design service – be it for alterations or a complete re-design. If you’re interested please contact us via email to sales@ekmsystems.co.uk.

ekmPowershop sites generate over £8m in one month!

28 February 2008

We did some analysis on shop turnover just after the Christmas rush - to see how much ekmPowershop as an ecommerce platform generates through all of the shops you guys out there are running. And the results were pretty impressive. During the month of January there was over £8m of orders processed across the ekmPowershop network, our top performers averaging over £150k per month. And that was in January - a month where most online traders see a dip after the Christmas rush. So to all those who were wondering - 'Does it Really Work?' and 'All that for just £19.99 per month?' the answer is a definite YES. We will be monitoring this closely now so watch this space for the 'ekmPowershop Entrepreneur of the Year' award. It could be you.....