Month: September 2024

In today’s digital-first economy, strategic brand growth is often driven by expanding into international markets. Global-e is a leading cross-border eCommerce platform that helps small to large businesses expand globally by localising customer experiences and tailoring solutions, such as global payments, logistics, and marketing, with data-driven insights. 

Our recent partnership with Global-e cements our dedication to expanding our reach along with that of our clients. As LION Digital is currently servicing clients in 14 global markets, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the UK, Canada, and Japan, our multichannel eCommerce digital marketing agency has proven strategies for international growth.

Driving International eCommerce Success with Global-e and LION Digital

More than just a tech provider, Global-e delivers full-service solutions, offering tailored geocentric retail strategies, tools and techniques for international success. 

As Raj Mukherjee, Global-e Partnership Manager Asia-Pacific, explains, “Global-e provides everything that a brand needs to accomplish global eCommerce successfully. Our technology enables shoppers from over 200 countries to have a more localised experience, and our services simplify expansion minimising the risks and complexity involved in selling online to overseas markets.” 

This comprehensive cross-border solution allows merchants to focus on their core business while Global-e tackles complex supply-chain logistics, compliance, duties, taxes, customs, and currency conversion.  By providing a single, integrated stack that manages international operations, Global-e helps merchants transform untapped international sessions into revenue, rather than brands having to build their own multi-regional stacks instead.

Key Benefits: A Comprehensive Solution in One Platform with Vast Reach

Unlike other cross-border eCommerce providers that offer only parts of the necessary infrastructure, Global-e provides an enterprise-grade end-to-end solution. For brands operating in multiple markets, this allows a valuable opportunity to consolidate their efforts under one platform. 

“We have aggregated all the information that’s required end-to-end, and effectively brands don’t need to piecemeal it,” says Raj. “Global-e has all of it under one umbrella.”

This includes everything from tax calculation and compliance to logistics and payment services, which is a huge boon for brands wanting to expand as it can drastically reduce operational complexity and risk. Ecommerce brands can now expand into new regions without the added pressure of dealing with local regulatory requirements and technical infrastructure. 

This holistic approach is a major advantage, eliminating the need for brands to integrate multiple solutions from different providers. The platform’s size and scale—being the largest business of its kind globally—enable access to vast amounts of data, which in turn fuels better market insights and strategic recommendations.

Leveraging Data Insights for Market Optimisation

One of Global-e’s most powerful assets is its data. With over 30 million transactions and 2 billion sessions from more than 1000 brands that the company services, the platform has access to extensive insights into local customer behaviour across the globe.

With a strong focus across verticals including fashion, beauty, consumer electronics, toys and kids’ space. Global-e tracks “shopper behaviour in different regions”, explains Raj. “We peer group that data and present it back to the relevant brands to help them identify their low-hanging fruit opportunities.”

One of Global-e’s key differentiators is its ability to use data to inform strategy and pricing, allowing brands to make informed decisions and maximise their ROI. Global-e uses data analysis to help brands pinpoint the regions where they are most likely to succeed so they can fine-tune their pricing, product offerings, and marketing strategies. These insights are particularly valuable for brands looking to enter high-growth markets or optimise their existing regional performance. 

Improved Customer Experience by Localising the Entire Shopper Journey

One of the most significant challenges in cross-border eCommerce is ensuring that international shoppers can engage as seamlessly with international brands as they would local online businesses.

“The software is designed to geolocate the shopper, present a welcome message, and display local banner messaging with special offers,” says Raj. “We also enable shoppers to browse and pay in their local currency, so they don’t need to worry about converting it themselves or being exposed to unknown transactional fees.”

Global-e’s solution integrates with all eCommerce platforms and is the exclusive third-party global eCommerce provider for Shopify. Raj says, “We feel fortunate to have a solution that works across platforms and to be chosen by Shopify to help their merchants expand globally.”

Shopify Managed Markets expands the capabilities of cross-border management tools offered by Shopify. Currently available to US-based merchants, this tool can help brands set up and start on their journey to global sales.

Global-e’s platform supports over 30 languages, more than 100 currencies and over 150 payment options, including buy-now, pay-later options, digital wallets and credit cards. This creates a seamless experience with a domestic feel for international shoppers. Brands can build trust and loyalty in new markets by helping to reduce friction for shoppers, therefore, increasing the likelihood of conversion rates.

Partnership Synergy for Global-e and LION Digital

The Global-e and LION Digital partnership has been built on shared values and complementary expertise. LION Digital is renowned for its multichannel eCommerce capabilities, specialising in helping brands with a minimum international annual revenue of $100K expand their global footprint.

Raj sees this alliance as a natural alignment, saying that the partnership was driven by LION Digital’s “strong eCommerce focus, especially in the D2C online eCommerce space and is known as an eCommerce powerhouse, and its team has the capability and that focus, making the alliance a strong partnership for success”.

The primary driver of the alliance for Global-e is the fact that LION has such a strong eCommerce focus.

“That alignment is invaluable,” says Raj, “In the Australian market, some of the major clients that LION works with would be a great fit for Global-e or are potentially working with Global-e already, and this partnership will allow us to work more closely to deliver strong results for them,” adding that, “LION’s growth in APAC and in countries where Global-e is also established gives this partnership a global recipe for success.”

LION Digital’s ability to run multichannel campaigns at home in APAC and across 13 foreign markets perfectly complements Global-e’s cross-border eCommerce capabilities. Combined, they offer brands a complete solution for growing their international online presence, entering new markets, and driving revenue across multiple channels.

Global-e publishes a global data insights report that breaks down regional trends that can assist brands that are selling from and optioning the Australian market. This report provides market trends that share international growth and decline, showcasing how the US dollar can impact world commerce.

Future Outlook for a Winning Partnership

As the eCommerce landscape continues to evolve, the partnership between Global-e and LION Digital is poised to deliver significant value to brands looking to expand their global presence. With Global-e’s robust technology platform and LION Digital’s expertise in digital marketing, brands have access to powerful solutions that simplify cross-border eCommerce and drive international growth.

Looking ahead, both companies are excited about the possibilities. Raj says “ We look forward to some exciting wins together. We have had some good success; you can see our case studies with Australian fashion and fitness brands like St. Agni and Muscle Republic on our website, and there are a few more to come.”

By combining Global-e’s cutting-edge technology, strategic data insights and eCommerce expertise with LION Digital’s expert digital marketing solutions, this partnership provides brands that are either established or starting on their journey to global success with the tools and expertise they need.

The Latest Version of Shopify Online Store 2.0: Benefits of Migrating to Shopify

OVERVIEW

In this article, the LION team explores the latest updates from the latest Shopify Online Store 2.0 platform and offers the best reasons to upgrade, along with sharing its key features. LION Digital has used Shopify 2.0 since its launch in 2021, when it transformed the retail experience with greater store flexibility and increased user control. LION became a Shopify Plus Partner in mid-2022, having seen the scope of benefits for eCommerce clients, and is therefore well positioned to integrate this platform into your eCommerce strategy. 

What does Shopify’s Latest Version Look Like?

Since then, Shopify has continuously improved its platform, making today’s Shopify migration a major win for your business. It rebuilt merchants’ interactions with the Shopify online store through time-saving features, enhanced performance, and improved content management. Shopify OS 2.0 introduced a new era for Shopify developers with a suite of new tools, theme architecture, and advanced customisation options. All this is aimed at ensuring e-store users can enjoy simpler use and increased control. 

Extensible Checkout 

Shopify Plus store owners using OS 2.0 can customise their checkouts through personifying apps such as loyalty programs, branding, recommended products, and more, achieving 11% higher conversion rates and a 4X faster checkout experience.  

The Benefits of the Latest Version of Shopify Online Store 2.0

The Shopify Online Store 2.0 features considered above deliver a range of benefits for merchants and end users:

Better User Experience for Store Owners

Thanks to the new theme architecture, creating and maintaining a store on Shopify 2.0 is a much sleeker user experience than on Shopify 1.0. The process is more efficient, smoother, and faster. 

The default Dawn theme provides a satisfying UX by following the latest trends. It is fully optimised for mobile and includes features such as enhanced product pages, equipped with announcement bars and much higher conversion potential.  

Shopify is now less dependent on coding skills, grants retailers complete control over the store assets, and provides a sense of ownership and flexibility. The user experience for eCommerce teams has improved considerably, making it much easier to use than its predecessor.

Quick Implementation of Changes

Store owners can save time and implement the changes faster without the developer’s involvement. Hence, businesses can respond promptly to their internal and client needs. However, some complex customisations may still require development work. 

Unlocks Budget for Strategic ROI

The latest Shopify update also cuts costs on feature development and saves funding that could be reallocated to strategically important directions and ROI-positive activities. For instance, the money can be spent on product development by launching additional features and functionalities, increasing the digital ads budget, investing in optimisation by running experimentations and tests, and more. 

Enables the eCommerce Stores’ Originality

By upgrading the stores using enhanced control, content management and enriched customisation features in Shopify, merchants can craft a unique, memorable, and compelling online shopping experience for their clients, making the stores more coherent with brand values and tone of voice.

Improved Customer Experience

Thanks to advances such as enhanced content experience and optimised layout, websites built on the Shopify platform perform better, increasing customer satisfaction and lowering the bounce rate. 

The Main Features of the Shopify’s Latest Version

The primary features of the latest Shopify have been designed to make the platform more intuitive and user-friendly:

Improved Customer Experience 

Shopify Plus store owners using OS 2.0 can customise their checkouts through personifying apps such as loyalty programs, branding, recommended products, and more, achieving 11% higher conversion rates and a 4X faster checkout experience.  

Sections on Every Page Type

Shopify sections are like building blocks for your website’s pages. In the past, you could only make changes to the sections on the homepage. If you wanted to change other pages, you’d need a developer or special tools.

With Shopify 2.0, you can now easily customise your entire site without waiting for a developer. For example, you can put up a new banner for a sale, move things around on a product page, or build a landing page without using extra tools.

You can now add, remove, and rearrange sections on almost any page, like products, collections, blogs, or custom pages. Shopify also increased the number of sections you can use—you can add up to 25 sections per page template, and each section can have up to 50 blocks. This gives you even more options to personalise your store. However, some themes may still limit how many sections you can use, and in some cases, you might still need a developer’s help.

Improved App Integration with Themes

Shopify Online Store 1.0, launched in 2006, was the original version of Shopify. It gave businesses basic tools to set up their online stores, manage inventory, and process payments. However, it wasn’t easy to integrate apps with store themes, and developers had to do extra work to make apps run smoothly on different themes and locations.

With Shopify 2.0, there’s much more flexibility. Now, developers can easily integrate apps into store themes using app blocks, which are like little widgets that can be added, removed, or customised directly in the theme editor—no coding needed! This means you don’t have to worry about breaking your store or needing troubleshooting later.

Shopify 2.0 also gives you full control over where apps appear on your site, and you can add app features and widgets with just one click. Plus, aside from the default “Dawn” theme, the Shopify Theme Store now has over 80 themes, including 8 free ones and more than 1,000 third-party themes to choose from.

Better Theme Editor User Interface

Shopify’s new interface lets store owners easily control where apps appear on a page. You can now drag and drop blocks to move them around without any hassle.

The latest version of Shopify makes it easier to manage your store’s content. The layout is more organised, so adjusting sections and pages feel more natural and user-friendly. It’s also easier to move between pages and update content across multiple pages.

Shopify introduced a “tree view” in the sidebar, which shows all the parts of a page in a clear, organised list. This makes it easy to access and update sections, blocks, and other elements instantly.

Everything is centralised, making website management smoother, and the faster preview feature lets you see any changes you make in real-time. 

Liquid Input Setting

The new Liquid input feature in Shopify makes customising your store even easier. It allows you to add custom elements across your entire site or on specific pages directly from the theme editor.

With this feature, you can access Liquid variables, which means you can make global or page-specific changes without needing to touch any code. You can personalise and fine-tune your store without having to hire a developer.

This feature helps store owners take full advantage of Shopify’s latest tools to make decisions and solve problems more easily. 

Preview Inspector

In the latest Shopify update, a Preview Inspector was introduced to the theme editor. Preview Inspector helps Shopify merchants quickly and easily find blocks and sections they want to change. Rearranging, hiding, deleting, or adding the sections and blocks can now be done simply by clicking on them in the preview window.

Shopify Mobile App

The latest version of the theme editor, available also through the Shopify mobile app, is the most relevant upgrade for Shopify merchants who are always on the move. The mobile theme editor allows you to adjust the theme settings, edit sections and blocks, and customise the templates and pages.

No Code 3D Viewer Configuration

Merchants with limited technical ability can now integrate 3D models into their product listings, helping improve customers’ online shopping experience. As 3D models provide a true-to-life and immersive view of products of all sizes, the no-code 3D viewer configuration feature allows store owners to edit background colour, lighting, zoom, exposure level, and initial camera view on their product pages without extensive technical help.

Metafields Improvement 

Shopify now lets you add custom fields called “metafields” to your store more easily. These fields allow you to store extra information about your products, pages, or other parts of your store. Before the updates, adding metafields was complicated and often required special apps, APIs, or custom code.

Now, you can add metafields directly in the theme editor, saving time and making it much easier. Here’s how they’ve improved:

• Standard Metafields: These can be used across different types of stores and products, making it easier to scale.
• Flexibility: You can now add more types of content, like images, videos, product lists, text, and PDFs. For example, you can easily show a product’s colour options or size chart on the page.
• Metaobjects: These allow you to group multiple metafields together and apply them to several products at once. For example, if you sell wine, you could create a meta object with information like where the wine is made and the producer’s certifications and then apply that information to all related products in one go.
• Dynamic Content: Metafields and metaobjects can be used as dynamic data sources, meaning they adapt to fit the context of products, collections, blogs, and more.
• More Attributes: Initially, metafields were mainly for products and variants, but now multiple metafields can be grouped in metaobjects and applied to several products simultaneously instead of applying numerous metafields to each. So they also work with orders, collections, customers, pages, blogs, and blog posts. This opens up new ways to personalise the shopping experience.
  If this information is stored in a metaobject, you don’t have to add it one by one to every product description. For instance, if you have a wine store on Shopify, the set information about the products could be created.
  • Where the wine was produced; 
  • The location of the producer; 
  • Information about the producer’s wine-making certifications.
  • Customer metafields can also help with marketing by segmenting shoppers based on their data, such as preferences or purchase history.
• Metafield Lists: This new feature lets you store multiple values in one metafield, which can improve search capabilities and allow you to show more detailed information.
• Increased Limits: Shopify has doubled the number of metafields you can create, from 100 to 200 per resource type, giving you even more flexibility.

These improvements make it easier to manage complex product information and create a more personalised shopping experience for your customers.

How Can You Migrate (Upgrade the Theme) to Shopify?

The latest Shopify update is now available to all online store owners. By the time this article is published, all Shopify apps must work seamlessly with the latest Shopify version, and those incompatible with OS 2.0 will already be deleted from the app store. 

However, if merchants choose not to upgrade to the latest version, Shopify doesn’t mandate that they do so. Thus, users of the previous version will continue to receive all the necessary support from the platform.  

Nonetheless, your website’s theme should be compatible with the latest Shopify to leverage all the benefits of the new version. In some cases, this means upgrading the current theme to 2.0; in others, a rebuild is a more appropriate option. Talk to us about website design and how to get the best customer experience out of your website.

With LION Digital’s professional guidance, your brand can benefit greatly from migrating your website to the latest Shopify update. In today’s cutthroat eCommerce market, it makes sense to use the best platform available.

Drop us a request and leverage the benefits of the latest Shopify with Shopify Plus Partner, LION Digital!

OVERVIEW

Discover the trends and technologies shaping the future of online search, from predictive search algorithms that anticipate user intent to AI-driven recommendations personalising content. In this article, we look at the rise of voice search and digital assistants, which are revolutionising user interaction with search engines, and note the critical role of mobile search and local SEO in providing tailored location-based results.

Part Three in our series on the timeline of online search looks at how evolving themes and technologies are reshaping the way people find information. If you missed the earlier segments, you can catch up on Part One: Early Search Engines Before Google and Part Two: Navigating the Changes in Online Search.

Predictive Search

Imagine typing just a few letters and seeing your desired results pop up instantly. Predictive search, powered by advanced AI and machine learning, is transforming how people search online by anticipating user needs before they finish typing. As the goalpost for the ultimate user experience is constantly moved, the predictive search feature anticipates user intent and suggests queries before users finish typing. Predictive search algorithms dynamically generate personalised suggestions based on accumulated user data. These algorithms track behaviour, search history, the context of the search, and search engines’ internal factors like popular searches, trending topics, and user preferences.

Earlier examples of this technology were Google’s “Google Autocomplete” or “Google Instant,” which were then augmented by Google’s “People Also Ask” and “Related Searches” sections, providing additional context and suggestions. Bing and Yahoo joined the trend and applied predictive search to offer auto-complete suggestions and refine search queries in real-time. Bing’s “Search Suggestions” feature offers predictive search recommendations based on user input and browsing history.

Predictive search helps users obtain more accurate and relevant results much faster. It also offers topics to find additional information that users may not have thought of. The more users engage with predictive search, the more accurate it becomes, therefore improving the quality of search results.

Artificial Intelligence for Search

In August 2024, one of the AI market-leading companies, OpenAI, announced the creation of a brand-new search engine called SearchGPT. In its testing phase at the time of this article going live, this prototype aims to lead the path towards a more natural and intuitive way of searching for information. AI-assisted search will allow users to ask follow-up questions and clarify the search results in the way queries typically flow back and forth during natural conversations.

Thus, the long-run concerns of Google’s parent company Alphabet’s investors got real-life proof that OpenAI could take a market share from Google. The full rollout of a service like SearchGPT would further revolutionise the search landscape through a new way of finding information.

This could be an important move for Google, coming off the back of a recent court ruling in which a US judge ruled that the search juggernaut has violated an antitrust law. The ruling potentially paves the way for a possible split of Google and Alphabet, irrevocably changing the search landscape from its current dominating position.

AI-Driven Recommendations

Ever wondered how Netflix knows what movie or TV shows you’ll love next? That’s the magic of AI-driven recommendations at work, learning from your behaviour to make suggestions for you. In an attempt to ‘think’ in the same way users do, a generative recommendation system is one of the most common ways of finding compatible items. Earlier versions, such as the “Related Articles” sections, primarily relied on manual adjustments, related information structures, and tags. However, modern AI-generated recommendations powered by sophisticated algorithms have enhanced this subclass of machine-learning information filtering systems.

AI-driven recommendation algorithms analyse accumulated user data (past purchases, viewing history, preferences, social interactions, etc.), distinguish behaviour patterns, examine ratings and trends, and apply contextual signals to match content relevance and curate personalised recommendations. These engines aim to enhance the user experience and increase engagement by extending the time spent and the depth of the journey with the aim of driving business conversion rates.

Think about the last time global streaming services suggested a show you binge-watched over a weekend or when Spotify created a playlist that felt custom-made for you. These personalised experiences are powered by sophisticated AI algorithms that learn from your habits and preferences. Amazon recommends products based on past purchases, browse history, and search history. Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok also apply AI-driven recommendations to personalise users’ news feeds and explore tabs.

Voice Search and the Rise of Digital Assistants

Asking Siri for the weather or telling Alexa to play your favourite song make up part of the 3.1 billion voice searches every month. Voice search, which started as a novelty when Google introduced it in 2011, has evolved into a daily habit for over 50% of adults using it daily in 2024. With advances in speech recognition technology, voice search has become an integral part of search behaviour and marketing. Today, the average voice search SERP takes 4.6 seconds to load, and people use the technology to access information conveniently and hands-free, utilising natural language in their daily lives. Voice search is applied to such actions as searching for directions and making dining reservations to shopping and controlling smart home devices.

Voice search technology integrates seamlessly with leading search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, allowing users to perform voice-activated searches from their web browsers or, for 27% of users, from their mobile devices. With smartphones, smart speakers, and wearables becoming universal, voice search has shifted user behaviour from typing queries to simply speaking them.

Advances in natural language processing and speech recognition algorithms powered by AI and machine learning have made voice searches more accurate and intuitive. AI-driven voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant now understand user intent and context, providing relevant recommendations in real-time.

As the voice search market expands, it presents numerous opportunities for businesses to connect with users in new and innovative ways, but it also poses challenges in optimisation. LLM voice recognition chatbots achieve an impressive 93.7% accuracy, ensuring businesses and website owners must optimise their online presence to appear in voice search results. Voice searches are more conversational and reflect natural human communication, which has profound implications for SEO and content strategy.

The Impact of Mobile Search and Local SEO

With smartphones becoming non-negotiable for most people, mobile search and personalised local SEO have become essential for connecting with customers on the go. Google has stated it will no longer index sites that aren’t optimised for mobile as of July this year. The transition has prompted search engines to prioritise mobile-friendly websites to deliver optimised search results tailored for mobile users. For relevancy, business owners must consider applying local SEO strategies, like updating their Google My Business listing and using location-specific keywords, to make it easier for customers to find them online and offline.

Imagine a user searching for a nearby coffee shop while walking through an unfamiliar city. Mobile-friendly sites with local SEO strategies will appear at the top of their search results, providing the most relevant and convenient options.

Google’s algorithm updates, such as Pigeon and Possum, have refined local search results to provide more contextually relevant information. This makes it vital for businesses to adopt local SEO strategies to maintain visibility. Partnering with eCommerce SEO specialists like LION Digital can help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Local SEO strategies focus on optimising a business’s online presence to improve visibility in local search results and attract local customers. Features like Google Maps, Google My Business, and Google Local Pack results have made it easier for users to find local businesses and services directly within search engine results pages. Optimising website content with local keywords and claiming and optimising Google My Business listings are essential for improving local search rankings.

Maintaining an active presence on social media and vertical search engine platforms is also necessary for local SEO. Users often turn to these platforms to find local businesses, read reviews, and engage with communities. Social signals, which refer to a webpage’s collective shares, likes and social media visibility, are considered a ranking factor by traditional search engines. Social signals contribute to a page’s organic search rankings and are seen as a form of citation, similar to backlinks. When built and managed effectively, citations signal trust and credibility to search engines and potential customers, shaping local search rankings and influencing consumer purchasing decisions.

The Challenges of Online Search

Advances in online search have led to several hurdles for businesses to overcome:

• Privacy and Data Collection: Awareness and concerns regarding the protection of privacy rights and the ethical use of user data have become prevalent and are vital for eCommerce businesses to address.
• Ethical Impact of Personalisation on User Autonomy: Personalisation in search results and advertising based on user data influences user decisions, raising ethical considerations about user behaviour manipulation, autonomy, and freedom of choice.
• Misinformation: With developments in artificial intelligence, the amount and speed of web content delivery are astronomical, making it more challenging to distinguish false and misleading content. More emphasis should be placed on prioritising authoritative sources and filtering out unreliable ones.
• Filter Bubbles and Echo Chambers: Personalised search algorithms can limit users’ exposure to diverse viewpoints and contribute to the spread of misinformation. This can reinforce existing biases and limit access to various perspectives, contributing to the polarisation of online discourse.

To remain relevant in today’s fast-paced digital world, search providers must address these challenges to avoid issues concerning unauthorised data collection and breaches. Managing your SEO effectively requires a comprehensive approach involving user education, algorithmic transparency and accountability, and regulatory oversight.

Boost Your eCommerce Success with LION Digital’s Search Marketing Expertise

LION Digital is a global, full-service digital agency specialising in eCommerce. Our team of over 45 seasoned veterans and channel specialists ensures smooth, journey-led experiences across multiple touchpoints. We offer search expertise across multiple channels to help you avoid SEO pitfalls in the online space.

If you’d like a complimentary audit to determine how search marketing can work for your eCommerce brand, please speak to our specialist team today!