by Tom Shackleton
Our Shopify Meetup Manchester last week was yet another night packed full of insight, inspirational stories and actionable advice for retailers both large and small.
With speakers from LoyaltyLion and Klevu, as well as a fascinating retailer panel including Lo-Dough, Dr Fertility, Tweak & Brooklyn Trading, the evening was all about helping eCommerce merchants to grow with Shopify.
Whether you came along and missed that one killer tip, or you didn’t manage to come along, here’s everything that happened at Shopify Meetup Manchester…
Introduction & Roundup From Shopify Unite: Joshua Hobson @ Statement
We kicked off the evening with a short introduction and roundup from Shopify’s annual Unite conference in Toronto, sharing feedback from the Statement team members who headed out to Canada for the event, with everything from multi-currency to Flow connectors.
Customer Loyalty & Engagement: Charlie Casey @ LoyaltyLion
Then, our first speaker of the night, Charlie from main sponsor LoyaltyLion, walked attendees through customer loyalty and engagement for eCommerce, sharing the story of how he got started out in business, and eventually founded LoyaltyLion.Charlie explained how adding loyalty to your eCommerce store can be a fantastic tool for increasing repeat purchases, acquiring new customers and boosting average order value.
It was interesting to see how LoyaltyLion’s platform can generate £15 for every £1 invested, showing just how great a return on investment loyalty can provide, increasing your rate of returning customers and differentiating you from competitors.
Best Practices for eCommerce Site Search: Claudia Ditri @ Klevu
Next up was Claudia from eCommerce site search provider Klevu.
Claudia shared some best practices for on site search, walking through how Klevu helps retailers to create a more engaging online shopping experience, and consider the whole user journey for visitors on site.
Claudia highlighted that users are 2 - 5 times more likely to convert if they complete a search, showing just how important it is to get your eCommerce site search just right.
Claudia also walked through some key considerations for perfecting your site search, including;
- Understanding that search is a primary navigation method on mobile.
- How to handle errors and empty searches well.
- How to allow complex or advanced searches.
All of these are great tips for eCommerce retailers looking to make better use of on site search, particularly those with larger product catalogues where search is key.
Shopify Retailer Q&A with Lo-Dough, Dr Fertility, Tweak & Brooklyn Trading
Finally, we rounded off Shopify Meetup Manchester with a retailer Q&A panel.eCommerce store owners and managers from Lo-Dough, Dr Fertility, Tweak & Brooklyn Trading took to the stage to discuss everything from why they chose Shopify to their favourite apps and marketing tips.
Apps like Privy and Mass Fulfill were making a big difference to the day to day success of more than one of the panelists, while digital advertising and influencer marketing were also big parts of their marketing strategies.
It was great to hear how each of the panelists dealt with teething problems like shipping and fulfilling large order volumes as they grew, with some fantastic insight and advice for the eCommerce merchants in attendance on how to work around these issues with Shopify apps.
What’s Next?
Thanks for everyone who made it down to Shopify Meetup Manchester, and thanks to our sponsors LoyaltyLion and Klevu for helping us host a great evening.
If you’re already eager for more eCommerce insight, don’t forget to keep an eye on our events page for future Shopify Meetups and events.
