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Interview: Mel Ronick Spotlights StacksandStacks.com

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It’s time for another Store Spotlight everyone! I have got to say, this is one of the most fun blog series we have done here at eCommerce Optimization. Already I can tell that we will all learn so much from the top 100 retailers who choose to participate in this interview style QandA. The series really does give us all an inside look into some of the most successful Online retailers in existence today.

Today’s Store Spotlight features an inside look into StacksandStacks.com. We were lucky enough to catch up with Mel Ronick, President of StacksandStacks.com, to ask him about their business, background, customers, products, design, marketing, team and other factors that have attributed to their success over the years. Basically, we wanted to find out some of the things they have done that has led to them becoming a 2008 Hot 100 Retailer. In the process, we hope that others can learn and benefit from what has worked and what hasn’t during their time in the Online retail business.

The article format is still mostly QandA, but I wanted to give Stacks and Stacks some feedback about their site including personal thoughts, praise and my suggestions regarding the current state of StacksandStacks.com. My analysis and suggestions will remain in pro and con format, so before we get into the QandA part, lets take a look at what Stacks and Stacks is doing right and what things they could potentially be doing better.

Remember, the analysis I conducted is not an exhaustive one, or in depth, by any means. To really analyze a large Online retailer like this, it would take me weeks to discover and comment on everything I find. This analysis is meant to show readers some of the things Stacks and Stacks has done right and some of the things I recommend they consider looking into. Like before, I tried to keep checkout process recommendations out of the pros and cons sections, but I do look into the homepage, categories, subcategories, products and other store landing pages.

  • Clean layout, pleasant graphics, nice colors and theme designed to convert shoppers
  • Search bar that is easy to see, east to use and within reach for shoppers
  • Phone number, live chat, cart contents, order tracking and catalog request appear above the fold
  • Hacker Safe seal present on all pages, updated often and appears above the fold
  • Free shipping offer for certain products or orders is great for customers and shoppers
  • Unique personal organizer feature for customers or shoppers who need advice when organizing
  • Pleasant holiday graphics and product banners to display popular, featured or seasonal items
  • Best sellers and featured products appear on the home page, within reach and easy to see
  • Easy to recognize category links appear on the sidebar and under featured items with targeted anchor text
  • Green initiative for environmentally friendly products offered through the catalog, in store and online
  • Site links such as about, affiliate, media etc appear in an east to see area with targeted anchor text
  • Help links such as contact, order info, returns, shipping etc appear in an easy to see spot
  • Offers multiple payment options and trust certificates and displays banners for customers and shoppers
  • Offers product alerts and subscription options for customers and shoppers
  • Breadcrumb navigation makes shopping and browsing easy, easy to see and easy to see where you are
  • Content appears on category pages with targeted keywords, descriptions and information
  • Easy to see subcategories appear above categories on category pages make browsing easier
  • Catalog shows number of product available within each subcategory making shopping easier
  • Favorite items section appears on category pages below the subcategories perfect for hot products
  • eCommerce blog section featuring content, advice and articles to help customers and shoppers
  • Utilizes user reviews and customer comments for products helps with conversion rates
  • Detailed product pages with all the information needed to make an educated buying decision
  • Add to cart buttons that stand out on product pages help to increase conversions and bring attention
  • Click for more links on product pages make returning to the previous section quick and easy
  • In stock notifications tell shoppers what’s available and what isn’t readily available to order
  • Wish list, email to friend, print and why shop at Stacks links reinforce buying decisions
  • Detailed product descriptions with technical specifications and information for purchases
  • Clear product availability and shipping options for customers and shoppers
  • Detailed user reviews for products with accompanying feedback or suggestions form
  • Contests for submitting user reviews is great linkbait, engages shoppers and gives back
  • Consider removing one ‘and’ from the main home page title and changing the other to ‘&’
  • Consider redirecting www. or non-www. to one or the other through htaccess
  • Consider removing the lengthy keyword lists from category headers and using navigation instead
  • Consider adding anchor text links to category specific content paragraphs to popular items
  • Consider adding more ‘outside the catalog’ content such as buying guides and more UGC
  • Consider using video reviews and video specific content relating to favorite or popular items
  • Consider adding more catalog subscription options such as email, RSS, bookmarks etc for products
  • Consider bringing more attention to the mailing catalog, consider offering it for free with email
  • Consider switching some of the light blue font to a color that is easier to read on white space
  • Consider reworking/rewording title tags on product pages, subcats and most all pages, they need work
  • Consider adding alt/title tags for catalog images, banners and seasonal graphics within the store
  • Consider bringing more about the physical store location into the site, maybe a map or pictures
  • Consider expansion of the blog section to engage more shoppers from your community
  • Consider embedding related products into blog posts or adding a products widget to the blog

eCopt Interview Icon Tell us a bit of background information. How long have you been selling Online? Do you sell solely on the Net or do you also have a physical location or chain? What kind of items do you sell and what demographics do your average customers fit into?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon We have been selling Online for 9 years. Currently, we have only one physical retail location. We sell over 19,000 storage, organization, and furnishing items for the home, office, and garden.

eCopt Interview Icon Did you build your own eCommerce site, hire a developer, use a program or other?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon We hired a developer and worked closely with them on the design and functionality.

eCopt Interview Icon Do you currently deal with eCommerce marketing and product promotion efforts in-house, through a professional firm or other?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon Most of our web marketing is outsourced; other portions are conducted in house.

eCopt Interview Icon Are you able to handle site maintenance, order fulfillment, customer service and marketing with a small team of one to ten employees or do you find that a larger staff helps to make the business run more smoothly? Is your team big or small?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon A large volume ecommerce site needs full support to be successful. We have over 50 staff members.

eCopt Interview Icon What are some of the factors that have attributed to your success during your time in eCommerce?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon Excellent customer service, wide assortment of products, great marketing, good site functionality.

eCopt Interview Icon What things have you tried in the past or currently that have NOT worked to your advantage that you originally thought would?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon Comparison shopping engines.

eCopt Interview Icon What is the single most important thing you’ve learned about selling Online during your time in business?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon It never gets easier!

eCopt Interview Icon In your opinion, what is the most important thing to remember when attempting to grow your Online business from one step to the next (meaning expand, scale, etc.)?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon Only add expenses when you can monitor the return on investment.

eCopt Interview Icon What is the single most important thing shoppers and existing customers have come to expect while shopping with you? Customer service? Quick delivery time? Security? Lots of options? What makes you stand out in your niche?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon All of the above have helped us stand out.

eCopt Interview Icon If you could give only one piece of advice to merchants who are just starting to sell Online, what would it be?

StacksandStacks.com Interview Icon Anyone can build a great website; the trick is getting the eyeballs to it. Interview several SEO firms; and get many referrals from similar sized companies before signing on. You’ll need marketing help, but always remember that you must check the ROI on each initiative. All contracts and agreements must have a 30 day cancellation clause, don’t get locked in to a one year term.

Another great example of an eCommerce site that’s doing things right! All in all, I can see why Stacks and Stacks is now one of the Hot 100 Retailers. They have followed eCommerce rules and best practices for several years, they shopped around for the right service providers or professionals, they measure and analyze everything, they take suggestions and feedback from customers and much more. I am stoked to see them making such good use of their blog section, Clutter Control Freak blog. Keep that up guys!

The biggest thing I noticed was how Stacks and Stacks currently structures their meta data, including page titles. None of them are organized, they look messy and it appears they haven’t been updated in years (chances are that their main search words may have changed over the years, more longtail). Other than that, there were a few things I would have them consider, however there are way more Pros than Cons with StacksandStacks.com.

To Mel and the StacksandStacks.com team:

Thanks so much for taking the time to participate in our Store Spotlight QandA Mel. I know you have worked really hard over the years, putting these things in place and taking measures to analyze and track your results. Those are some of the main ingredients for eCommerce success and you have been using them for years. By following some of my recommendations you can continue to stay ahead of the game, including competitors within your space. I was really impressed at the small and large best practices or rules that you have obviously found work for you, at least some (sorry to hear about your CSE experiment failing).

Please don’t hesitate to ask me for more detail regarding my recommendations for Stack and Stacks. i would be happy to go over any of it more in depth with you or some of your staff members. Understand, I could only invest a couple of hours in this analysis, however I would love to do more, let me know.

Thanks again Stacks and Stacks team!! Happy New Year, keep up the good work.

To our readers: Hopefully you continue to enjoy our Store Spotlights, specifically our latest one with StacksandStacks.com. If you are interested in getting more insights directly from some of the most successful Online sellers, simply subscribe to our RSS articles feed, email updates or the Store Spotlight category feed. The subscription page has even more ways to subscribe to content including our blog widget or Google gadget. Stay tuned for more articles with other Hot 100 eCommerce Sites.

This article is part of our blog series called Store Spotlight. The latest was with PlumberSurplus.com.


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