Use of Rich Internet Applications such as AJAX increases ecommerce conversions

[Kristijntje]

The key with emerging retail technologies, Denger says, "is that each step enables retailers to provide a more engaging product and brand interaction which, in some cases, increases online conversions."

"Most people spend 30 seconds, on average, on a product page," says Kaon's Finn. "That time goes up when the product's shown in 3-D. And sales rates are typically 18 to 20 percent higher just by providing an interactive experience."

Unassisted sales rates -- those that don't require sales associate interaction online -- increase 30 percent to 50 percent.

Thus, the ability to virtually touch and experience products enables customers to make better purchasing decisions and retailers to increase their revenues...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/huiD...ping.xhtml

[mandy]

A related article:

There’s no shortage of new product display technology designed to decrease the gap between how customers experience a product online vs. in-store. In the relatively short period of the last 10 years, basics such as the ability to zoom in on a product image have become mainstream in how e-retailers merchandise products. Now retailers and technology developers are building on that base. The new generation of tools for visual online merchandising is more dynamic, more detail-rich, more interactive and in many cases just plain more fun for the consumer...

One way retailers are doing so is by making new use of static product images. Powered by Ajax and similar technologies, new online merchandising methods make the experience of viewing even a static image more dynamic—for instance, by popping up a larger view of a detail of the product or by offering more information about it as the shopper mouses over the image.

Case in point is the “Try It Under” feature on HerRoom.com, a lingerie site operated by the Andra Group Inc. The blouse overlay feature, created and patented by CEO Tomima Edmark, enables shoppers on a product detail page to mouse over a menu that appears at the side of a product image to change the image, showing how a bra would look under different neckline styles, such as a scoop neck or v-neck...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21900