STORES Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 32)

WORTH WATCHING / ONLINE PARTNERS Best Online Price: Free TrialPay network boosts online sales by giving a little something extra BY LAURI GIESEN W hat could be more appealing than getting something free by purchasing something you already planned to buy? That is the idea behind TrialPay, a Mountain View, Calif.-based company that unites online retailers into a network that provides freebies to consumers who purchase a partner company’s product. Take the example of Fandango.com, the online movie ticket seller. Many consumers use the website to check movie times, but don’t purchase their tickets online. In order to make a sale, Fandan- TrialPay a commission for bringing it new business. TrialPay then uses a portion of that commission to pay for the free product, says CEO Alex Rampell. “We have to provide purchase incen- quite small.” TrialPay, which has had more than 15 million users, works with 7,500 merchants, from small companies to large national chains; the only requirement is that the retailers must sell their products online. On average, retailers see sales increases of 15 to 20 percent directly attributable to TrialPay, Rampell, says, and some have as much as doubled their revenue by offering TrialPay incentives. Participating retailers also report an average reduction of 15 percent in cart abandonment rates, and TrialPay’s transactions are up 50 percent in the past four months as consumers continue to seek better and better deals. Benefit by association One retailer that has seen the benefits of participating in TrialPay is David’s Cookies, an online seller of bakery items. “We are a small company that gets free branding from this deal,” says director of e-commerce Dennis Consorte. “Even customers who are not shopping for cookies or gourmet gifts see our name when they go to other sites. We benefit from being associated with big-name companies.” One TrialPay partner that a lot of Consorte’s customers visit is Skype.com, which offers VoIP phone service. There, they are told if they make a $40 purchase from a partner company, they can get a free upgrade from Skype. Those who click on the food and gift category of partners are referred to David’s Cookies. “The branding value is exceptional,” Consorte says. “Skype customers are the same ones we are trying to acquire,” By co-branding with large non-competitive companies, David’s Cookies gets the attention of affluent shoppers. And once they’ve tried the product through a free incentive, they are often likely to StORES come back, he says. Lauri Giesen is a Libertyville, Ill.based business writer with extensive experience in covering payment and finance issues. WWW.STORES.ORG TrialPay Partners go often offers custives or a reason for Report: tomers a deal to get a customers to spend free ticket if they make a more.” Sales increases of purchase at a partner Many retailers have 15-20% clothing store or sign up relied on free shipping Average reduction of for a credit card, weight to incent bigger pur15% in cart abandonment rates loss or dating service chases. But free shipmembership. Or, if a ping can be costly to Transactions up 50% in the past four months customer is making a give away, and it’s not $25 purchase at a clothalways applicable. ing store, she can be told that she’ll get a “Retailers need to differentiate themfree movie ticket if she spends $100. selves on the web,” Rampell says, “and The company that makes the sale pays the cost to give away free items may be 32 STORES / FEBRUARY 2009 http://www.Fandango.com http://www.Skype.com http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - February 2009

STORES Magazine - February 2009 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Are You a Pusher or a Puller? What Shoppers Think Online Retail Satisfaction 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story - Something’s Got to Give First Look Concept2Watch Online Partners Merchandising Sustainability Inventory Systems Drug Store Systems Business Intelligence Inventory Managment Online Marketing Supply Chain - Better Data, Better Decisions Returns Management - Identifying Fraud Data Security - Securing Intimate Data Anti-Shoplifting - Mall of Shame? Risk Management - Securing Consumer Confidence Loeb Retail letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar End Cap

STORES Magazine - February 2009

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