zappos

Zappos vs. Piperlime: A head-to-head

I am a big and vocal fan of Zappos.com for all things shoe. Huge selection, decent (if not bargain) prices, and free shipping. Returns are dead simple, and my love for Zappos has, at times, bordered on actual zealotry.

So, when the Gap Empire introduced Piperlime, I wasn't buying. It seemed like a Zappos rip-off with a more yuppie-friendly design scheme, and even though I'm a Banana Republic card holder and Gap Empire devotee, something about Piperlime just didn't work for me. Plus, they gave me the Web site hard sell--a constant barrage of coupons and … Read more

Would you like an iPod with those shoes?

Sometime in the next few weeks, shoe e-tailer Zappos.com will launch a new interface that lets consumers buy lipstick and MP3 players along with Birkenstocks and Nikes.

The company is preparing to do a soft launch of the new, cleaner look to around 1,000 customers before deciding on a formal plan, CEO Tony Hsieh said. "Frankly I'm kind of surprised that what we put on sells, how our customers find it. The new site is built for easier navigation and searching, with multiple categories in mind," he said.

The site design changes, along with the … Read more

New Zappos: Shoes--and gadgets to boot

Sometime in the next few weeks, online shoe seller Zappos.com will launch a new user interface that could soon let consumers buy lipstick and MP3 players along with Birkenstocks and Nikes.

The company is preparing to do a soft launch of the new, cleaner look to around 1,000 customers before deciding on a formal rollout plan, CEO Tony Hsieh said.

"Frankly I'm kind of surprised that what we put on sells, how our customers find it," Hsieh said. "The new site is built for easier navigation and searching, with multiple categories in mind."… Read more

Bloggers step up in brand-name search results

Concerned about what your customers say about you online? Well, you should be.

You probably think you have your bases covered by allowing product reviews and client testimonials through your Web site, but the truth is that the blogosphere can make (or break) you as a company if Google includes a customer's blog post in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Prominently positioned customer blog posts in the SERPs that either love you or hate you can be more powerful than product reviews for several reasons, the most obvious one being that many blogs act as word-of-mouth advertising when … Read more