Retail analytics can provide useful insights for ecommerce merchants to make improvements and changes that will drive business. By tracking various details about site traffic, retailers can get a better idea of how consumers are interacting with their sites, which may reveal weaknesses that can be addressed. This can also come in handy when it comes to marketing, as ecommerce businesses can track which of their initiatives are more successful than others.

The latest Gartner report indicated that companies are planning to invest more in their digital marketing strategies this year, as 2014 is expected to see a 10 percent increase in spending in this sector. In 2013, digital marketing spending accounted for 3.1 percent of revenue, and more funding will give marketers greater flexibility in what strategies they can implement. Having retail analytics on their side will only strengthen their ability to implement effective marketing tools.

To aid in the quest for improved retail analytics, Google is running a pilot program that allows businesses to see not just which ads customers clicked, but the results of these clicks, according to Retail Wire. If a consumer follows a banner ad to an ecommerce store, the retailer will be able to track whether or not he or she made a purchase. Then, ineffective ads can be eliminated and funding can focus instead on strategies that prove effective.

Revamping the look of your brick-and-mortar store can give consumers a new reason to come through the door. Since your store sign is the first thing most shoppers will see, it's crucial to have the right look that will draw in your target audience. While this may not be all it takes to get customers to the point of sale, it is a strong first step. 

Small Business Trends offered a few tips for ensuring your sign is effective. First, make sure it's clean. After a long winter, your sign may have collected some dirt and grime, but a bit of elbow grease can have it gleaming like new. Replace any light bulbs that may have burned out, and apply a fresh coat of paint if necessary. If you haven't changed your sign in years, this could be the perfect occasion to give your storefront a makeover. A new look could entice shoppers to see what else you've changed.

After shoppers walk through your doors, they may expect to see a modern layout that accompanies your fresh, new sign. Creating a streamlined display that makes it easy for consumers to quickly find what they're looking for can help. According to The Motley Fool, dynamic pricing tools that allow retailers to instantly lower or raise product prices allow them to remain competitive. While this may be easier for ecommerce merchants, retail management systems can be used to adopt similar practices in brick-and-mortar locations.

To stay competitive and relevant, retailers need to actively monitor the latest trends in ecommerce software and other offerings that will keep shoppers visiting their websites and making purchases. The ecommerce marketplace is growing more competitive as consumer interest in online shopping increases around the globe. Tried and true methods for success from past years may now be outdated, but online retailers can make changes to revamp their ecommerce stores and make them more appealing to the modern consumer. Here are a few of the latest trends in online shopping and how online merchants can take advantage of them.

It's all about the experience
With so many ecommerce websites these days, standing out from the crowd is crucial, and giving users a unique experience can help. Ventureburn reported that the design of a website can make or break a sale, but that takes into account more than just the way it looks. The site should be laid out in a logical way that makes it easy for consumers to browse through your inventory, select items and get to the point of sale. Not only will this interface help improve brand awareness and keep customers coming back for more, but it can bolster sales, as many consumers will be willing to pay more for the option to customize their items.

Add a personal touch to every sale
Going online to make a purchase may be almost mindless to some shoppers by now, but The Week suggested a way for ecommerce merchants to mix things up. Personalization is one of the major trends of 2014, as more and more retailers are giving their patrons the ability to customize their items. This not only makes the shopping experience more interactive and enjoyable, but it leaves the shopper with a product that was actually designed just for them.

Customers love a little variety
Cornering a niche market by selling a select set of items can be successful, but offering an array of products has many advantages as well. Ventureburn pointed to a December 2013 study called the Effective Measure Report, which revealed that nearly half of shoppers would buy more if an online store had more quality products to choose from. This strategy can work no matter what you're selling. Luxury shops that specialize in jewelry, for instance, could expand their offerings to include other accessories that customers buying their main products might also like to purchase.

New York City has been experiencing a resurgence of brick-and-mortar retail, making it all the more important for retailers in this area to ensure their point of sale is up to snuff. The New York Post reported that there has been a surge in demand for retail locations in the city. At the same time, merchants in the Big Apple are also reevaluating their approach to the shopping experience, trying new strategies to get customers in the door.

New York brick-and-mortar retailers are taking extreme measures to be more appealing in an increasingly digital age. According to the New York Daily News, a number of businesses in New York are merging different retail sectors to offer their customers more services and conveniences in one stop. Specifically, there has been a rise in the number of retailers that are offering food and beverages to their clientele in addition to their other services.

The Wash House, a laundry service located in the Lower East Side, provides beer, coffee and food to its patrons, making the laundry experience something to look forward to and bolstering the business, the Daily News reported. One of the shop's employees said that there are days where one service gets a lot more attention than the other and days when both are bringing in money equally.

Brick-and-mortar retailers need to stay current with the latest consumer and technology trends in order to remain competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace. Businesses with physical locations can take steps to integrate technology into their strategies, such as using modern point of sale software that accepts mobile payments. It's also important to create a shopping experience that will give consumers incentive to visit stores over shopping online.

The Christian Science Monitor reported that many stores are revisiting the layout of their merchandise for a more modern shopping experience. The "racetrack store" layout makes it easier for customers to find what they're looking for. Traditional layouts, such as those used in grocery stores, are designed to have customers walk through each aisle, surrounded by merchandise. But these days, shoppers are researching online and typically know what they are after before they walk into a store. Catering to that behavior could help bolster sales.

It may also behoove businesses to rethink the way customers are treated. Biztech Magazine suggested turning brick-and-mortar stores into social destinations where people can spend time browsing the wares, sampling products and trying on clothes. Provide a relaxed atmosphere that encourages people to linger, but also has efficient POS systems for speedy checkouts.

Social media provides numerous ways to reach a global audience of potential customers, and Pinterest in particular can prove useful for online retailers. The right approach to using this site has the potential to boost sales, build brand recognition and win new customers. You can also gain insight into your customer base by looking at the retail analytics Pinterest can provide.

A study conducted in fall 2013 by Piqora found that the average "pin" on the site directly correlated to about $0.78 in sales, along with two site visits and six page views. However, there is a right and wrong way to go about creating a presence on Pinterest. Take a look at these three tips that could help bolster your online sales.

1. Use "rich pins" to garner more interest
Pinterest is based mainly on images. Users can pin Web pages, choosing a photo to represent what the link contains, but they can also take the pin to the next level by including metadata, and retailers should take advantage of this option. Econsultancy reported that online merchants can include more than just a photo of a product when they create a rich pin. Product pins, in particular, allow users to list price and availability as well as a link to the site's point of sale. 

2. Pin more than your products
Pinterest allows users to create multiple boards, giving retailers the ability to create categories for their product offerings. They can also build up collections of pins that relate to the items they sell and their customers' interests. For instance, a beauty supply company could have boards dedicated to makeup and hair products, and can also create boards dedicated to providing beauty and style tips, giving other Pinterest users more incentive to follow them on the site.

3. Make your site Pinterest-friendly
Pinterest allows users to create their own pins by manually adding the URL of the page they want to save, but you could make this process easier for your customers. Practical Ecommerce recommended including "Pin it" buttons on every product page, an easy adjustment that won't require you to install new ecommerce software. There are myriad plug-ins that offer this feature and cost nothing to install. 

After you've established your store's Pinterest account, you can use the service to gage trends among your customers. You can see which of your pins are being shared most and least and determine how many people your pins are reaching on a daily basis. This knowledge can help you tailor your offerings to your customers, which could potentially improve sales.

Social media sites can be invaluable for marketing a retail business, but they also serve another purpose. By monitoring social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, retailers can find out what their customers enjoy and dislike about their brand, shopping experience and point of sale.

While not every issue will result in a customer picking up a phone or writing an email to alert a retailer, it's far more likely that unhappy or dissatisfied shoppers will tweet at a business or post on its Facebook wall to air their grievances. While it may not seem like negative posts could work to benefit a retailer, they can actually provide the key for businesses to make improvements. The Point of Sale News reported that negative feedback can reveal weaknesses in your ecommerce software or POS system.

It can also give you the opportunity to respond to negative feedback. Whether a customer had a bad experience or is dissatisfied with a product or service, businesses should respond positively, offering an explanation or solution to help appease that individual. Social Media Today recommended not ignoring or deleting negative feedback, but responding to it appropriately.

If the criticism is valid, the article suggested offering a genuine apology and a solution, but if their claim is falsified or outlandish, the retailer should not admit fault (since they did nothing wrong). Brands should provide a general apology that the customer is dissatisfied and ask for more information about the problem.

China's retail industry is experiencing a burst of growth in digital sales, largely due to the increasing use of social media and mobile devices. These two factors are helping drive sales across the Asian nation, but there's more retailers can do to improve their ecommerce software and bring in even more customers. The recent PricewaterhouseCoopers global retail survey revealed trends in online shopping among Chinese consumers, giving retailers insight into which marketing strategies and other options may hold the key to higher sales.

"It is critical (for retailers) to bring the benefit of ecommerce, Online to Offline (O2O) in bricks-and-mortar (sic) environments and social media together to create more engaging shopping experiences," Dr. Colin Light, a partner in PwC's consulting division, told The Wall Street Journal. 

Shopping behavior in China
Online shopping is a relatively new option in China, as 63 percent of survey respondents from China said they only starting buying goods online within the last four years. Now, 75 percent said they shop online on a weekly basis, indicating a rapid increase in the amount of people making purchases over the Internet. The study also looked into how people were making purchases and found that social media led to online sales for 86 percent of Chinese respondents. This was the highest rate of sales through this channel across the globe. India came in a close second at 77 percent, whereas only 29 percent of American shoppers bought goods via social media sources.

Most Chinese shoppers are using mobile phones (77 percent) and tablets (66 percent) to buy items from their favorite shops, making it apparent that retailers looking to improve sales in this region need to focus on their mobile offerings. They can invest in POS software that works across multiple channels, allowing customers to more easily purchase items regardless of what device they're using.

Tailoring social media can improve sales
The PwC study looked into the way consumers use social media to interact with retailers, and the results show that this demographic is very interactive with brands' social media accounts. Roughly 93 percent of Chinese survey respondents said they have followed their favorite retail companies on social media sites, whereas only 49 percent of U.S. consumers said the same. When it came to activities such as discovering and researching brands through social media channels, the vast majority of Chinese respondents have taken part in these activities. Retailers in the Chinese marketplace would do themselves a disservice to not create and maintain a presence on social media .

A strong social media presence can drive up brand awareness and sales, but it's not as simple as having a Facebook page. You have to post more than just information about your business to build interest and attract Facebook users to "Like" your page. An Infosys study released at the beginning of the year, "Rethinking Retail," revealed that 89 percent of consumers who interact with brands on social media channels are influenced to make purchases by the connection.

So what can you do to garner positive attention from Facebook users?

Practical Ecommerce recommended posting original content as often as possible, which means avoiding sharing posts from others. Instead, you can look to outside sources for relevant videos, photos and articles that fit your target consumers. For instance, clothing retailers can share articles on the latest celebrity sightings, whereas athletic stores may want to focus on the latest in sports news.

While a good chunk of the content you publish should revolve around your brand, it's good to pepper these posts in with other engaging content. This will help your brand develop its own voice. Facebook users may see a clever photo or video on your page, follow your brand and then decide to make a purchase. 

More consumers are making purchases online, but retailers with brick-and-mortar locations can take steps to make the in-store shopping experience more appealing. Everything from improving store layout and installing retail management software to modernizing the point of sale experience and offering loyalty rewards can inspire shoppers to visit retail locations in person to make purchases.

Forbes contributor Walter Loeb pointed to an emerging trend in brick-and-mortar retail that may help drive up business – Hub Destination Centers. The idea is for multiple retailers to congregate in one area, giving shoppers a one-stop location that offers a diverse selection of products and services. An HDC would differ from traditional mall settings by offering exciting events and experiences to draw crowds of shoppers. Loeb suggested hosting events such as fashion shows and regularly scheduled social gatherings like dance nights and holiday functions.

While an HDC would be more of a communal effort between multiple retailers, businesses will also want to focus on their own retail experience. A great way to do this is to integrate ecommerce software with in-store shopping through mobile apps. UX Magazine recommended creating a mobile app that can serve as a sort of personal shopper, giving consumers feedback such as in-depth product descriptions and customer reviews about various items.