eCommerce Know-How

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Voice of the Retailer

November 02, 2010

SiriusXM


eCommerce Know-How spoke with Sonja Kristofferson, Director of Ecommerce and Direct Sales at SiriusXM.

Sirius XM
www.siriusxm.com

Q. What is your company's main focus over the next 12-18 months?

A. We are looking to expand into mobile commerce. We have apps for Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and iPad.

 

Q. What are the eCommerce trends you find most intriguing right now?

A. Mobile, for sure. We feel there is a lot of potential there. Our customers can listen on their smartphones now so it's in our best interest to enable them purchase there as well.
Social, also. Not so much about facebook and twitter but more about customers interacting on our site with reviews and forums. We think it is very important for them to talk about plans and installations, what is easier, where they're listening. For example, a lot of people don't know how to find SiriusXM on their own: "It was in my rental car... how can I get it in my car? On my phone?" Subscribers are good and valued sources of information and assistance for other subscribers and potential subscribers.

 

Q. What would be the best piece of advice you'd give someone looking to build an eCommerce business?

A. Know who your customer is. It is easy to get caught up in what you know about your product and what you think your customers are doing.

 

Q. What is your approach to "gifting"?

A. Holidays and Father's Day are our biggest times of the year. We offer various packages - for example, a radio with a pre-paid subscription gift. This year, we are offering hardware packages that include discounted service. It is called the All-Access plan, as it allows the gift recipient the ability to listen on the radio as well as the internet and smartphone.

 

Q. How much do you promote "gifting"?

A. We promote it quite a bit; via emails, SEM and within affiliates. While we have gifting options all year long, we promote it quite heavily during the holiday season and around Father's Day, particularly for women to buy for men.

 

Q. What are some of the most important tips and tricks you've learned about improving "gifting"?

A. We've learned to keep the price point lower, especially over the past 2 years. It needs to be manageable for your customer base.
We've also found that the exclusivity of "limited time" offers tend to have higher rate of success.
Lastly, make sure you have plenty of inventory to support your offerings.

 

Q. What was your first job?

A. Scooping ice cream - I built up a Popeye-sized forearm.

 

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