Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 6)

Jacob Cooke: One more thing I should point out is it’s not that you can’t contact those users. Even with those unique identifiers on Tmall, it’s actually the same as their AliWangwang account, which is similar to Skype. You still can contact that user. You just have to work within that ecosystem. You have enough consumer data to work with. You always have the shipping addresses as well, so you can go and send offline flyers. >>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What happens if you’re a new merchant?

Jacob Cooke: If you’re a new merchant, you’re in the sandbox for 30 days. That can be tough. You probably want to focus on pricing for the first 30 days. You also might want to up the guarantee level. Basically, every sector is different. One of the most competitive sectors is clothing. That’s basically what we want to do. We want to go in and benchmark where everybody else is at. You probably want to make a few sample purchases with those guys. You want to be a little bit better. You’ll probably engage our firm, for example, to set those bars for your people with experience to create that fulfillment system. >>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 4)

Jacob Cooke: Some of the software that we’ve developed plugs into all of the stores, so we can actually take products, put them in warehouses, and fulfill for JD.com, Yihaodian, or Tmall out of one logistics center. Once you’ve got your legal and licensing details worked out, they really push you towards getting into the platform. >>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 3)

Jacob Cooke: What Alibaba has done is take that a step further and acted as the mediator between the transactions. Owner Jack Ma is one of the richest and most trusted people in the country, just the way Steve Jobs or Bill Gates are perceived in the West. What he’s done is add a level of guarantee. To be in the Tmall platform, for example, you have to accept the fact that anybody can return any product within seven days with no questions asked or in thirty days if there is a product defect. Consumers in China had no real worries about losing their credit card information or getting ripped off. They know it’s very safe.

>>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: So, Baidu controls all the search traffic in China and this traffic gets routed largely to servers hosted in China. So websites have to be hosted in China to be ranked for the Chinese consumers. That’s the reason why you have to have a strategy for China to do e-commerce. Is that the point?

Jacob Cooke: That’s correct. There are two main concerns. One is, we need to be inside the country to get a proper listing at Baidu. Number two, is your site may not be open-able and is not enough to go through the firewall, the user experience can be sub-par and not optimal in terms of converting the user.

>>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Jacob Cooke, CEO of Web Presence in China (Part 1)

The dynamics of e-commerce in China are very different from the US. Let’s dig in!

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start by introducing our audience to your company and yourself. Tell us what you do and your background. We’ll take it from there.

>>>

Mass Customization in Online Fashion E-Commerce: Indochino CEO Kyle Vucko (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: How did you go about doing that? Is this your own factory or a third-party that you built a relationship with? That is the cornerstone piece of the delivery part of this business, right?

Kyle Vucko: There’re so many other pieces that go into delivering.

Sramana Mitra: Acquisition and all that is regular e-commerce. It’s the manufacturing fulfillment part that is the nightmare.

Kyle Vucko: We always had a very clear and strong vision >>>

Web 3.0 and Online Fashion

Excerpt from my new book, From eCommerce To Web 3.0.

In 1999, long before fashion on the Internet actually took off, I started a company called Uuma. It was a traditional venture-backed personalized fashion startup that received an acquisition offer from Ralph Lauren before the company was caught in the first dotcom crash.

I am going to articulate the vision behind Uuma, particularly because that vision still remains unrealized. I hope that some entrepreneur, somewhere, will execute on it.

As you know, I define Web 3.0 as a verticalized, personalized user experience. The web is still utterly fragmented. You have to go to different places to find information about the same context. I have long had the vision of a personalized Saks Fifth Avenue. I want my store — my personal store — that carries merchandise that applies to me; that suits my hair color, eye color, skin tone, body shape and personal style. I want it to stock my favorite designers and more like those. And I want to see articles and community discussions that are specific to my interests.
>>>