ProStores 9.2.1 Launch Sustains the Momentum and Keeps Getting Better

Release date: April 02, 2009  /  Print This     RSS    

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 2, 2009 — ProStores, a full-featured customizable ecommerce solution for small- and medium-size businesses, released its newest storefront software upgrade, version 9.2.1. The culmination of development on the popular 9.0 storefront software launched last April, 9.2.1 continues to refine the buyer and merchant experience with improvements to ecommerce storefront design to help improve conversion rates and drive sales, search and check out. The new storefront software also integrates PowerReviews Express user-generated product reviews.

News Facts

• • Ease and convenience in managing the Web store for merchants: Smoother import of eBay listings into ProStores – eBay sellers who open a ProStores Web store can import their eBay fixed price listings into ProStores and open for business in minutes.

  • Ecommerce storefront design improvements to help turn shoppers into buyers:

  • o Optimized product detail and product list layouts – A new tabbed storefront design shows only the most important information up front. The product image, price and attributes, and a more prominent "Add To Cart" button are more visible.
  • o Improved Shopping Cart and One-Page Checkout – A cleaner design leads shoppers on a clear path to the secure checkout.
  • o Better “No Search Results” Page – Helps keep shoppers on the site with a Featured Products display and an Advanced Search box that includes search tips.

  • ProStores ecommerce platform for growth:

  • o PowerReviews Express integration brings moderated customer feedback and ratings to ProStores ecommerce storefronts to build customer trust and support purchase decisions.

  • o Peer reviews drive ecommerce - 65% of online shoppers use reviews "always" or "most of the time" before making a decision to buy, The E-Tailing Group, Inc., 2008 study.

Quotes

Attributed to Angela Troy, General Manager, ProStores:

• • “Consumer behavior online continues to evolve as have the needs of our online merchants; we are committed to constantly improving our ecommerce platform to ensure that our etailers stay in front of the curve.”
• • “In today’s economic climate, spending – discretionary or otherwise – is under intense scrutiny. Our online merchants are now even better equipped to showcase their products, convert shoppers and build their businesses.”
• • “Customers are increasingly looking to other shoppers’ reviews to inform and validate their own online purchase decisions; it is a natural convergence of social networking and ecommerce – and it is clear that it can help convert shoppers to buyers.”

Attributed to Caleb Allen, Nutriteam (www.nutriteam.com)

• • “When we first started with ProStores, we found it to be very easy to use and appreciated the live customer service that helped us to build our online store without having to bring on developers or outside resources, but we always suspected that it would be replaced with email support or a fee-based system like so many other tech companies. Three years later, our friends in customer support are still just a phone call away and we are spending less time worrying about website issues and more time focusing on customers and growing our business.”
• • “PowerReviews Express looks like a great addition and one that we look forward to adding to our site. It gives us the opportunity to let the customer do the selling for us instead of us having to do the convincing.”

Please contact eBay media hotline at (408) 376-7458 to arrange an interview and/or for additional quotes or information.

Last April, ProStores released version 9.0 of its ecommerce solution platform – a major upgrade that was met with strong response from independent etailers and eBay sellers alike. ProStores 9.0 enabled quick and easy Web store set up for eBay sellers with automated transfer of listings, categories, shipping and other settings. This new functionality allowed eBay sellers to get their own Web store up and running in a matter of minutes and then continue to synch their eBay listings with their ProStores inventory automatically. Google Base integration gave online merchants instant, automated exposure beyond eBay, and shopping cart up-sell merchandising better equipped merchants to convert sales and increase order size.

The 9.1 release in June introduced consolidated one-page checkout functionality and a ProStores To Go! widget that extended the reach of Web stores onto their blogs and other websites, and October’s 9.2 release featured an enhanced logo generator to improve Web store branding, upgrades to PayPal integration, and introduced integration with Blackthorne, an eBay listing and sales management tool.

ProStores 9.2.1 introduces a host of powerful refinements to improve Web store conversion. Updated product list page and new product detail page layouts, a product recommendation feature in place of the “no search results found” page and enhanced one-page checkout and shopping cart design headline the release.

Continuing ProStores’ commitment to creating opportunity for online merchants and developers alike, 9.2.1 also introduced a new, compatible add-on tool from PowerReviews. PowerReviews Express gives independent etailers an affordable way to add product reviews to their ProStores Web stores –functionality that was previously expensive and accessible to only the largest of etailers.

With 65% of online shoppers using reviews "always" or "most of the time" before making a decision to buy, according to a 2008 study by The E-Tailing Group, Inc., harnessing and displaying the voice of the customer, and doing so in a controlled and moderated manner, is more important than ever and is now available with ProStores 9.2.1.

About ProStores.
ProStores, an eBay Company, allows small- and medium-sized businesses to create professional online stores, customized with their own branding and domain name. ProStores was incorporated as an eBay Company in November 2004, followed by eBay’s acquisition of Kurant’s StoreSense technology in January 2005. ProStores launched its full-service ecommerce solution to merchants in June 2005. For more information about ProStores visit www.prostores.com.

About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.