Content and Commerce Need to Come Together to Avoid "Two-Site Syndrome"

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Oct 1, 2014) - Shop.org - Acquia, the digital business company, announced key findings and analysis of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Acquia, published today and titled "Bridge the Commerce / Content Divide." The study finds that more than half of all content and commerce teams at online retailers work in silos, separated by disparate technologies. The result is a "two-site" syndrome and broken customer experiences that impede revenue growth and damage the brand, according to the global survey of 153 commerce companies.

"The current state of commerce is broken. Many brands force a consumer to turn left to browse or learn about a brand, then turn right to make a purchase," said Ray Grady, Acquia senior vice president of commerce. "We believe commerce experiences should be beautiful, and with Acquia, brands can bridge the content and commerce divide. Customer expectations are set by the rise of very agile and contextual commerce experiences they're finding on sites like Houzz, Thrillist and Keep."

The Forrester study yields four key findings:

• The "two-site syndrome" slows revenue growth. Many companies suffer from the 'Two-Site Syndrome,' where support for the "discover" and "explore" phases of the customer journey are disjointed from the "buy." Less than one third of companies surveyed unify content and commerce through a shared technology platform. This results in a digital experience that is difficult for a consumer to navigate, and ultimately can leave revenue on the table as those potential customers shun fractured digital experiences for more unified ones offered by competitors, driving down conversion rates.
• A unified, collaborative strategy positively impacts conversion. Brands who have a collaborative approach to both technology and commerce see improvements in all metrics related to commerce, from time to market to conversion. Unfortunately, 60 percent of companies surveyed reported that eCommerce and marketing teams currently function in silos.
• Senior leadership has a false perspective on collaboration. Senior leadership believes collaboration between commerce and marketing teams is high, however director, manager and individual contributors ranked collaboration 20 percent lower than senior management.
• Commerce winners are differentiated with content. Delivering rich and varied content types is essential in order to stay ahead of the pack, and decision makers need a solution that can support and leverage them all.

According to the study, "the content and commerce divide is deep and wide. Marketing and eBusiness teams have long operated separately." The study later states that "organizations that have removed collaboration barriers drive better, faster, and more differentiated customer experiences."

Acquia has the solution to bridge the gap between content and commerce, providing a beautiful shopping experience. Acquia Commerce integrates an open content management solution and advanced contextualization and personalization tools with major commerce platforms. Acquia Commerce permits brand content and customer data to be created and managed in a common repository and not across two divergent systems. The result is fully integrated, contextually relevant experiences, driven by better website personalization and commerce, that drive increased loyalty and revenue.

Download the exclusive Forrester Consulting study "Bridge The Commerce / Content Divide," at www.acquia.com/content-commerce-divide. Visit Acquia at the 2014 Shop.org Summit at booth 738.

About Acquia
Acquia is the digital business company. Pinterest, Timex, Mercedes Benz, and Stanford University are among the more than 4,000 organizations that are transforming their digital businesses with Acquia. Global 2000 enterprises, government agencies and NGOs rely on Acquia to create new revenue streams, lower costs, and engage audiences more deeply through content, community, commerce and context.

For more information visit www.acquia.com or call +1 781 238 8600.

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