SL Commerce Manager and the SL Economy
In a recent post from Linden Labs, we learn that the SL economy continues to grow. The total amount of user to user transactions grew to US$ 160 million, a 30% year to year increase. This amount of sales indicates a real, vibrant economy. And a real opportunity for sellers who are able to capitalize on it.
The opportunity represented by the SL economy is the key reason that SL Commerce Manager was developed. To be successful, sellers need more than great products and effective marketing programs. They need the information about which products are successful, who is buying them, and how and where they are purchased. That is what SL Commerce Manager provides.
An example of this is my other business, Palmestry, which grew out of my life-long appreciation of palm trees. I just can’t stop staring at them and admiring them. Naturally, Palmestry creates palms and tropical plants.
As I developed SL Commerce Manager, I began to notice that palms with avatar animations were selling much better than those which were merely scripted, even at significantly higher selling prices. In retrospect, I should have guessed this. Second Life is an inherently social environment and anything that enhances that aspect will naturally be valued. But it took the hard data from SL Commerce Manager to help me see what part of my business I should be focusing on. And sales have been climbing ever since.
Another example is an SL Commerce beta tester who had multiple sales locations. He reflected that for the first time in his SL business, he had the data to understand which locations were paying for themselves, and which were money-wasters. By pruning his poorly-performing retail locations, he focused on what was working and his business improved.
SL Commerce Manager Q1 Statistics
And now for some data about SL Commerce Manager’s Q1. All of the quarter was spent in a closed beta program, limited to a few SL residents. SL Commerce went live on April 21, after the quarter ended. Even so, some remarkable data can be found.
- Total Q1, 2010 sales recorded: $L 7.9 million
- Total visits recorded: 27,000
Clearly, SL Commerce Manager is playing an important role in many successful Second Life businesses. Moving into the future, we’ll work hard to continue to earn that trust and delight our customers.
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