Ecommerce

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  Exciting Commerce // Unlimited

• Payvment Offers Open Shopping Cart Network for Facebook

  Jason Soo

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:51 pm

  The startup company Payvment offers online shopping cart technologies and makes use of PayPal’s new platform to implement the transaction. With Payvment’s Facebook app, anyone can directly open up an e-commerce storefront on Facebook.What is interesting is that the Payvment solution makes the shopping cart universal across the Payvment network: "Payvment’s shopping cart is also integrated with any other shop using its application. So if you put a shirt from store “x” in your cart and also placed a shirt from store “y” in the cart, both would show up on either retail site.

• TheBakery: How Intershop Wants To Lead the Trade Revolution

  Jason Soo

  15 Nov 2009 | 5:22 pm

  In this current transitional phase (“The Rebirth of German Mail-Order?”), the e-commerce industry has an excellent chance to free itself from the former chains of the mail-order catalogue companies and now quickly establish modern trade and sales structures.Surprisingly, Intershop might be the one to act as the critical catalyst and champion the modernisation of trade and commerce structures. Intershop has in February, largely unnoticed from the public, taken majority ownership (GE/EN) of TheBakery which is a startup out of Berlin with huge potential.TheBakery seeks to break the rules of…

• Swirl: DailyCandy Preparing Own Private Shopping Club

  Jason Soo

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:26 pm

  In the US, the popular newsletter service DailyCandy wants to launch Swirl, its own private shopping club."Like a lot of media companies that rely on advertising revenue these days, Daily Candy is eager to diversify its revenue streams. To that end, the Comcast-owned fashion and lifestyles site and e-newsletter has introduced Swirl, a sample sales site available to DailyCandy subscribers. Swirl launches in beta next month and is planning a full release in January. Beyond more direct revenue from e-commerce, Swirl is also meant to attract more subs to DailyCandy. If it works out that way,…

• Shopping Platform Alice.com Secures $6 Million

  Jason Soo

  12 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm

  Alice.com, an open online shopping platform for household goods, has secured a further $6 million in a new financing round: "Alice.com has closed a $6 million Series B round of funding from private investors, bringing the startup’s total funding up to over $10 million."On the Alice.com site, manufacturers of consumer packaged goods can shortcut the retail chain by selling directly to the end customer.Amongst other things, the platform offers users the possibility to be informed by email when certain articles threaten to be discontinued. Furthermore, shipping is free.We recently…

• eBay Wow! Campaign Breaks Revenue Record in October

  Jason Soo

  9 Nov 2009 | 3:26 pm

  The eBay Wow! campaign has reached a record new revenue level, just barely missing the 3 million euro mark: Source: WortfilterVery clear as well, that eBay continues to want too much too fast and are using the same old tricks to boost the figures: From the 2.9 million euro revenue in October, 721,000 euro (or 25%) stems from the sale of Wiis. The Wii best seller came no less than 4 times in October (on the 4th, 8th, 15th and 22nd of October). The 15th brought in record revenues of 389,000 euro. The price point fell down to the record new low of 36 euro (last low point was 55 euro in June),…

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  E-Commerce Times

• Ballmer Gives Shareholders - and Dell - Cause for Optimism

  Erika Morphy

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:49 pm

  The early indicators that Windows 7 is doing well seem to be piling up. CEO Steve Ballmer gave that perception a boost at the company's annual shareholders meeting on Thursday, announcing that Microsoft "has already sold twice as many units of Windows 7 than any other operating system ever launched in a comparable time." Do the early numbers indicate that Windows 7 may be strong enough to cheer the shareholders of other companies -- namely, battered computer OEMs, like Dell, that are counting on it to jumpstart PC sales?

• Sony Talks Up Plans for Digital Media Superstore

  Renay San Miguel

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:22 pm

  Many companies would give up their right to right-click to be able to duplicate Apple's success with iTunes. However, only one actually has the pieces already in place to do that, and its executives announced their intentions Thursday to take on Steve Jobs' company with its own online content service. Sony executives used a management meeting in Tokyo to tell the world that they want to build an online network so that all manner of company devices can receive downloadable content like movies/videos, games, books and music.

• EU Gives Oracle Extension to Build Sun Deal Defense

  ECT News Network

  20 Nov 2009 | 9:21 am

  European Union regulators said Friday that they have extended until Jan. 27 a deadline to wrap up their antitrust review of Oracle's planned $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems. The European Commission said Oracle had asked for more time "in order to have the opportunity to further develop its arguments in response to the Commission's concerns." The EU executive gave them an extra six working days. Regulators sent a formal charge sheet to Oracle earlier this month laying out competition problems that they see with the deal.

• Health Insurance CRM, Part 2: The BPO Catalyst

  John K. Higgins

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  CRM has lagged in the health insurance industry, but a major transformation is imminent. "There's been a reluctance to make comprehensive investments in technology compared with other sectors," said Gartner analyst Joanne Galimi. "Generally, the firms in the sector have been very tactical, only investing in specific areas -- basically reacting to pain points. Some of the resistance stems from the complexity of installing lots of modules and because it's very costly." Mergers within the industry, beneficial in gaining market share, have added to the problem.

• AA.com Sucks the Fun Out of Trip-Planning

  Erika Morphy

  20 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  It's fitting that the last stop on my tour of travel-planning Web sites for the E-Commerce Times was American Airlines. The site illustrates all of the problems that spurred this special look at travel sites in the first place. Travel sites have developed a reputation for being hard to navigate and poorly designed with cluttered user interfaces. Not all of the sites I visited for this series fit that bill, but American Airlines sure did.

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  Shop.org Blog

• 7 Ways to Integrate Social Conversation with Email Marketing

  StephanieMiller

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  (Note:  This is the first of a series of occasional blog posts to alert members to key trends and opportunities presented by the Member Services Committee volunteer members.) We are knee deep in the holiday season, so no need to remind everyone why email is the coolest and sexiest channel in the ecommerce marketing toolkit:  Revenue.  Email drives the most revenue at the lowest cost.  Period. And you just don’t get any sexier than that in business. Despite predictions that social networks will kill the email channel, the opposite has happened.  Socially connected subscribers from moms…

• Holiday ‘09: Consumers want free returns shipping offers — why don’t retailers offer more of them?

  Fiona Swerdlow, Head of Research, Shop.org

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:48 am

  Full disclosure: I’ve had something of a bee in my bonnet about free shipping for returns for some time. Amid the debate about free outbound shipping offers in recent holiday seasons, I’ve wondered aloud (even in this blog forum) why free shipping offers have to be solely a matter of “with –“ or “without conditions”. As the folks at Zappos and select other retailers have showed us for some time now, free returns shipping offers resonate well with customers, so why have we not seen more of this shipping promotion alternative? Earlier this fall, we explored supply and demand…

• Holiday 2009: Where consumers gather information about products and retailers

  Fiona Swerdlow, Head of Research, Shop.org

  13 Nov 2009 | 3:42 am

  In my last holiday-focused post, I noted that consumers surveyed in the 2009 eHoliday Study said consumer ratings and reviews were one of the very most important features on a retailer site this season. Conducted last month in partnership with BIGresearch, we delved a little further into information sources that consumers use, asking, “In general, if you are looking for information about a retailer or products, which of the following Web sites or types of online information do you anticipate using this coming (2009) holiday season? (Check all that apply).” Almost two-thirds of consumers…

• Research: The one economy signal that consumers are waiting for

  Fiona Swerdlow, Head of Research, Shop.org

  12 Nov 2009 | 1:02 pm

  I recently asked members of the Content, Member Services, and Research Committees for input on consumer research topics for the next several months.  As part of the many thoughtful suggestions these fine folks put forth, I heard several requests for up to date consumer sentiment regarding the economy.  One question in particular was, “What will consumers see as the signal that the economy is truly starting to turn around?”  As it turns out, NRF research partner BIGresearch asked consumers this very question in September (“What sign do you believe will best demonstrate to you that the…

• Holiday 2009: What consumers want on a retail Web site

  Fiona Swerdlow, Head of Research, Shop.org

  11 Nov 2009 | 5:02 am

  Last week I reviewed factors that are most important to consumers when choosing to make holiday purchases from one retailer versus another. As part of the eHoliday 2009 Study pre-holiday survey (conducted for us by BIGresearch), we asked consumers which specific Web site features they rely on most when making holiday purchases. On a scale of 1 (least important) to 5 (most important), consumers confirmed just how powerful reviews from fellow customers are, assigning those an overall score of 4.1 (out of 5). The 2009 State of Retailing Online Merchandising Report (produced with Forrester…

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  Web Marketing with Ed Rivis

• Paging David Watson!

  Ed

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:19 am

  I’m trying to contact a U.K. based software developer and Internet Marketer by the name of David Watson, creator of Website Headline Wizard Software. If you know David and can put me in touch with him, please contact me. Or, if you ARE David Watson then please get in touch a.s.a.p. - I’ve got a business proposition for you! Thanks, Ed.

• My first ever Workshop - delegates speak!

  Ed

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm

  Last week I ran my first ever live web marketing workshop. I’ve been speaking for other companies at various seminars and live events around the country, and for more than 2 years, but I’ve never put my own event on… until last week that is. Since then, quite a few people have been asking me how my first ever live workshop went. Most people wished me well but I have the sneaky feeling one or two people were secretly wondering if I’d make a right royal mess of it! Well, at the event some of my delegates were given the opportunity to speak openly to the camera that…

• Revealed: My Write a Book in 7 days Secret Weapon.

  Ed

  12 Oct 2009 | 8:14 am

  On Friday I explained the 5-Step process I used to take my second book from concept to publication in less than 7 days of contiguous personal effort and without using a ghost-writer. If you missed that then click here for the full article. However, to quickly recap the first four steps… Mind-map the table of contents and add extra ‘levels’ for sub-headings. Talk through the mind-map and record it all as MP3 audio Send the MP3 audio off for transcription. Choose a title and outsource cover design If you know your subject matter well — and as a business owner I’m…

• Become a published author in less than 7 days…

  Ed

  9 Oct 2009 | 6:34 am

  Do you ever dream of becoming a published author? Apparently many people do, but very few ever achieve it. I think that’s one of the main reasons why authors are so revered and lauded in our society… to many people it seems like an unreachable goal. In fact many times over the last few years — and especially since I became an author — I’ve heard a lot of people say “I could never write a book… I just don’t have enough time/money/knowledge”. The thing is, having just spent less than 7 days in total writing my new book, I now know that…

• My new book PRE-launches at 11 am today

  Ed

  1 Oct 2009 | 1:19 am

  My new book E-Mail Marketing Dynamite pre-launches at 11am today. By ‘pre-launch’ I mean it’s about 3 weeks away from being publicly listed on sites like Amazon but everyone who has signed up here gets an email from me at 11am today with the chance to pre-order a copy of the book for just the cost of postage and packing (meaning you get it FREE) and also given instant access to a private website where you can download the digital version. If you want to grab a free copy of my book then make sure you sign up asap. All my best, Ed Rivis, author of E-Mail Marketing Dynamite and…

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  eCommerce and Entrepreneurship Blog

• Process vs. Results: Finding the Compromise

  18 Nov 2009 | 1:38 pm

  With an understanding of Gordian Project’s required results, as a manager, I’ve spent countless hours process mapping the “buckets” of responsibilities related to supply chain. Buckets such as new business, fulfillment, and returns. These buckets can then be further broken down;  New Business into new suppliers, new brands, and new products  Fulfillment into supplier performance and carriers  Returns into RMA Team and Warehouse Team Follow this to its natural conclusion and you’ve created not only job descriptions but detailed processes in which to…

• The Droid and Business: First Impressions

  13 Nov 2009 | 6:40 am

  The big new thing in technology right now is the Motorola Droid with Verizon Wireless. With Google's Android 2.0, Verizon's coverage, and some nice hardware, it's set up to rival Apple's eight-hundred-pound gorilla, the iPhone. Ushering in a new set of smartphones based on smart user interfaces and open development, it's definitely a great phone for technophiles and power users. But how does it handle in a business environment? We got our hands on one, so let's see how it works.The first impression of the Droid is that it's solid. Weighing in at 6oz (169g) and sporting a minimalistic metal…

• Want Your Company to Succeed? Find Customers Who do Too

  10 Nov 2009 | 6:26 pm

  Too often, and through no malicious intent, companies lose sight of their customers interests. In many company war rooms, you’ll find brilliant people bunkered in the back of the building burning through notepads and hallucinating from the noxious fumes of dry-erase markers. Fight plans are drafted and pricing structures are in place. But, ultimately, none of this matters if your customers are not on board. You cannot “go live” in a ghost town. We’ve all had the impossible call with customer service or have wanted to set fire to stacks of unnecessary rebate paperwork…

• Time Management: A Fresh(er) Look at Some Classic Tips

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  I came a cross an article in The Wholesaler about time management and thought that I would share some thoughts on a few of the points that Peter Schor listed in his article. First, here’s a link to the online version: The Wholesaler, page 32. Most of his points are pretty obvious, but some of them really stuck out to me. The Never-ending Inbox In the article he states “E-mailing — Block off times to process your e-mail. Twice per day should be sufficient. Avoid the temptation to check e-mail frequently.” In an eCommerce company I know the first thing I thought about…

• A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur? A Picture Blog on Halloween

  30 Oct 2009 | 4:12 pm

  You have to love a day of the year when it is pretty much a requirement to dress up. However, that day becomes so much better when your place of work cuts back the dress code and lets all of the employees dress up to their hearts content (work appropriate of course). Wearing your Halloween costume to work has become a staple of life at the Gordian Project, this year being no exception. Over half of the office dressed up to celebrate, Zach barbecued, all the Michael Jacksons danced, Vanessa roller skated, and there was no shortage of hot dog jokes. Needless to say some hilarity ensued,…

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  Retail eCommerce Blog

• This is a guest post by Michelle Strassburg Head of Sales and Marketing at hardwood flooring seller wood and beyond.

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:33 am

  Winning new customers is often easier than keeping them! Not too dissimilar to other types of relationships, business or personal, you must work hard to make sure the other party is happy. Retaining customers creates a happy relationship for both parties and should therefore be considered as a key objective for the business. The math is simple, retain more customers to win more returning business. Here are 10 tips to retain new customers: 1. Stay in touch and actively communicate – Looking at... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Promotions, Deals and Discounts Define the Current Holiday Season

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm

  Last year as the economy was in the throes of a recession, there was a lot of speculation on consumer behavior, and retailers feared that their holiday sales would take a hit. They slashed prices to lure customers, there were70 percent markdowns on merchandise. This year, the story is slightly different. Retailers are trying to boost their holiday sales through promotions and not mere discounts. Some promotions are aimed at e-mail subscribers, though most deals are featured on the website... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Google’s Philippine Business Stimulus Package – An initiative to promote online marketing

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:41 am

  Google has stepped in to help Philippine businesses make their presence felt online. The Philippine Business Stimulus Package, consists of Web design package as well as P2000 worth of Google AdWords credits The package also includes tutorials on the basics of marketing, Website maintenance and Google technologies. The whole package has been designed and executed with the help of partner institutions and organizations such as STI, GoNegosyo, the Philippine Marketing Association, CITEM (Center... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• Ignore Meta Keywords: Google's Official Announcement

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:14 pm

  Yes, Google is no longer considering Meta keywords as a critical factor in search rankings, though other on-page elements such as the title, description and so on are still vital elements in terms of SEO. Google has stated that they use over 200 factors to determine rankings, but keyword tags are not one of them. Check this video to know more... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

• SEO Scams – Be Aware, Stay Clear

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:34 am

  Scam is an attempt to deceive a person or an entity by gaining full confidence, and it is a word that people want to steer clear off. SEO scams have no other meaning than cheating or swindling an online business owner or a website owner by providing dubious SEO services.  In the early days of search engines when AltaVista and Yahoo were ruling the search engine market, SEO was in its infancy but SEO scams were still prevalent but the numbers weren’t so alarming. Once SEO techniques... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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  E-Commerce Law

• E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of November 9, 2009

  Jonathan Frieden

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:10 am

  A federal judge in Georgia has ruled that tweeting in court constitutes the "broadcasting of judicial proceedings" in violation of Rule 53 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.Facebook provided the alibi for a robbery suspect.Each weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.

• Among the Experts: Online Marketing for Lawyers

  Jonathan Frieden

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am

  This week, I'll be speaking at seminars entitled Among the Experts:  Online Marketing for Lawyers.  The seminars, held tomorrow in Washington, D.C. and Wednesday in Baltimore, Maryland, will cover:Core Web Presence - discussing how to develop a strategy around your online presence and get the most out of Google, Twitter, Facebook, and Avvo.Google Analytics - addressing how to track online performance with Google Analytics.Search Engine Optimization - discussing SEO basics.Other speakers include Mark Britton, the founder and CEO of Avvo, Conrad Saam, Avvo's Senior Marketing Manager; and…

• E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of November 2, 2009

  Jonathan Frieden

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:05 am

  Two high school sophomores have sued the school that punished them for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace.Twitter and Facebook users were the subject of scams.Each weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.

• Eastern District of Missouri Applies Section 230 in Dismissing Civil Conspiracy Claim

  Jonathan Frieden

  22 Oct 2009 | 3:34 pm

  In Cornelius v. Deluca, 2009 WL 2568044 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 18, 2009), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss on the grounds that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 barred the plaintiffs' civil conspiracy claim.  Plaintiffs, who manufacture nutraceuticals, filed a state court lawsuit against a number of defendants, including the operator of the www.bodybuilding.com website (the "Website"), which arose from the posting of allegedly libelous statements about the plaintiffs and their products on the…

• E-Commerce Law Briefs: Week of October 12, 2009

  Jonathan Frieden

  19 Oct 2009 | 2:04 pm

  Yahoo has settled a click fraud suit.Facebook and Twitter IN, MySpace OUT.Each weekend, E-Commerce Law Briefs provides a brief summary and commentary on recent legal news affecting e-commerce businesses.

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  Shopify Blog - Home

• lacelocked

  Daniel

  17 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

• Shopify App Showcase: Campaign Monitor

  Dimitri

  13 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  This is the Shopify App Showcase, where we profile a new app from the Shopify App Store every week, describing its features and how a storeowner can benefit from using it. Feel free to leave some feedback about things you’d like to see in the next profile. Campaign Monitor Campaign Monitor is a leading provider of e-mail marketing software, and this app by Lucid Design of New Zealand integrates Campaign Monitor and Shopify to make it easy for you to send out e-mails and newsletters to your subscribers. Any visitors to your store that opt in to e-mail marketing are automatically added to a…

• Via Snella

  Daniel

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

• LIVE! On Sunset

  Daniel

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

• Application Link Icons

  edward

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Thanks to a suggestion from one of our fine developers, application links can now have icons. To set an application link’s icon, click the “Choose an icon” link in the app’s edit screen: A screen then appears, showing the entire Silk icon set from famfamfam. Select one of these by clicking on it. After selecting an icon, it’ll appear right away: Save the changes made to the app, and the icon will appear next to the link in your users’ admins:

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  Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog

• Holiday Season: Are You In the Game or on The Bench?

  Linda Bustos

  20 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am

  This week I had the pleasure of sitting down (virtually) with Shawna Fennell of One Choice for Your Store for an interview on her Webmaster Radio show, Ecom Experts titled Holiday Preparations for Online Retailers (on-demand link). One of the questions Shawna asked was What should retailers be doing during the holiday season now that it’s too late to be working on the site or strategy? This post is a recap of what I believe retailers should be doing now to really be “in the game” rather than a benchwarmer this season. Monitor and Optimize Performance Even the largest, most…

• Key Trends in B2B: Webinar Recap

  Linda Bustos

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am

  This post is the Coles-notes version of Brian Walker of Forrester Research’s presentation: Key Trends in B2B eCommerce: From Fulfilling Demand To Creating Demand If you missed it, you can catch the replay at the above link. The replay includes all Brian’s screenshots of real B2B examples (which didn’t look right when resized to fit the blog specs) so I recommend you check it out to get the full effect. Agenda Growth Drivers in B2B eCommerce The Range of Models in B2B eCommerce The Evolving B2B Site Growth in B2B eCommerce Business to business eCommerce has been evolving…

• Should Your Online Store Use Tabbed Boxes?

  Linda Bustos

  16 Nov 2009 | 3:09 am

  Tabbed boxes are one of the best ways to fit more content on a page without increasing page length or cluttering the page and they have become more and more popular on ecommerce sites in the past few years – especially on product pages. But one concern I always have when reviewing websites that use tabbed boxes is – do they really get noticed by customers? Or are they too subtle? I recently worked with an online retailer that had very poor attachment rates for cross-sells and upsells. The culprit? Product recommendations were hidden behind a tab that nobody clicked. Here are some…

• B2B Ecommerce and the Pharmaceutical Industry

  Linda Bustos

  13 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am

  I recently conducted an interview with Mkrtich Laziev, a pharma and chemical e-marketing and ecommerce consultant with over 15 years experience in the industry. Check out his website for more information about Mkrtich and read more of his articles on pharmachem e-marketing, ecommerce and SEO. Can you give Get Elastic readers some background on ecommerce and online marketing for pharmaceutical companies? In many people’s view, pharma e-marketing and ecommerce are closely linked with a famous “blue pill.” I haven’t found anyone with an email address who hasn’t received spam urging…

• New Ecommerce Podcast: eCom Experts

  Linda Bustos

  12 Nov 2009 | 11:48 am

  I’m excited to hear that WebmasterRadio.fm has added a new show to its lineup, eCom Experts. Yours truly will be a guest on Monday, November 16 at 3pm PST/6pm EST. So far there have been 3 episodes, SEO for ecommerce, Improving Shopping Experience & Increasing Sales and Increasing Conversion for the Holidays. On Monday I’ll be talking about the holiday shopping season. Please save the date! Can’t make it? Subscribe to eCom Experts and catch it on-demand. You may also like these similar posts:3 Quick And Dirty Holiday Hints for Procrastinating Etailers Persistent…

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  Practical eCommerce Articles

• The PeC Review: FormSpring for Easy Form-building

  Armando Roggio

  20 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

  Read any online marketing book, blog, or journal—Practical eCommerce included—worth its salt, and you’ll be told to “know your customer.” In ecommerce, getting to know your customer and building rapport with that customer takes time. It also takes an exchange of information that is often more than just transactional. One of the many ways that you can affect customer relationship building is via contests, content, or other services that shoppers register for or provide information for via a web form. With this in mind, let me introduce you to FormSpring. FormSpring enables ecommerce…

• Cart of the Week: Avactis

  Kate Monteith

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  There are more than 350 online shopping carts. And each week we feature one, interviewing both the cart's developer and a customer. "Cart of the Week" is not a review or an evaluation, but rather an opportunity to learn about a shopping cart from the people who build it and use it. This week, we'll hear from Oleg Chehovsky, head of marketing for Pentasoft Corporation, developers of Avactis shopping cart. The company is headquartered in New York City, and, according to Chehovsky, it serves "tens of thousands" of users worldwide. We'll also hear from an Avactis shopping cart customer, Brina…

• Bloglist: Sean Schofield, Creator of Spree Ecommerce

  Practical eCommerce Staff

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:08 pm

  "Bloglist" is an occasional feature where we ask ecommerce professionals the blogs that they read, and why. For this installment, we asked Sean Schofield, the creator of the Spree open-source ecommerce platform and a Practical eCommerce blogger. Schofield, a Ruby on Rails developer, is also the CEO of Railsdog, a technology consulting firm specializing in web application and ecommerce development. Schofield told us the blogs he likes, as well as podcast and screencast sites he visits. Get Elastic Provides a nice overall discussion of various ecommerce topics. It's a good reference for…

• When a Shopping Cart is Not PCI Compliant: Three Options for Merchants

  Kevin Patrick Allen

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:04 pm

  Earlier this week, Practical eCommerce shared three important questions to ask about your shopping cart. Today, as part of our ongoing PCI compliance series, I’ll take a look at options for ecommerce merchants currently using a shopping cart that is not PA-DSS (payment application data security standard) validated. More specifically, I’ll share the insights of hosting director Matt Whitted of Cybrhost, a web hosting provider specializing in ecommerce. Cybrhost has alerted its subscriber base to the July 1, 2010 deadline for shopping carts to become PA-DSS compliant and Whitted has fielded…

• Chart of the Week: Online Holiday Shopping 1999-2009

  Kevin Patrick Allen

  18 Nov 2009 | 7:47 pm

  The online shopping experience has changed dramatically over the past ten years. I know. In 1999, as a radio reporter in Silicon Valley, I was given an assignment: Conduct your Christmas shopping online, using a pre-determined list of items. A fellow reporter was given the same list, understanding that all of his purchases would be made at brick and mortar retail outlets. It was a race. He easily won. There were a number of factors that limited my ability to shop online effectively: I was slowed by a dial-up connection, the number of retailers which offered online sales was limited, and the…

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  InternetNews.com Ecommerce News

• Nielsen Forecasts Coal in Your Stocking

  New survey finds consumer intention to shop online this holiday season on the decline.

• Senate Panel Blasts E-Commerce 'Scams'

  Senators hear horror stories of otherwise reputable e-commerce firms using shifty marketing schemes as they mull legislation to curb the practice.

• Flickr-Snapfish Ties Boost Photo Print Options

  Snapfish, a division of HP, will provide printing options for Flickr members worldwide.

• Microsoft Readies Free Ad-supported Office 2010

  Microsoft is preparing to beta test a stripped down version of the next Office release.

• Global Internet Ad Spending Stabilizing: IDC

  Declines continue, but the research firm looks for recovery in 2010.

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  Actinic Ecommerce News

• Page Load Time Could Become A Google Ranking Factor

  17 Nov 2009 | 4:45 pm

  Google has revealed that it is considering using load time as a factor in ranking web pages.

• Preventing Shopping Cart Abandonment

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:32 pm

  Top tips for increasing online sales by reducing cart abandonment.

• Are You Aiming For The Moon?

  16 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am

  Learning from NASA about the importance of having clear goals that are known and recognised by everyone in the business.

• If You Can Access The Internet, You're In Business

  13 Nov 2009 | 5:58 pm

  According to Ben Dyer, it's never been easier for small businesses to compete with their larger cousins - thanks to the internet.

• Survey Says, Outlook For Christmas Online Retail Is Bright

  10 Nov 2009 | 6:38 pm

  Econsultancy survey finds 93% of consumers planning to buy some of their Christmas gifts online, 71% planning to buy more than half.

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  eMarketer Articles

• Focusing on the Core Customer Experience

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:01 pm

  Kevin Ertell Vice President, Retail Strategy ForeSee Results

• Data on Twitter Decline Stacks Up

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:01 pm

  Tweeting no more?

• Context Matters More Than Ever for Canadians

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:01 pm

  Karin von Abrams eMarketer Senior Analyst

• Coupons Boost E-Mail Open Rate

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:01 pm

  Clicking, not clipping

• Deep Brand Engagement Creates Customers

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:01 pm

  From awareness to consideration, purchase and recommendation

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  Practical eCommerce Podcasts

• Get Concept Feedback

  Practical eCommerce

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:47 pm

  Getting ready to launch a brand new website, logo, or advertisement? Want to know what other professionals think before you release it to the world? Upload your concept to Concept Feedback, a free online service found at ConceptFeedback.com, and get quick, actionable feedback from the professional business community.

• Oleg Chehovsky of Avactis Shopping Cart

  Practical eCommerce

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:56 pm

  Oleg Chehovsky is head of the marketing department for Pentasoft Corporation, developers of Avactis ecommerce software. In this supplement to "Cart of the Week," Chehovsky talks about his early years in website development, and how he became involved with the Avactis online shopping cart.

• Supreme Court Could Restrict Patents, Attorney Says

  Practical eCommerce

  19 Nov 2009 | 9:16 pm

  Doing business on the Internet requires the use sophisticated software and complicated processes. Many of these innovative products have been patented; Google and Amazon, for example, hold many hundreds of patents. But the U. S. Supreme Court may be about to greatly restrict the issuance of patents. To help us understand the case at hand and its relevance to software and Internet developers, we are joined by Lawrence M. Hadley. Mr. Hadley is a seasoned intellectual property attorney and a partner in the firm of Hennigan, Bennett and Dorman, in Los Angeles. He speaks with Practical eCommerce's…

• Google Analytics Basics

  Practical eCommerce

  19 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm

  If Google Analytics seems overwhelming, try focusing on a few basic goals in the beginning. Regularly check your site's overall trends and traffic sources, be aware of a sudden shift in traffic, and monitor conversions from major advertising sources so you are spending your money wisely.

• Third-party Certification

  Practical eCommerce

  18 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm

  One of the best ways to increase shoppers' trust is to invest in third party security certification. There are quite a few shoppers out there who are still skeptical about buying online, and security certificates go a long way to boosting a shopper's confidence in online stores.

• 
  ComparisonEngines

• Search. Compare. Conquer. BizRate’s new look.

  Brian Smith

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:44 am

  I really haven’t dug deep enough to see what’s under the new coat of paint at bizrate, but it’s worth mentioning that the site is definitely repositioning itself around price as opposed to just being a consumer ratings company. From the press releases, bizrate seems to be focusing on value. The left hand nav bar now focuses on price as opposed to other product attributes that Shopzilla focuses on: Focusing on value? Seems like a good move for this cash and credit strapped economy.

• Become Launches Holiday Section

  Brian Smith

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pm

  Looks like Become gave it’s developers Sunday off and launched its holiday section on Monday. Holiday features of Become include: -Holiday gift guides -Black Friday deals -Free shipping offers -Holiday shopping tips Really happy to see one of the shopping engines talking about Black Friday! The shopping tips section isn’t really about the holidays, but still should be highlighted. Become has a ton of buying guide content. Some of it is there for the search engines, but I also found a lot of valuable information.

• Anyone Attending Pubcon Vegas?

  Brian Smith

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:15 am

  Still debating if I should go to Pubcon. If there are enough data feed lovers attending, I’d make the quick trip. Comment or email me (brian at comparisonengines dot com).

• Holiday Shopping Begins!

  Brian Smith

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am

  Kudos to Yahoo! Shopping to be the first of the major shopping engines to start holiday merchandising! I consider November 1 to be the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Halloween out. Holidays in. Yahoo! Shopping has a number of great features (new and old) that help consumers make smart buying decisions. I got lost in a sea of buying guides, most popular products lists, expert research, lots of coupons, and more. Will cover in an upcoming post.

• CIT Files for Bankruptcy

  Brian Smith

  1 Nov 2009 | 11:30 pm

  Over the summer I wrote about CIT’s potential bankruptcy. While a bailout helped it survive the last quarter, CIT officially filed for Chapter 11 protection today. CIT is an essential part of the small business world. As we look to the holiday shopping season, if merchants or their supply chain can’t get credit, it’s just going to get ugly out there. CIT’s spin says that the pre-packaged bankruptcy will make everything ok, but I’m not buying the story. And unfortunately, if small businesses look for new lenders, that’s probably not going to be so easy, as…

• 
  Groove Commerce eCommerce Blog

• Big Changes for Google in Store for 2010

  As I write this post, Google is holding an event detailing their operating system called "Google Chrome OS," in which absolutely everything is stored in the cloud. While sitting in the front row of this event, Danny Sullivan of Search Engine Land somehow managed to post a mini-bombshell feature covering ...

• Usable: The Research on Website Credibility

  Before I looked into the topic, I just thought credibility was about being plausible. Would users come to my websites and think the information on them was legitimate? I’m not far off, but credibility is a complex beast that does not need to rely on intuition alone. I found three ...

• Design 1, 2, 3: Better Form To Increase Magazine Subscriptions

  Recently, larger-than-life magazine house Condé Nast has nixed several publications and laid off staffers. Their Vogue September 2009 issue’s ad content was down 50% from last year. That equates to a lot of money lost. It’s a continual trend that print publications ad pages and subscriptions are tanking. And now ...

• The Newly Redesigned JoS. A. Bank eCommerce Website - My Personal Review

  Maryland-based JoS. A. Bank recently launched a redesign of their eCommerce website - JosBank.com. Given the fact that JoS. A. Bank is a Maryland company and the fact that I’m a big fan of their clothes (and sales), I decided to take a look at their recently redesigned website ...

• Going Global With Your eCommerce Site

  I was watching Squawk Box this morning with guest host Ted Leonsis, Vice Chairman Emeritus of AOL, and he threw out a figure on worldwide internet users and its effect on the global economy.  While I wasn't quick enough to write down the exact figures, the point was that North ...

• 
  Palmer Web Marketing

• Unlearning your Website: Thinking Like a Pre-Customer

  Justin Palmer

  15 Nov 2009 | 5:47 pm

  Many would consider their industry expertise to be a competitive advantage. What if I were to suggest that your knowledge about your products and services can be the greatest hindrance to the success of your website? Tappers and Listeners Consider this fascinating study, highlighted in the book Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. A group of people are divided in half. The first group, the tappers, are assigned with the task of tapping the rhythm of a well known song, such as Happy Birthday to You or The Star Spangled Banner, on a table. The listeners are assigned with the task of identifying…

• Getting Personal with your Customers

  Justin Palmer

  1 Nov 2009 | 4:07 pm

  Most online transactions are fast, efficient, and completely lacking human contact. Why not shock your customers once in a while with a truly personal online experience? Below are 13 ways to get personal (in a good way) with your customers. Shock your first time customers by calling them within a day of their order. Ask them for feedback and thank them for their support. Post online profiles of everyone at the company, but ditch the boring executive bios. Instead post profiles from the rank and file, the people who actually interact with your customers on a daily basis. The profiles will…

• Breaking the Cycle of Website Redesigns

  Justin Palmer

  27 Sep 2009 | 6:13 pm

  Website redesigns are expensive, time-consuming, and hugely popular. Why? Because unlike website optimization, they’re tangible and exciting. You clearly see the end result. In my observation, companies redesign their website’s quite frequently, typically following a predictable pattern: The Website Redesign Cycle Company creates website Company grows tired of website, and realizes it doesn’t meet all of their needs Company redesigns website, addresses some of the weaknesses, but damages features that worked perfectly, annoying customers accustomed to the old site Repeat…

• What Offline Can Teach Online

  Justin Palmer

  14 Sep 2009 | 10:20 am

  In the early days, online retail built itself upon the foundation of convenience and value. It was easier to buy online, and many times cheaper. With the astonishing growth of e-commerce, and the unique combination of an always on store with relatively low overhead, some online store owners would assume they’ve got a leg up on their offline counterparts. On the contrary, I would argue we can learn much from the offline world. After all, with hundreds of years of experience, traditional retailers are in many ways much more polished than their online counterparts. Here’s 7 pointers…

• 6 Lessons from 1600% Growth

  Justin Palmer

  7 Sep 2009 | 10:33 am

  For the last several years, I’ve had the privilege of directing the e-commerce site for C28, an online Christian clothing store. In the last 3 1/2 years, we’ve been fortunate to experience a 1600% increase in sales. I’ve recently been reflecting on lessons I’ve learned through this exciting but tumultuous experience. What follows is a list of 6 lessons I’ve learned, often the hard way. I hope these lessons are helpful to your business as well. Lesson #1: Serve your Customers Offensively All businesses give lip service to good customer service, and yet few are…

• 
  Comparison Shopping Engine Strategies

• Webinar - tomorrow 11/10 @ 2pm EDT - 10 last-minute strategies and Q3 results

  scot wingo

  9 Nov 2009 | 11:27 am

  I'm hosting a webinar tomorrow where we'll go over the Q3 results for various companies (eBay, Amazon, Google, etc.) as well as look at the various Q4 forecasts and reveal ChannelAdvisor's October data.We'll wrap with 10 last-minute strategies that you can implement BEFORE BLACK FRIDAY / CYBERMONDAY and get that last little bit of juice out of your holiday sales.For you CSE Strategies readers, we're going to update you on some new CSE stats that we have and we have some CSE-specific last minute strategies to consider in the mix.I hope you are able to make it,…

• Comparison Shopping Holiday Rate Increase Round Up

  Mark Vandegrift

  30 Oct 2009 | 11:09 am

  'Tis the season for comparison shopping rate increases. We have a whitepaper available for download with a review of the changes engines have made this year as well as details on what rate changes engines will be making this holiday season. We've consolidated a snapshot the rate change info onto a single page of the ChannelAdvisor Strategy and Support Center. We'll continue to update as we get more information, particularly in the UK where we only have confirmation in a few cases.2009 Comparison Shopping Holiday Rate Changes

• Part II/II - m-commerce strategies - next gen CSEs hit the mobile scene

  scot wingo

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:07 pm

  This is part II of a II part series that I call 'm-commerce strategies for retailers'.  The two parts are: Part I -  m-commerce backgrounder that lives here Part II - Next gen m-commerce CSEs (you are here) There have been many CSEs on the mobile platforms that pretty much replicate the desktop web experience on the smartphone platforms.  The use case is you are out shopping and you can use the CSE to see what's available on the web vs. your local store.  There are some that attempt to do local as well, but in my experience nobody does that very well because of the…

• Part I/II - m-commerce strategies for retailers - m-commerce backgrounder

  scot wingo

  27 Oct 2009 | 9:30 pm

  This is part I of a II part series that I call 'm-commerce strategies for retailers'.  The two parts are: Part I -  m-commerce backgrounder Part II - Next gen m-commerce CSEs At shop.org this year and in many other conversations with retailers, m-commerce has become a hot topic.  The success of the iPhone and it's application platform have capture the minds of consumers and retailers a-like.  Google's Android system is nascent, but with a slew of new manufacturers and networks coming on board, set to be a solid challenger to the iPhone.  Thus there will be a world…

• Sears Testing Integration with Shop.com

  Mark Vandegrift

  18 Oct 2009 | 9:11 pm

  Last month on sister blog Amazon Strategies, initial insight into what Sears is planning in terms of marketplace expansion was revealed. It appears that Sears has continued to move forward, at least on the CPC side, as they are currently beta testing an integration with Shop.com. In the current configuration, third party retailer offers appears in results next to products sold by Sears Holding's brands. From running a few queries, tt appears the third party offers are listed after the native listings unless the Sears offerings relevance is extremely poor. Sears brands are always perched…

• 
  BIA/Kelsey Blog

• Business Transformation Top of Mind for European Publishers

  Charles Laughlin

  20 Nov 2009 | 1:31 am

  I’ve just spend two days attending the Yellow Pages Today event in Milan, Italy, where publishers engaged in a very compact program that focused on “Repositioning the Yellow Pages.” The event was really about how directory publisher have to transform their organizations in order to have viable businesses in five years and beyond. It was clear that different publishers have different senses of urgency based on conditions in their markets, and perhaps based on their own internal culture. I spoke with Yellow Pages Group-New Zealand CEO Bruce Cotterill whose focus is currently…

• mobilepeople To Power Trader Corp’s Mobile Apps

  Mike Boland

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:43 pm

  Copenhagen based mobilepeople has been making moves throughout North America over the past year, starting with its deal to power the DexKnows suite of mobile products for directory publisher R.H. Donnelley. It’s latest deal, announced today, is to power the mobile apps for Canada’s Trader corporation. Trader is the top publisher of classifieds advertising in Canada, known best for its AutoTrader property. It also has 160 publications and 20 websites — a rich base of content on which to build mobile local apps in different verticals. In the near term, it looks like…

• ‘Final’ ILM:09 Speakers Added (Twitter, AT&Ti, Euro Directories +++)

  Peter Krasilovsky

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:17 pm

  The ILM:09 conference Dec. 9-11 in LA is now  just around the corner.  We’ve handpicked 60 cutting-edge speakers, and we think we are onto something that is really important. I can tell you that signups have been great, too. Recent adds to the speaker roster include Twitter’s Anamitra Banerji and AT&T Interactive’s Greg Issacs,  who will be joining Facebook’s Tim Kendall and Citysearch’s Kara Nortman on our “Social/Local” panel. We’ve also added Trinity Ventures’ Patricia Nakache,  who joins Canaan Partners’…

• Peace in the Sales Ranks - Selling Multi-Product Solutions

  Michael Taylor

  19 Nov 2009 | 5:53 am

    One of the often asked questions we receive regarding sales from all local media sectors “is multi-product selling by a single sales force really possible.” The natural follow on question invariably is what would be the benefit of a single sales force as opposed to specialized sales teams for each product area – traditional media products and online/digital products.  I will go on record as saying I am a strong believer in the ability of a core sales team selling multiple products combining both traditional media and online media. Solution selling is what is…

• Foursquare Ads, Photographed in the Wild

  Mike Boland

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:57 pm

  Mobile Social app Foursquare is getting lots of attention and growing quickly into new cities throughout the U.S. and Europe. For those unfamiliar, the app lets you check in at local establishments to alert friends where you are. The value exchange involves gaining “mayorship” of places where you check in more than anyone else. This gaming element keeps people engaged through a sort of competitive spirit among friends (and strangers). There is also competition on a weekly leaderboard of check-ins, and the ability to acquire badges for your status as a local socialite. The app has…

• 
  eCP's blog

• Gearing Up For Christmas 2009

  Josh Zizmor

  19 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am

  Increase Conversion Using 3rd Party Tools and Social Networking The holiday shopping season is almost here and unless your site sells beach balls you are probably expecting to see a bump in sales. But how do you make the most of this wave of excited holiday customers? And how do you turn this bump into a [...] Related posts:Boost Holiday SalesReady, Set, Shop!Yahoo Site Explorer

• Ready, Set, Shop!

  lihi

  30 Sep 2009 | 8:21 am

  It may seem like you have months to prepare for the Holiday eCommerce rush, but starting now can lead to far fewer headaches and last-minute frustration. Last year, Black Friday took in an estimated $530+ million online, while Cyber Monday is expected to net over $700 million for online retailers this year. Many eCommerce sites [...] Related posts:Is Your Site Ready for the Upcoming Holiday Season?Boost Holiday SalesThe Irish are a’Spending

• September 2009 Monthly Newsletter

  admin

  20 Sep 2009 | 11:43 am

  Real People Visit Your Ecommerce Store Ask them what they think of your site ECommerce Partners has teamed up with Kampyle to bring feedback analytics to your website. Visitors can give suggestions and report bugs with just a click of the mouse. The result is real-time quality assurance for your website and visitor loyalty. Read [...] Related posts:What can Ecommerce Partners Do for You?Social? Forget it!Akash Kumar… SEO Expert or Copyright Thief? Entireweb Newsletter Exposed

• Real People Visit Your E-commerce Store – Ask Them What They Think of Your Site

  Asi Erenberg

  7 Aug 2009 | 4:37 pm

  You lose customers every day, and that’s a fact. Some users visit your site looking for something that you do sell, and then leave without a trace. Others get as far as your shopping cart, and then abandon it for no apparent reason. But these events are not always beyond your control. It’s important to [...] Related posts:People are Flocking to FlockYahoo Site ExplorerIs Your Site Ready for the Upcoming Holiday Season?

• 6 Crucial Steps to Planning Your E-Commerce Website

  Gil Levy

  26 Jun 2009 | 12:48 pm

  Why is developing an online business blueprint important and where do you even begin? Take a bird eye's view when dealing with ecommerce planning Related posts:How to Avoid the 3 Most Common E-Commerce Checkout MistakesReal People Visit Your E-commerce Store – Ask Them What They Think of Your SiteTop 3 Simple Ecommerce Web Design Tips

• 
  Check Out Blog

• Online Shopping

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:54 am

  The holiday season has begun. Decorations are up in stores, Starbucks is selling their Gingerbread Lattes (My Fav) and even Santa is out at the malls making early appearances.As for Walmart.com we got allot of things going on this Holiday Season.  Value of the day is running now, this week we also have Value Bundles and most importantly you can get Over 9,000+ Electronics items shipped to your home for $0.97. Look for items with these logo's below:That means the hottest gifts as TV, Laptops, Netbooks, iPods, Digital Cameras, GPS, Blu-Ray Players and more for only $0.97. Want to save…

• The New Holiday Fruit -- BlackBerry

  11 Nov 2009 | 12:33 am

   About a month ago in my post about our new Straight Talk wireless program, I had touched on our desire to deliver savings to our customers that drives many of the initiatives we develop.  Not simply to save money but to deliver value on the brands and services that Americans want most.  We know that most of our customers are having to watch the checkbooks closely, so giving them brand they want at unbeatable prices is the challenge that keeps us working hard here on the Walmart Wireless team.   Even amidst the tough economy, a major trend that has emerged is the…

• Most Improved Player of the Year?

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am

  Every year the National Basketball Association honors only six individual players with annual awards.  Along with the Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, and the Rookie of the Year, the NBA awards the Most Improved Player Award (formerly known as the Comeback Player of the Year).  As the name implies, the award is given to the player that has made the largest single season improvement in play.  For example, in the 2007-2008 season Hedo Turkoglu scored and rebounded well above his career average to earn the honor…and then the next season helped to lead his…

• Windows 7 at Walmart

  16 Oct 2009 | 2:50 am

  Next week is a big week at Walmart.  Lots going on across the electronics area.  Straight Talk is launching in our wireless area, Transformers 2 releases, and on October 22nd Windows 7 will launch.Product will begin setting in stores starting Monday.  There is a street date on all software and computers that have Windows 7 so we cannot sell the product until Thursday, October 22nd.  We will have a lot of activity in the stores Thursday, October 22nd.  If you are an early adopter, many of our stores are open 24 hours so you can come in at midnight to buy a new laptop…

• Straight Talk = Straight-Forward Savings

  13 Oct 2009 | 10:33 am

  One of my favorite quotes is by Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin: “A penny saved is a penny earned.”  I have always felt like that quote embodies the benefits of being a coupon-clipping, sale-savvy, disciplined shopper.   Now that I work in retail, I also interpret that quote as a responsibility for assisting our customers in “saving pennies.”  As evidenced by many of the posts on this blog, “saving people money so they can live better” is top-of-mind for the buyers at Walmart.  Not only are we committed to bringing in…

• 
  Digital Money Forum

• What's the alternative?

  Dave Birch

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am

  [Dave Birch] There are plenty of extinct "alternative" payment mechanisms already: c2it, Yahoo PayDirect, Billpoint, eMailMoney and so on. And there are a few that survive. But where does the label come from? I saw the comedian/musician Tim Minchin tell an excellent joke when I went to see him earlier this year. I paraphrase, but the joke was essentially: Q. What do you call an alternative medicine that he been tested and shown to work in double-blind clinical trials? A. Medicine. Quite. So when we call something an "alternative" payment method, what do we mean? What is it the alternative to?

• "I Know Nick Hughes"

  PaulMakin

  19 Nov 2009 | 8:57 am

  [Paul Makin] I went to a very enjoyable event yesterday evening, held to launch a joint DFID/CGAP report, entitled "Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020". There were presentations by two of the report's authors, Mark Pickens and David Porteous, describing two of the four scenarios mapped out in the report: "Bharatia", which explores how a new market entrant can succeed in a saturated market by adding extra value and innovative products; "Telmar", exploring the potential for development in a post-conflict country, using a mobile money solution developed in part using funds from…

• Regulation isn't a bad thing

  Dave Birch

  17 Nov 2009 | 2:46 am

  [Dave Birch] One of the areas of great interest for this blog is the evolution of "alternative" payments in different environments. As a consequence, I am always very interested to see how alternative payment system differ between markets. For example, the Russian market for alternative payments is very different from the European market. This year, broadly speaking, it will break down into About 14 billion Roubles spent via the leading e-wallet schemes Webmoney and Yandex. About 9 billion Roubles spent via mobiles for digital content. About 10 billion Roubles spent via the near-ubiquitous…

• Not on the money

  Dave Birch

  13 Nov 2009 | 7:02 am

  [Dave Birch] I'm always keen to try out innovative new payment products. And I'm an O2 Premium Customer, or whatever it's called. So when I was idling around in London yesterday and happened past an O2 outlet offering the new "O2 Money" prepaid card, I thought I'd pop in a get one. Since it's a prepaid card, I assumed it would be a bit like getting one at the newsagent or supermarket. I wandered in, expecting to hand over £50 and walk out with a card with £50 on it. But it turns out that despite the big advertising poster in the shop window, the doesn't actually sell them. The guy…

• Because that's where the money is

  Dave Birch

  10 Nov 2009 | 2:40 pm

  [Dave Birch] The electronification, virtualising and dematerialising of money means the electronification, virtualising and dematerialising of crime, because (naturally) criminals go where the money is. FBI officials say a mix of banking Trojans and phishing attacks has plagued victims - mainly public institutions and small and midsize businesses - to the tune of $100 million in attempted losses as of October.[From FBI: Online Banking Attacks Reach $100 Million Mark] Note, by way of comparison, that about $60m was stolen in physical bank robberies throughout the USA in the whole of 2008. How…

• 
  Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• Hitting a Moving Target: Tips for Success in Mobile Marketing

  Melissa

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:15 am

  If you could get your hands on footage of 10 of your target consumers right now, 9 of them would probably be on the move. In today’s fast-paced, frenzied world, a majority of buyers are relying on their cell phones and hand-held devices as a primary means of receiving information. So it makes sense that more [...]Post from: Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• Attract the Right Traffic with Content Syndication

  Melissa

  26 Oct 2009 | 8:30 am

  When it comes to building credibility, attracting new customers, and keeping them coming back for more, relevant and high-quality content is critical. As an added bonus, your content also serves an important role in boosting your site’s organic rankings, making it more likely that potential customers will find you in online search results. To really maximize [...]Post from: Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• Preparing for the Holiday Rush

  Melissa

  14 Oct 2009 | 6:55 am

  For consumers, the passing of Labor Day signals the transition from swimsuits to sweaters. But for e-tailers, it marks the ramp-up for the biggest online shopping season of the year: the Christmas frenzy. The gap between web and brick-and-mortar purchases continues to shrink, most notably during the holidays. To help you get the maximum traffic—and, [...]Post from: Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• PR: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

  Robyn

  28 Sep 2009 | 7:30 am

  Recently, I’ve been getting questions from people regarding PR. Unfortunately, many businesses confuse PR with marketing. They are different, but they do work in tandem. Or, in some cases, PR might be part of an overall marketing strategy. Another common misconception: many people think ”press releases” when it comes to PR, but that’s just one teeny-tiny part [...]Post from: Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• Bing! Bingo or Bust? Tips on Naming Products and Services

  Robyn

  10 Sep 2009 | 6:35 am

  According to BusinessWeek, Microsoft took a total of six months to settle on the name “Bing” for its new “decision” engine (formerly known as “Live Search”). For six weeks, a team of eight brainstormed more than 2000 names. Then lawyers and linguists danced their way through the list and eliminated names that were being used [...]Post from: Blue Acorn eCommerce Consulting

• 
  Channel Dollars

• Shopping.com and PayPal

  Kevin Packler

  26 Oct 2009 | 10:41 pm

  As all Shopping.com users should know by now, Shopping.com is changing over to PayPal as their payment processor. This has nothing to do with B2C transactions or a return to the Shopping Cart model. This does have everything to do with how Shopping.com takes payments from merchants. Since both companies are owned by eBay, I can only assume someone in the accounting and cost cutting department took a look at the big picture in early 2009, and realized the company was giving away a lot of money to card processors (yes, gas stations all over the country are accutely aware of this). I bring this…

• MSN Cashback Jellyfish Bing Thing

  Kevin Packler

  28 Jul 2009 | 7:42 pm

  So it’s been a while since my last post. I have been figuring out what to do with my site layout while I investigate new hosting, upgrading to a newer Wordpress version, and redesigning the site in general. The problem with doing a lot of things at once, or finding how to undertake these things, is that a small block can turn into a major damn in the river. So, perhaps the best way to unblock the river is to begin with a trickle of thought - So what is happening with MSN Shopping, um, I mean JellyFish, I mean Cashback, no…I actually mean Bing Cashback? Of coarse some people still…

• Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition 2009

  Kevin Packler

  15 Jun 2009 | 11:49 am

  If anyone would like to talk shop this week in Boston at IRCE, then let me know. I will be at the Mercent booth #645. Feel free to stop by and talk about CSEs, Amazon, or the Red Sox.

• New Shopping.com Feed Format

  Kevin Packler

  9 Apr 2009 | 9:29 am

  The new Shopping.com datafeed format is one of the most innovative I have seen, rivaling GoogleBase for feed format champion of the CSE world. To explain why this matters and what makes the product feed format interesting, take a look at my post on the Mercent Blog: Evolution of the Data Feed Format: New Shopping.com Data Feed Specs

• How To Win the Buy Box on Amazon

  Kevin Packler

  31 Mar 2009 | 7:26 pm

  It seems like there are a lot of questions around how to sell on Amazon, especially since Amazon is one of the few growing online marketplaces right now. Amazon is a complex system which can’t be fully covered in one post, and indeed there are entire sites devoted to Amazon. However, in a single post we can get some traction around the buy box. What is the Amazon Buy Box? The Amazon Buy Box is the way Amazon compares like products. Instead of a product listing page with rows of matching results as you would see on a typical CSE, Amazon creates a master product page which incorporates…

• 
  e-commerce Blog

• Commerce Server 2009 Evaluation VPC (November 2009 version) is Available for Download

  Lynnette McL

  16 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pm

  The Commerce Server 2009 Evaluation VPC (November 2009 version) is now available for download to partners and customers. This VPC has Commerce Server 2009 and Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 fully installed and configured (Core Systems, Multi-Channel...(read more)

• Commerce Server 2009 Code Name "R2" October CTP is Now Available for Download

  Lynnette McL

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am

  The Microsoft Commerce Server 2009 code name “R2” October Community Technology Preview (CTP) is now available on the Download Center . This is the fourth pre-release build of the next version of Commerce Server. We invite you to install this pre-release...(read more)

• TechEd EMEA: Commerce Server Session November 10th, 2009

  Lynnette McL

  23 Oct 2009 | 7:14 pm

  If you are planning to attend the upcoming TechEd EMEA 2009 in Berlin, November 9-13, 2009 stop by our kiosk in the technical learning center (TLC) and say hello! We are also holding a session on building custom e-commerce solutions with Commerce Server...(read more)

• Commerce Server MVP Renewal - Ravi Kanth

  Lynnette McL

  15 Oct 2009 | 3:03 pm

  We are pleased to announce the Commerce Server Most Valuable Professional (MVP) renewal for Ravi Kanth , Technical Architect at Accenture, India. In addition to his active participation in the Forums, Ravi continues to share his knowledge and experience...(read more)

• SharePoint 2010 Conference - Breakout Session Wednesday October 21st, 2009

  Lynnette McL

  9 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm

  The Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Conference October 19-22nd in Las Vegas will be the first and the best conference to get in depth training on SharePoint 2010, from upgrade and migration to the business value of new platform features and functionality. If...(read more)

• 
  Retail, in the eyes of the everyday customer

• Strength In Numbers

  betterretail

  18 Nov 2009 | 4:13 am

  Shoppers like to know other shoppers have purchased from an e-tailer before.  This is why customer reviews are so effective.  But, as Jared Spool eloquently demonstrated in his Revealing Design Treasures presentation roughly 1,300 purchases generate 1 review, so for many smaller e-tailers product reviews are often empty.  But that does not mean we can’t build trust in a visitor.  Lewisbamboo.com does something quite impressive.  First, if you scroll down on their orders page you’ll find this wonderful snippet: And then, clicking the 722 cities link takes you to this page:…

• Brick & Mortar eCommerce

  betterretail

  11 Nov 2009 | 3:47 am

  Yesterday the eBay Mobile Boutique pulled into Michigan Avenue to give brick and mortar shoppers a taste of eCommerce… Front of eBay Mobile Boutique. People in green jackets are the friendly staff! People shopping inside eBay Mobile Boutique Back of the eBay Mobile Boutique truck Back front

• Capturing Intent

  betterretail

  9 Nov 2009 | 5:41 am

  Like most e-tailers overstock.com suffers from the 3% conversion infection.  I don’t actually know their conversion rate but let’s just go with the industry standard here. We know everything about the 3% that transacted but very little about the 97% that didn’t.  Yes, we could study their click trails but that’s indirect evidence. Overstock’s solution- A big, prominent, inviting search box: Now I don’t have access to their metrics but am willing to bet an impressive number use the search box.  This might not improve conversion rates directly but now…

• A Special Retailer

  betterretail

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am

  I caught this video via Seth who caught it via David: As a customer these are the experiences we crave.

• Email Practices Top Retailers Shop.Org

  betterretail

  3 Nov 2009 | 3:59 am

  Hat tip to Jason Billingsley for sharing and Loren McDonald for creating.  Presentation below…

• 
  Rekon

• ... [Flickr]

  Reckon

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm

  Reckon posted a photo: chrisweige.com | reckon.ws

• ... [Flickr]

  Reckon

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm

  Reckon posted a photo: chrisweige.com | reckon.ws

• ... [Flickr]

  Reckon

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm

  Reckon posted a photo: chrisweige.com | reckon.ws

• ... [Flickr]

  Reckon

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm

  Reckon posted a photo: chrisweige.com | reckon.ws

• ... [Flickr]

  Reckon

  14 Nov 2009 | 8:40 pm

  Reckon posted a photo: chrisweige.com | reckon.ws

• 
  Retailer Daily

• ‘The Daily Wrap’:� Gap, Dollar General, Borders

  daniel@watershed-publishing.com

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  “The Daily Wrap” offers a roundup of the day’s biggest retail industry headlines. Following are some news items you may be interested in checking out.

• Private Label CPG Dollar Results Lag Unit Growth

  daniel@watershed-publishing.com

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:40 am

  Although private label CPG goods are growing both in terms of dollar and unit sales, unit sales are growing quicker than dollar sales. According to research firm The Nielsen Company, for the four weeks ended October 31, 2009, annual private label dollar sales of prepacked, UPC-coded CPG goods grew 0.9%, from $6.5 billion to $6.6 billion. Meanwhile, annual unit sales during the same time period grew 4.5%, from 2.96 billion units to 3.1 billion units.

• Many Retailers Target States with High Unemployment

  daniel@watershed-publishing.com

  20 Nov 2009 | 10:20 am

  Although the official U.S. unemployment rate jumped from 9.8% to 10.2% in October 2009, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures indicate state unemployment rates experienced little change during the month. Interestingly, a look at new store activity for the month shows that in many instances, retail chains appear to be purposely selecting sites in states with high unemployment levels.

• Toys R Us Mobilizes Holiday Shoppers

  daniel@watershed-publishing.com

  20 Nov 2009 | 8:22 am

  Starting the weekend of November 21-22, 2009, toy retailer Toys R Us will offer mobile shopping capabilities to consumers. In addition to the mobile informational services offered by an increasing number of retailers, Toys R Us will offer actual transactional capability via mobile device.

• Penn Traffic Can Keep Operating for Now - Update

  daniel@watershed-publishing.com

  20 Nov 2009 | 7:47 am

  Regional supermarket retailer Penn Traffic has received bankruptcy court approval on a number of first day motions that will allow it to at least temporarily continue most operations as usual while it begins Chapter 11 restructuring activities.

• 
  ColderICE eCommerce Video Blog

• Google Chromium Operating System Is Now Ready, Set, Go!

  John

  20 Nov 2009 | 11:25 am

  Share this article... More » After much talk and speculation the code launch for developers is here. Now watch the fun as the development begins! Chromium OS is an open-source project that aims to build an operating system that provides a fast, simple, and more secure computing experience for people who spend most of their time on the web. Here you can review the project’s design docs, obtain the source code, and contribute. To learn more about the project goals, First, it’s all about the web. All apps are web apps. The entire experience takes place within the browser…

• Native Windows Twitter Application Released by Seesmic

  John

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:46 am

  Share this article... More »I just downloaded and am playing with this new Windows native Twitter app. It is no secret but I kind of despise the Adobe Air platform. It sucks up memory like a vacuum and has to be rebooted just to release it back. So Seesmic announced the Preview version Partnered with Microsoft, engineered for Windows and optimized for Windows 7, this preview version of Seesmic for Windows combines the best features from of our ever-popular social application and provides it to you in a native Windows environment. Fully functional with Twitter, we continue to make…

• Amazon Testing Buy Used Box on the Platform: WOW…Cha Ching?!?

  John

  19 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am

  Share this article... More »On November 17, Amazon launched a pilot program to allow select media product offers to win placement in a new feature we call the Buy Used Box. Each category will roll out over the following weeks starting with video and DVD. Wow, now you can sell used items on Amazon right on the product page! Used goods have been available on Amazon for a while, but it was a very unfriendly, dark, back of the alley, level of clicks. I would equate it to going around and knocking on the back door of a retail location to get the previously owned goods. Not all media…

• Brent Leary Guest Hosts on B.S. Walks When Money Talks

  John

  18 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am

  Share this article... More »On today’s show I had a very special guest host. One of my mentors in social media came and co-hosted with me on the show. The result was POWER PACKED, it really was a show that I am proud to have been able to do. Brent is world renown as a leader in Social CRM and blogs over at BrentLeary.com. He co-wrote "the" book on social media with David Bullock called Barack 2.0 Social Media Lessons for Business recognized by the Wharton School of Business. Dude, this is a MUST listen show, just hit start and check the show notes below! If you…

• HELP: Answer This "Quick 1-Question" eCommerce Poll

  John

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:01 am

  Share this article... More » Post from: ColderICE eCommerce Video BlogHELP: Answer This "Quick 1-Question" eCommerce Poll Related posts:Quick Question, Just Takes 2 Seconds…. Share this article...Close Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser...eBay vs. Amazon Poll Results Are In Share this article...Close Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser...Twitter Feedback Question of the Day Results 2/1/2009 Share this article...Close Bookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser...

• 
  THINKBIGBEBIG ENTREPRENEURS

• A Few Good Creative Men

  Timothy Bosworth

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:58 pm

  This is just priceless.  As entrepreneurs and business people we have to be creative at times, however thankfully the creative execution doesn’t get mixed up with the creative idea which can sometimes happen.

• Twit twoo..

  Timothy Bosworth

  20 Nov 2009 | 12:22 pm

  My latest tweets this week Google says PC will start in seven seconds or less http://bit.ly/8stSaB Secret of Business Success: most important value in the the world http://bit.ly/496pgx The F.U.T.U.R.E will be Fast, Urban, Tribal, Radical & Ethical http://bit.ly/7P1XMt @cyclehoop Cool – look forward [...]

• Why Google is bad for your health

  Timothy Bosworth

  19 Nov 2009 | 4:20 am

  There comes a time when the old modes of conduct  make way for more innovative technological advances. Google prooved to be one such organization.  The company has become that popular that they are in fact a verb. To Google refers to using the Google search engine to obtain information on the Web that did just that. If you’re over the age [...]

• 4 Ways to Gain Customer Loyalty

  Timothy Bosworth

  19 Nov 2009 | 3:56 am

  Giving outstanding service Be honest Be yourself No hard sell

• Probable Reality

  Timothy Bosworth

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:06 am

  I once heard a joke that went something like this: “A young boy comes home from school and says to his dad.  “Dad will you help me with my homework.”  The dad says.  “Of course son, what is it?”  The young boy says.  “I’ve got to find out what probable reality is?”  The dad scratches his [...]

• 
  The Forrester Blog For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

• The business case for Web sales is made on influence, not direct sales

  Brad Strothkamp

  20 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm

  [Posted by Brad Strothkamp} One area where metrics in financial services are still hard to come by is the level of influence that the Web has on sales made in a branch, by phone or via mail. This is one area where Forrester's data can help clients. Every year, we survey US and Canadian consumers on their acquisition activities in the previous year.   I just published a brief around the topic of online-influence sales. The big find?  The influence of the Web in sales is far more extensive than most expect. Just 37% of US online adults…

• A final snapshot of our Marketing Forum EMEA

  Zia Daniell Wigder

  19 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  By Zia Daniell Wigder Forgive the long post, but I wanted to make sure I captured the final sessions of our Marketing Forum EMEA for those of you who were unable to join us in London over the past couple of days. Four different Forrester analysts spoke during the eBusiness track sessions:Chad Mitchell analyzed online self-service and discussed how to increase its adoption. He showed that although there is still an overall preference for human channels the benefits of online self-service are here. Some companies are already doing a great job: For example, GEICO and Best Buy use “click to…

• On to day 2 of Forrester’s Marketing Forum EMEA

  Zia Daniell Wigder

  17 Nov 2009 | 8:27 pm

  By Zia Daniell Wigder Our events are well underway in London: We spent Monday with Forrester Leadership Board’s eBusiness Council, then on Tuesday the official Marketing Forum EMEA kicked off. You can follow some of the conversation live on our other blogs - I’ve also summarized a few of the keynotes below. Forrester’s Mary Beth Kemp delivered a keynote on Connect the Dots to Transform Marketing. In her talk, she outlined how marketers can integrate a large number of moving pieces in order to create a compelling brand experience. She compared consumers to actors and highlighted how they…

• An eBusiness Guide To Surviving the Holidays: Keeping the Lights On

  Brian Walker

  17 Nov 2009 | 1:59 pm

  By Brian K. WalkerThe holidays are now squarely upon us. While trying not to watch the Oregon State Beavers ransack my beloved Washington Huskies on television this weekend the holiday commercials were inescapable. And this was only November 16th. For many online retail teams, however, it probably feels like they have been thinking about the holidays forever. For months they have been planning and developing the content; launching features on the site; planning marketing campaigns; meeting with managers of other channels; and working with their operations colleagues to ensure everything goes…

• A Look at Next Week's Marketing Forum EMEA

  Zia Daniell Wigder

  12 Nov 2009 | 6:17 am

  By Zia Daniell WigderNext week several of us will head to Forrester’s Marketing Forum EMEA which will be held on November 17-18 in London. At this event, leading Forrester analysts will present on how companies can surpass competitors as the recession begins to recede, how companies can increase online engagement with customers, and which product and service innovations they must prepare for. This event provides a platform where marketing and eBusiness professionals can share innovative best practices, network with peers, benefit from keynotes and track sessions, and pose direct questions…

• 
  The Interspire Blog

• Interspire Email Marketer 6 Beta Available to ALL Clients

  17 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Hi everyone. Instead of a closed test we've decided to make Interspire Email Marketer 6 beta available to all existing clients, regardless of which product(s) you own.To get started just login to the client area and follow the orange notice on the main page. We're looking at a 1-2 week public beta period before release because the product is already quite stable after our 6 week internal testing cycle.The beta is encoded with ionCube so you'll need to make sure your web server has the free ionCube loaders installed. Also the beta doesn't require a license key and expires on the 3rd of…

• Photos From the BigCommerce Partner Meetup in Austin

  11 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  On Wednesday night from 5pm-7pm we held the first of many BigCommerce (BigCommerce is the hosted, fully managed version of Interspire Shopping Cart) partner events in Austin at Union Park. Judging by the attendance and interest in the BigCommerce platform, as well as the non-stop conversation and questions, I’d say the event was a definite success! Around 75 web designers and business owners attended the meetup, curious to learn more about BigCommerce and mingle with our Austin team. Chris did an excellent job running the BigCommerce demo/Q&A stand and was overwhelmed with questions,…

• [Video] Interspire Email Marketer 6 Sneak Peek and Beta Invites

  7 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Hi everyone. We're extremely close to completing Interspire Email Marketer 6, which includes surveys, dynamic content and user groups, so I thought I'd put together a video showing you the new features in action. Just click the image above to watch the 12 minute video. It's a Quicktime video so if you have iTunes installed you shouldn't have any problems watching it.As we wrap up our internal testing on Interspire Email Marketer 6 we're also looking for existing clients who would like a first look at the new features while participating in our closed beta program.Please email…

• Are you a talented Linux systems administrator? Come join our Austin team!

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Calling all talented Linux system administrators!Have you ever wanted to flex your sys admin muscle and take control of the systems powering an entire company? If you answered YES! then we have the perfect job for you... Here's why:Interspire is a leader in the ecommerce, knowledge management and email marketing spaces, with over 40,000 clients and growing. We develop software that businesses and organizations of all sizes rely on every day, including NASA, Virgin, Yale, Kraft, MediaTemple, SoftLayer and more. Here at Interspire you'll enjoy:The opportunity to build, install and support a…

• Interspire Shopping Cart Hosted (BigCommerce) Pricing Integrated With Interspire.com

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Since launching BigCommerce (the hosted version of Interspire Shopping Cart) in August the response has been incredible. As I've discussed in a previous post, both Interspire Shopping Cart and BigCommerce are being developed side-by-side and share over 95% of the same code, so we came to the conclusion that it makes sense to offer pricing for both products from our web site as well.Up until today you had to visit BigCommerce.com to see BigCommerce pricing and compare plans, but I'm happy to tell you that we've just integrated the BigCommerce pricing tightly into the Interspire website as…

• 
  AuctionBytes

• eBay Drives Traffic to Designer Sales Events with Fashion Vault

  eBay is taking a page from sites like Rue La La and Gilt.com with its new Fashion Vault marketing program. The company will feature designer fashion from "trusted sellers and designers" during 2- to 3-day sales events. Items are heavily discounted from the suggested retail price, and shipping is free in the continental United States for all Fashion Vault listings.

• New Amazon.com 'Buy Used' Program Squarely Targets eBay

  Amazon.com launched a new Buy Box - this one appears featuring used items in the media category directly underneath the regular Buy Box on product detail pages. Certain used items from Pro Merchants who use Fulfillment by Amazon are eligible to win the Buy Used Box.

• AuctionBytes Newsflash News Roundup 11/20/09

  Ecommerce news stories from around the web.

• Interview with Todd Lutwak on eBay's New Cross Merchandising Feature

  AuctionBytes conducted an email interview with Todd Lutwak, Senior Director of Seller Development of eBay, about the company's new feature launched this week. The Cross Merchandising feature has been controversial as it places ads for competitive ads directly inside sellers' listings.

• 
  Ecommerce-Marketing

• The next generation of search

  admin

  29 Oct 2009 | 2:05 am

  Google announced a new service called Social Search which shows search results from sites owned by the searchers online friends. Currently an opt-in service but widely expected to go live over the next few months it cements the need for brands to have a Twitter account, Facebook page & a decent blog. Data on a person’s social circle is pulled from their contacts in Gmail, the people they follow on Twitter, the blogs they read on Google Reader. Google has a help centre article explaining more about how it works. All the information that appears as part of Google Social Search is…

• Ecommerce & The Mobile Web

  admin

  30 Aug 2009 | 5:05 am

  In the last post, we discussed the advantages and techniques of becoming Multiple Web Browser Compatible in order to expand your business. As if designing your site to work on the many different web browsers out there wasn’t difficult enough, modern technology has thrown yet another curveball, in the form of mobile internet. Millions of people now use their mobile phones or PDA to surf the internet, retrieve email and even check their social networks. Some use these methods exclusively, and some use it in addition to a conventional computers. However, because of their sheer numbers, it’s…

• Multiple Web Browser Compatibility

  admin

  17 Aug 2009 | 8:18 am

  As online users are now using more different types of internet browsers than ever before, it is more important than ever that your ecommerce site performs consistently throughout all browsers. The good news is that the vast majority of online shoppers – over 80% – use either Internet Explorer or Firefox. The bad news is that there are over 100 different browsers and countless flavors of the Internet Explorer & Firefox. The common argument used to avoid dealing with compatibility issues is that as the percentage of people using for example Chrome is relatively low, around the 3%…

• Green Ecommerce

  admin

  11 Aug 2009 | 12:39 am

  Every day issues like environment and global warming are discussed. No surprise that shoppers are trying to make a contribution to the sustainability environmental movement in several ways. Consumers prefer to purchase energy-efficient products and appliances as well as locally-made items. More and more shoppers choose products in recyclable packaging or buy at farmer’s market. Ebay recently introduced the Ebay Green Team as a result of record number of customers choosing to buy items that could be classified as “used”, “organic”, “refurbished”, “vintage”, “sustainable”…

• How To Deal With Customer Reviews

  admin

  3 Aug 2009 | 3:52 am

  Online review portals continuously grow in popularity among users. Whether someone is looking for a new camera, shoes or a doctor: More and more users consult portals before buying. Ecommerce retailers are skeptical though, because they fear criticism of their offers and services. Despite previous fears that consumers posting honest and unfiltered material could damage sales, it has been having the opposite effect in most cases. In fact, visitors who clicked on the highest customer-rated reviews were more likely to purchase. Therefore online retailers should strengthen their presence on such…

• 
  The Return on Investment (ROI) Blog by BigCommerce

• Photos From the BigCommerce Partner Meetup in Austin

  Mitchell Harper

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:26 pm

  On Wednesday night from 5pm-7pm we held the first of many BigCommerce partner events in Austin at Union Park. Judging by the attendance and interest in the BigCommerce platform, as well as the non-stop conversation and questions, I’d say the event was a definite success! Around 75 web designers and business owners attended the meetup, curious to learn more about BigCommerce and mingle with our Austin team. Chris did an excellent job running the BigCommerce demo/Q&A stand and was overwhelmed with questions, interest and lots of “ooooohhs” and “ahhhhhhs” as he…

• The Art of Positioning – And How It Can Double Your Sales

  Mitchell Harper

  12 Nov 2009 | 5:01 am

  Yep, you sell stuff online. Cool. But who do you sell to? “Everyone who needs my products” is the wrong answer. Who really needs your products? Is it women aged 18-34 with a household income over $50,000 in a C-Level executive position or is it college students aged 17-22 with a personal income under $10,000? If you don’t know then I’ll show you how to figure it out in this post. I’m a big fan of competitive analysis – that is, finding and then investigating your competitors like you’re a spy. Learning as much as you can about their business. And…

• Connecting With Customers and Clients – Going Beyond the Sale

  Mitchell Harper

  12 Nov 2009 | 4:27 am

  You’ve got an online store, sure, but what does that tell your customers or clients about YOU, the person? Yes, you “sell” “stuff” during the day, but what do you do when you’re not in the office or warehouse? Do you travel? Do you have hobbies? Do you like teaching others? Whatever you do, you should find a way to connect your hobbies or interests to your customers so they can become a part of your inner circle. “Why would I want to mix my personal and professional lives?” I hear you ask. Well, people buy from people, not companies. It…

• [Video] How to Reduce Your Visitor Bounce Rate

  Mitchell Harper

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:21 pm

  The bounce rate is one of the most important metrics you can track for new visitors to your website. You might have heard the term “bounce rate” in the context of email marketing but that’s not what I’m talking about. When it comes to tracking visitor quality of your online store, the bounce rate is a measure of how many people leave your website and never come back after viewing just one page. In this video I’ll explain how you can track your visitor bounce rate, how you can see the bounce rate of your competitors and some strategies you can use to reduce your…

• Partners: join us for the BigCommerce launch party on Nov 11th in Austin, Texas

  Mitchell Harper

  26 Oct 2009 | 6:41 pm

  Between 5pm and 7pm on November 11th we’re having a special launch event for current and potential BigCommerce partners – web designers, developers and agencies in Austin, Texas and we’d really like it if you could attend. You’ll get to meet the team, see a demo of BigCommerce, learn more about our reseller program, network with like-minded individuals and most importantly have a great time. Oh, and there’s complimentary food and drink too. The launch event is on Nov 11th from 5pm-7pm at Union Park in Austin, Texas. It costs nothing to attend but spaces are…

• 
  Elias Interactive » Blog

• Sorting Data from Custom Fields in WordPress

  Luke Whitson

  17 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  With the redesign of the Ei Site, we wanted to take advantage of certain features native to WordPress, one of which was Custom Fields. We wanted a simple way to display our client list using Custom Fields. Using built-in WordPress functions, it is pretty simple to pull information from Custom Fields. With Custom Field structure like this: Name: client Value: Name|Work_Done|Description|URL You can use the get_post_meta() function to loop through all of the ‘client’ fields and pull the value for each and display to your page. ORIGINAL CODE: <?php $allOptions =…

• How the Symphony Will Help You Lead Your Business

  Josh Colter

  12 Nov 2009 | 9:08 am

  I took my wife to the symphony last week. We found our seats while the orchestra warmed up. Chaotic notes filled the air as musicians practiced and tuned their instruments. Music disappeared into silence when the conductor took his place on stage. The first chair violinist played a steady note and soon other sections joined in to create one harmonic sound. Now silence. Here’s the best part. My favorite moment of the night: The conductor raised his baton. And beautiful music begins. But don’t lose sight of the start. Think about it – over 100 highly trained professionals work…

• Quote: If you pretend to be something you’re not…

  Josh Colter

  9 Nov 2009 | 6:18 am

  If you pretend to be something you’re not, [your customer] will see through it. Then what have you done? You’ve lied to those who would have loved you for who you are; that’s not how you build a relationship… Should you come off as a big, established, safe company or as a cool, passionate, small team who wants to make a difference? … Be human. Stop hiding. Be yourself. - Jason Cohen Share/Save

• A Balance To Be Kept

  Lee Taylor

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm

  Let’s face it, there are more and more freelancers and small technology businesses sprouting up these days (incredible). For all of us, time management hits close to home as the freedom that we have becomes a blessing and a curse at the same time. I reflect on this after just taking an entire day off this week (my teammates were worried about my general sanity and workload, and forced me to do it ). I planned it out with my teammates, communicated expectations with clients, and ensured deliverables were delegated in a way so that this decision would still allow me to be responsible.

• RSS Feed Design Example

  Josh Colter

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:03 pm

  I am always trying to figure out how we can improve. Earlier this week our team released this site’s new design. Content has been and will continue to be a major focus for Elias as we serve our customers and the Magento community. Our blog is the primary delivery mechanism for this content and thus the number of people who subscribe to receive regular updates via RSS is valuable to us. Today I found Jason Cohen’s blog, which provides a great example of inviting the reader to opt-in via RSS feed or email. Take a look: This invitation is located in the upper left hand corner of…

• 
  E-Commerce and Shopping Cart Blog | 3dCart

• There’s a New Sheriff in Town – Google Chrome OS

  Robert Muise

  19 Nov 2009 | 1:17 pm

  Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks” and “most of the user experience takes place on the web.” That is, it’s “Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel” with the web as the platform. It runs on x86 processors (like your standard Core 2 Duo) and ARM processors (like inside every mobile smartphone). Underneath lies security architecture that’s completely redesigned to be virus-resistant and easy to update. What this means, is that with this…

• 5 Ways to Turn Window Shoppers into Buyers

  Robert Muise

  19 Nov 2009 | 12:03 pm

  This holiday season, each and every visitor to your online store is a crucial opportunity for revenue. With the economy in its current situation and many of Americans dealing with unemployment or other financial burdens, you’ll have to make sure that you do everything you can to convert window shoppers  into buyers. Here are 5 things that you can do to your online store that should have a direct impact: 1. Category Cleanup – Deleting empty categories will cut down on the clutter and remove any frustrations your shoppers will feel by coming up empty when browsing for products.

• Download Microsoft Office 2010 Beta

  Robert Muise

  18 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  “Windows: Wanna give Office 2010’s online document syncing, Windows 7 taskbar integration, and killer quick steps a go? Microsoft has thrown open the doors on a free beta of Office 2010 Professional—for those who can wait out the download. As with the Windows 7 beta and most Microsoft offerings, this one requires grabbing a license key, registering or signing in with a Windows Live/Passport account, and fighting it out with the many others trying to grab the download from the servers. The download is 684 MB, and Microsoft is suggesting users uninstall previous versions of Office…

• Baconsalt.com Introduces Mmmvelopes

  Robert Muise

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:20 am

  One of our most creative and interesting clients, baconsalt.com, has released 2 innovative and exciting new products. Mmmvelopes So, after thousands of years and kajillions of horrible tasting envelopes licked, we’re happy to report that J&D’s Bacon-Flavored Mmmvelopes™ are here to save the day. No longer will envelopes taste like the underside of your car. You can enjoy the taste of delicious bacon instead. That’s right, bacon. It’s not real bacon, mind you, so you won’t have to start storing your envelopes in the refrigerator. But it really does taste like bacon. Which is…

• SEO: Duplicate Content Penalty is a Myth!

  Robert Muise

  18 Nov 2009 | 3:59 am

  One of our forum users, tstamplis, posed a very good question: I’ve been setting up my store and very impressed with 3dcart I must say! One potential problem I notice though is in using the custom file function where you can create a custom file name for the URL. When I use a custom file for a category, I noticed that the category can be reached via the new filename as well as the old! I’m no SEO expert, but I’m pretty sure if the same page exists in two url places, that’s a no-no! My original response was this: Actually, its perfectly fine. This snippet is from…

• 
  ClickBank Pirate

• 29 Oct 2009 | 8:59 pm

  Ben

  29 Oct 2009 | 8:59 pm

• Get Traffic that CONVERT to $$$$

  Ben

  27 Oct 2009 | 8:40 pm

• Social Media Revolution

  Ben

  24 Oct 2009 | 9:13 am

• Life is About Choices and the Decisions We Make

  Ben

  11 Oct 2009 | 10:46 am

  Life is like a road. There are long and short roads; smooth and rocky roads; crooked and straight paths. In our life many roads would come our way as we journey through life. There are roads that lead to a life of single blessedness, marriage, and religious vocation. There are also roads that lead to fame and fortune on one hand, or isolation and poverty on the other. There are roads to happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards victory and jubilation, and roads leading to defeat and disappointment.Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in life. Perhaps the…

• Need To Expose Your Product To Thousands Of Potential Customers?

  Ben

  7 Oct 2009 | 1:14 pm

  Do you have an innovative and exciting online product? If you're sitting on something that you think could become an online cash cow, but are unsure of how to market it, you're in a situation that every entrepreneur has seen before. Whether you're unsure of how to approach the market, worried about a suitable price, or just curious about whether anyone will actually buy your product, picking a marketing strategy and running advertising can be a stressful and difficult experience. However, by using some simple tools and strategies for online advertising, you can expose your product to…

• 
  The Official LexiConn Blog

• The Proper Care and Feeding of a First Time Buyer

  Rob Mangiafico

  18 Nov 2009 | 8:04 pm

  I came across a recent blog post by Kevin Hillstrom titled “The Most Important Time in a Customer Relationship” that I found to be quite interesting. Kevin analyzed the data (life table analysis) for many large ecommerce stores and found that: 40% of customers will ever purchase again — and within the first three months, half of the 40% place their subsequent order. His findings lead to this statement: …the most important time in a customer relationship is the three months following a first purchase. If this holds true in a majority of cases, then it is imperative that…

• Cyber Monday Ecommerce Checklist – Check It Twice

  Rob Mangiafico

  16 Nov 2009 | 8:15 pm

  With the hyped up Cyber Monday (Black Monday) online shopping bonanza day fast approaching (the Monday after Thanksgiving), here are a few things to check (19 in this list) on your ecommerce website to make sure you’re ready to capture as many sales as possible: 1. Check for security warnings (SSL errors) Make sure your SSL secure checkout pages do not have *any* security warnings. Reference a previous blog post where we cover this in more detail. The dreaded security warning 2. Test website in at least Firefox and Internet Explorer At a minimum, you will want to view your website…

• Fave LexiConn Tweets – Nov. 1 – 14

  Rob Mangiafico

  14 Nov 2009 | 9:35 am

  Here are a few select twitter “tweets” from the past two weeks that we liked… RT @palmerweb: How to “get personal” with your customers – http://bit.ly/3JPsXz … Ten Great Ecommerce Ideas for November 2009 – Practical Ecommerce – http://bit.ly/3dMeNi #ecommerce (good tips!) Always a great source of ideas. … RT @MktgExperiments: What else can I test… to improve email clickthrough rate?: http://bit.ly/QfUrL (me: good advice) Very in-depth look at ways to make your newsletters shine and get people reading! … Reading…

• AddThis Share with Facebook Passing Title, Description, And Thumbnail Image

  Rob Mangiafico

  11 Nov 2009 | 9:10 pm

  AddThis.com is a website service that allows webpages to easily share their content with many social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc… This service is now integrated into the ShopSite ecommerce software in the latest version 10 Service Pack 1 (SP1) release. One of the more popular sites to share with is Facebook. However, people looking to share a page / product on Facebook may not get the title, description, and thumbnail image pre-populated as you would like. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to insure that visitors clicking the share link to post your page…

• How Many Steps Are Optimal For Customers To Complete An Ecommerce Purchase?

  Rob Mangiafico

  10 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am

  This question is one that does not have a clear cut answer (although there are lots of opinions, even mine). Factors that affect what is an optimal number of steps to complete a purchase online include the type of industry the merchant is in, and the average number of dollars spent per customer. Let’s take a look at what a few other ecommerce blogs think… Some say Three is the magic number From the GetElastic.com blog, What is the number of pages in the checkout process?, this post shows that their survey in 2007 found that three steps was the optimal number from the cart to the…