Retailers Chasing “Bottom (Line) Feeders”

In addition to slack sales and dwindling customers, many retailers are also now being faced down by savvier consumers who are shopping for — and finding — the lowest possible price. But there are steps that store owners can take to regain the upper hand, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Journal offers eight suggestions for retailers to stay one step ahead of today’s smarter buyers, including using technology tools to discourage those who take unfair advantage of promotions, bundling products to enhance pricing, and other similar methods. For... 

Knowing What Your Customers Want

One of the most reliable methods for retailers to gain an understanding of consumer tastes is tracking the spending habits of customers. This is especially true of online retailers, many of whom are able to directly follow exactly how visitors interact with their sites. They can see when visits took place, what was clicked, what was purchased, how much time and money was spent, and much more. They also record the choices that indicate the particular preferences of each customer, which enables them to make customized product recommendations. Many... 

Total Retail Sales Grow; E-Commerce Sales Grow Faster

Online retail sales jumped 14 percent in the first quarter of 2010, according to an AdWeek report citing U.S. Census Bureau estimates. That would total $36.6 billion dollars in e-commerce sales by U.S. online shoppers in the first three months of the year. AdWeek also reports that total online retail sales should grow a projected 12.7 percent over all 12 months of 2010, to $152.1 billion. Somewhat more conservatively, ComScore, an online metrics and digital marketing company, reports that for the first quarter of 2010, e-commerce sales rose 10... 

Online Retailing, On-Site

It’s common knowledge that Internet shopping is more popular than ever, and e-commerce has transformed retailing as we know it. But more and more, retailers are now taking the idea one step further, or rather, integrating it with their brick-and-mortar presence. Welcome to the world of on-site online retailing. The idea is that if store customers cannot find what they are looking for in the actual store, they can then be directed to in-store kiosks at which they can order directly from the store website. Although this phenomenon is starting... 

Online Storefront Solutions

The Intersoft Group helps independent retailers and distributors avoid the pitfalls that can befall so many when trying to go online with sales. As an alternative to companies without the experience, using software that the client can control, the Intersoft Group provides them with a seasoned partner, and has been doing so since the 1990s. Intersoft does all the work–but the clients also get to own the license to their own online store. “You’re going to invest a tremendous amount of time and effort into this system, so rather... 

Google to Start Selling E-Books

At an event held earlier this week called “The Book on Google: Is the Future of Publishing in the Cloud?” Google’s manager for strategic-partner development Chris Palma announced that the search engine giant would be entering the e-book arena come this summer. Google plans to open it’s e-book store, Google Editions, and enter into direct competition with companies such as Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Google plans to make the e-books it will offer available for viewing on a variety of devices, reported to include... 

U.S. Supreme Court to Rule on Costco Copyright Infringement Case

In a development that could have significant repercussions for online independent retailers and other discount stores, the Supreme Court has agreed to come to a decision regarding the copyright infringement suit brought against Costco Wholesale Corp. by The Swatch Group’s Omega SA unit. The suit comes as a result of Costco’s reselling of luxury Swiss watches procured from third-party sources. “[This ruling] could have a detrimental effect on the ability of buyers and sellers of secondary-market goods to engage in commerce in the... 

Twitter Introduces “Promoted Tweets”

Marketing via the popular social networking service Twitter comes with a bit of a caveat. The problem has been that the very nature of Twitter’s ongoing feed means that any individual tweet only remains at or near the top of a user’s page for a relatively brief amount of time, depending on how many other users they follow. Twitter may be a great tool for short-term and last-minute marketing, but so far it’s been a challenge to create any sense of permanence to the messaging. But that may be changing now, with the announcement... 

Online Chat a Useful Retail Tool, According to New Survey

A new survey conducted by e-commerce technology provider Bold Software has provided some interesting points to ponder regarding the usefulness of online chat to e-tailers. As part of the findings, 82% of respondents indicated that a live chat session had a positive effect their opinion of that merchant. Additionally, a full 68% said they were more likely to purchase from that retailer again in the future. Bold Software surveyed more than 1,000 American Internet shoppers last January. The company release the following five conclusions as part of... 

Marketing Survey Reveals Common Concerns

Retail marketing can be a tricky business, especially for independent retailers. And that’s not made any easier by the abundance of channels and platforms in today’s multimedia world. A recent survey conducted by research company Unica seems to indicate that worrying about measuring results and increasing effectiveness is pretty much universal. The results of the survey show just how preoccupied marketers are with integrating marketing channels and turning the accumulated data into action. Concerns include the allocation of marketing... 

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