Summary of eRetailing Features | |
Hunters and Gatherers in the online world | As personalization engines aim to deliver one to one marketing, we look at the shopper and shopping habits. |
Designing online stores for Gatherers | Practical steps retailers can take to attract and convert shoppers in Gatherer mode. |
Synonym Fog: How online retailers are hiding merchandise from shoppers | As online shoppers become more experienced they will make increasing use of an online store's search engine. What happens when the engine gives the wrong message? |
Pure-Play strategies for survival | The online retailing world is looking more and more like an episode of "Survivor" |
Applying Predictive Technology | Predictive technology is often used to predict patterns of behavior or events. One application for this technology is in the area of predicting customer behavior to help optimize marketing programs for online retailers. |
Market Trends 2001 | Predictions for the eRetail landscape in 2001 |
Customer Retention Tools: Wish Lists and Gift Registries | Wish lists encourage shoppers to return to their favorite online retail sites on a regular basis. Wish lists are also a powerful and effective tool for viral-marketing. |
Online Shopping Satisfaction Slips | While more Internet users shopped for and purchased holiday gifts online this year than they did in 1999, nearly one-half reported at least some dissatisfaction with their online shopping experience. |
Amazon.com delivers on Christmas Day, but at what cost to the customer's nerves? | Amazon.com shipped over 31 million items between Nov 2nd and December 23rd. A special arrangement with the USPS enabled the company to complete deliveries even on Christmas Day. Despite getting 99% of items out on time, the company showed signs of reduced customer service...... |
Returns Policies | Return policies can make the difference between a satisfied shopper and a frustrated ex-customer. In our recent mini-eRetail Scorecard report (2000-11), we analyzed the return policies on the websites of traditional retailers and Internet only retailers. In particular, we looked at four key criteria....... |
Old vs. New | Traditional brick and mortar retailers with close links to their online operations have significant advantages over pure Internet retailers; the ability to leverage their physical stores to boost online sales, and their substantial resources to sustain and build their online operations. There are signs the more advanced retailers are learning how to leverage their physical advantage. |
CRM, CCA & eRetail Business Objectives | Customer relationship management, or CRM, is the "hot" technology right now. But beyond the hype, CRM is more of a business process than a single technology. This article introduces the concept of a Customer Centric Architecture, or CCA; a subject covered in detail in the 2000-10 report. |
Valuing Customer Time | How much value should e-Businesses put on their customer's time? |
Market Forces Continue To Shape The eRetailing Industry | WalMart quietly closes its doors on its online site while it remodels, Priceline's founder admits defeat in the grocery and gasoline markets, Toys"R"Us abandons its website to ally itself with Amazon, and Nasdaq investors appear very cautious around once hot Internet stocks. What does it all add up to?
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Online Options For The Small Retailer | Small retailers have plenty of choice when it comes to developing an online store, but not all choices are well suited to flexible merchandising. Click here |
The Micro Community | A look at why a focus on profitable customers might be shortsighted. Click here |
Top Ten Golden Rules of Enterprise Technology Selection | The most important rules are sometimes the most obvious and also the most often overlooked. Click here |
Technology Enabled Re-Engineering (TERE) | Process re-engineering is expensive and time consuming. TERE offers a realistic alternative. Click here |
Lessons From The Front: Ashford.com on Marketing | In the latest report to look at the marketing strategies of leading eRetailers, we examine how Ashford.com is segmenting its market and getting to know its customers. As a result, Ashford.com enjoys one of the highest average order values of any online retailer. Click here. |
The WOW Factor! | Companies that will win online must master The WOW Factor! |
Rich media in eRetail: Can technology simulate the real world? | In the 2000-8 report we examine leading rich media technologies and how they can be used to recreate the feel of a real store in an online environment. Discover how rich media can be used to increase customer retention and merchandise products more effectively, click here. |
Top 10 Rules | Top Ten Rules For Online Customer Service Etiquette |
Amazon.com and toysrus.com are having a baby. | In a move that took the industry by surprise, Amazon.com and toysrus.com announced in August that they will jointly create new co-branded online stores selling toys and baby products. |
Retail Exchanges: What you need to know | According to AMR Research, the typical cost of executing a purchase order with a traditional paper-based process totals $130. AMR found this figure drops by 82% when using an exchange type of procurement system. The 2000-7 report on retail exchanges, click here. |
Are manufacturers becoming retailers? | As more manufacturers embrace the Internet as a new sales channel, it may become increasingly difficult to differentiate manufacturers from online retailers.....click here |
Small retailer review: STRATA - a one-store, small-town retailer | STRATA is an example of a small, single-store retailer bringing an eclectic mix of products online using rudimentary e-commerce tools. |
Marketing Strategy | Pure-play online fashion companies have been struggling to find their audience over the past few years. With the increasing number of brick and mortar retailers now opening online stores, these companies will find it increasingly difficult to survive. |
New Study Confirms eRetailNews Opinion on eRetail Profitability | A recent study by McKinsey and Salomon Smith Barney has confirmed opinions voiced by eRetailNews and by many other industry observers: that the most viable online business model relies upon sales through multiple channels. Click here for details. |
Profitable eRetailing
| “Profitability, when you work at an established company, is an expectation and a requirement. It is not optional.” With so much concern over online retailers these days, it is refreshing to see there are many companies doing well in the online world and making a profit. |
Can eRetailers benefit from Retail Merchandising packages? | This is the question eRetailNews addresses in the 2000-4 report. Taking a look at the key components of a Retail Merchandising Solution and highlighting the leading contenders in the market. The report also includes recommendations from ERN Consulting on selecting a solution. |
Technology case study | In the 2000-4 report eRetailNews examines how Toysmart CIO, John Puckett, was able to build a complete eRetail technology architecture in 16 weeks - only to have it blown away when Disney shut the doors on the company! |
Microsoft Takes Stake in Xerox E-Commerce Spinoff; ContentGuard | Companies Collaborate to Offer Secure Internet Management and Distribution of Copyright Material, Greater Freedom for Publishers. Full release - click here |
Is Internet Retailing Doomed? | The Wall Street Journal included a front page story in April on how Internet Retailer, Pupule Sports Inc., has found it increasingly difficult to raise the financing to get their business off the ground. The market has shifted as investors begin to worry about seeing a return on investment......This story looks at the future of Internet Retailing. |
C³ Commerce Cubed Strategy.How to wow customers and keep them coming back | C³, or Commerce Cubed, is a customer retention strategy encompassing three essential components required for successful e-commerce web sites in the 21st Century. To survive in this new era, online companies need to have an effective C³ strategy. This issue of eRetailNews examines the three components of a C³ web site. We will also introduce the leading tools available to eRetailers to quickly implement a strong C³ strategy, and we will look at some of the sites using these tools today. |
Mini Profiles | Check out our mini site profiles of two C³ Award winners: |
Mini Study | Lehigh Safety Shoes and EasyAsk Natural Language Search Engine Lehigh Safety Shoes had been selling safety shoes over the web for some time when EasyAsk approached them last summer to prototype a new natural language customer assistance program. |
SPAM - Are eRetailers spamming customers? When is direct marketing really Spam? | Many consumers are frustrated at the volume of unwanted emails flooding their inboxes every day. With the increased use of email marketing, eRetailers should consider what customers perceive as spamming (unwanted emails), and how to avoid being labeled a spammer. The answer lies in effective “opting-out”. |
Taxing the InternetRead the story | In the past few years we have witnessed tremendous growth of the Internet economy, partly because many states have a policy of excluding pure Internet companies from sales tax. Once again we are faced with the prospect of States levying taxes on Internet sales in the United States. |
Fogdog Sports delivers service by managing a complex fulfillment network. | Fogdog Sports has its roots in a web development company that was founded in 1994. The company turned to Internet retailing in the form of SportSite.com in early 1998, and launched Fogdog Sports in November 1998. Today Fogdog Sports is one of the leading sports retailers on the Internet, and an expert in outsourcing fulfillment services. The company has built a network of partners to supply and distribute its broad selection of products..........click here |
Affiliate management | |
Are consumer over exposed to dot com companies? | The run up to Christmas 1999 was extraordinary for the eRetail Industry and not just for the huge growth in online sales . The weeks before Christmas saw a huge increase in the amount of TV and radio advertising from eRetail companies and other high tech ventures trying to get a share of the online consumer. In fact, there was so much advertising in the US that dot com fatigue began to set in and consumers were left bemused by so many dot com messages. Faced with all the confusing messages, the big winners are the well-established brands. Click here to read the story |
| 1999-12 | Cameraworld.com reinforces customer service as market differentiator. Click here |
| 1999-12 | Getting the marketing right at SharperImage.com. Click here |
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