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Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on February 24, 2010
How do you create excitement and exclusivity online, when a click of a button seems to find any product any time? One way is with invitation-only, limited-time events. Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on February 10, 2010
New e-tailer ThoughtfulGuy.com, brought to our attention by The Digitel Charleston, isn't just another shopping site. For one thing, you can't actually browse any products. Users must sign up or sign in to use the service, then answer a list of questions about their prospective recipient (any woman in their life, from girlfriend to mother-in-law) and her taste, as well as her age, occupation, and the shopper's prospective price range. (On the latter, if the sky's not the limit, it's close -- up to $100 still covers only the extreme far left of the slider.) He selects the holidays he wants gifts for... and that's it. Thoughtful Guy will email him suggestions closer to the day, which, if he ap...Read More
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on January 15, 2010
It seems counter-intuitive: If the advantage of online shopping is that you can save gas and skip crowds, and the advantage of in-store shopping is that you can see the product in person, why would anyone shop online, in-store? But increasingly they do, according to eMarketer.com. One reason is the other big advantage of in-store shopping: help from a sales associate. “Said Grau, “Retail professionals generally agree that most customers do not want to bother figuring out how to use kiosks and to search for a specific item online.” That means sales floor personnel need to be trained and encouraged to help shoppers look online for out of stock items, more sizes or colors, or more information. This is also a way to expand your selection without ordering addit...Read More Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on December 16, 2009
A survey of online retailers' delivery options by multichannel logistics specialist iForce found that less than 10 percent of retailers offer customers the option of choosing between a.m. and p.m. delivery slots and even fewer, only 6.9 percent, offer evening deliveries. Although the study focused on the U.K., the issues apply to U.S. retailers as well. Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on December 9, 2009
Newly launched Zippla.com lets shoppers search for local offline bargains by zip code. If there aren’t any matching retailers in a given zipcode, the site will suggest 10 other zip codes in the vicinity and prompt the user to search in one of them. Retailers pay a monthly fee of $100 that allows them an unlimited number of Twitter-style posts. Each post, known as a "zipple," can be up to 151 characters and can be used to promote sales, special offers and more. Each zipple will include the retailer's name and street address. Businesses can track the success of their campaigns by offering promotions unique to Zippla.com. For retailers, it offers the advantage of exposing their store to new potential customers in their target audience: local residents who are interested in their category...Read More Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on December 2, 2009
Got a coupon? Just show the cashier your phone. Google is enabling local retailers to display coupons for in-store use on mobile devices of Google-searching users. Retailers can create and upload a coupon using Google’s Local Business Center. But now, in addition to being able to print it out and bring it in, consumers searching on Google.com using a mobile device (AKA smartphone) will have access to the coupons ...Read More
Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on November 23, 2009
Keynote Systems is offering free Web and mobile site monitoring for any one week period now through January 1, 2010. Online retailers can choose to monitor their Web and mobile sites from over 240 worldwide locations. Keynote will provide free ‘on boarding’, which includes the creation of monitoring scripts and the setup of daily performance reports and alerts. Keynote is also offering a complimentary on-site meeting to review a retailer’s Web infrastructure and performance issues. Email marketing service Campaigner is giving away free downloadable templates and tools for holiday email marketing. The “Holiday in a Bag” tools include holiday email templates and graphi...Read More Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on November 5, 2009
iContact is making a list, but it's up to you to check it twice to see if your email promotions are in good shape for the holidays. In addition to common mistakes to avoid, such as sending without tracking, they offer pointers for maximizing success such as eliminating “ghost subscribers”who stop reading but don’t unsubscribe. Easiest to implement of all, check out the list of the top 10 best dates to send holiday emails for 2009. Believe it or not, it includes two dates AFTER Christmas.
Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on November 3, 2009
Practical E-Commerce's new blogger Darpan Munjal offers a list of online retail do's and don'ts, all simple and none high tech or expensive, that can increase the number of sales that actually go all the way through to completion. Not to mention making the shopping experience easy and pleasant for customers, and thus building loyalty. As a consumer I have experienced every single one of these headaches first hand, and I bet you have too.One clever tip I never thought of is to ask customers if they'd like to register AFTER they check out, not before. Another is providing an arrival date instead of just a ship date. Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on October 26, 2009
Before you’ve had time to finish reading this sentence, almost half of online shoppers will have given up on a retail website that hasn’t loaded. Two seconds is all they’ll wait before 40 percent abandon the site, according to Forrester Research. That’s half the time people were prepared to wait three years ago. This can especially be an issue for retailers using Flash, Java and other technologies that allow a lot of interaction but may slow sites down. Site monitoring company Keynote Systems points out the importance of monitoring site performance from the same geographic locations from which the majority of customers arrive at their site, and using the same Web browsers most of them are using. ...Read More
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on October 8, 2009
Sears has more of a reputation for solid value than chasing the latest trend. But when it comes to online retail, Sears Holdings Corp. is breaking new ground – or at least following fast on the heels of those who do. The company is expanding its online marketplace to include outside merchants on Sears.com, a move also recently undertaken by Walmart.com and of course, long a feature of Amazon.com’s business strategy.According to Internet Retailer, Sears soft launched the marketplace last fall when it redesigned Sears.com, but says it is now moving into full production and is actively looking for more business partners. Sears will charge a monthly fee of $39.99 and take a commission of 15 to 20 percent depending...Read More Industries: Retailing
Posted by Virtual Merchant Today on September 24, 2009
Facebook has opened its Gift Shop to a handful of outside retailers, according to Internet Retailer. The social media giant is testing the waters on allowing third parties to sell both virtual and physical goods to its 300 million users without them ever having to leave Facebook. The four merchants (developers in Facebook-speak) who are participating in the alpha test are all tied to the gift industry: American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, Someecards and Real Gifts. Customers shop with Facebook credits (10 for a dollar), which had previously only been used for virtual goods. Facebook takes a percentage of each sale, but declined to comment on the fees associated with the test. A spokeswoman says Facebook may open the program up to other retailers this month. G...Read More Industries: Retailing
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