  | News about digital retail commerce |  | | |  | - On the verge of a virtual payment world
The sale of Facebook credits at Target stores and the fast-growing online world of virtual gaming point to the fact that virtual currency is on its way to becoming a universally accepted method of payment, writes professional marketing speaker and author Bryan Eisenberg. As an example, Eisenberg points to former Shop.org Executive Director Scott Silverman's startup, which allows retailers to provide Facebook credits as part of marketing promotions. ClickZ (10/8)       | 5 Tips to Boost Conversion Rates with Reviews
Customers trust reviews — take advantage of this content. Register for this free white paper to learn how to maximize your use of ratings and reviews in the customer experience. These simple techniques will help you increase conversion rates and order sizes with every visit to your site. | - Online retailers look to custom ad programs to boost revenue
Online shopping continues to grow, and a growing number of e-commerce merchants are creating custom advertising programs to boost revenue. The keys to success include understanding how consumers use e-commerce sites to research before they buy and identifying the right third-party media expert to handle advertising while merchants focus on selling. E-Commerce Times (10/9) - Shopping shifts from pastime to downtime
The advent of online retail is spurring a shift in shopping habits among consumers who can now log on and snap up a few items in between meetings rather than setting aside hours for a trip to the mall, writes Inside Retailing's Jon Bird. The trend means merchants must be at the ready with mobile apps and SEO strategies that allow consumers to find -- and buy -- their products. Inside Retailing Online (10/11)  | Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation in Electronics: In many industries electronics fuel innovations. They enable the creation of a new class of smarter products that are instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent. With these innovations come many challenges. Download this webcast from IBM and learn how to address these complex challenges throughout the product development lifecycle. |
 - Study says mobile phone use varies by country
According to a new report from comScore, mobile phone users in different countries are employing the device for very different reasons. Among the firm's findings is that Americans tend to use their cell phones to connect to social networks while Europeans do more texting and Japanese do more shopping with the device. InternetRetailer.com (10/8) - Tools that take your Twitter experience to the next level
Twitter is a great social network, but the service is pretty bare-bones, writes Jesse Stanchak, who is lead editor of SmartBrief on Social Media. "Twitter is the Yugo of social tools -- it can take you wherever to need to go, but there aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles," he writes. Fortunately, there are plenty of third-party applications, including polling widgets, monitoring services, follower-management add-ons and other handy extras, that can streamline your experience and extend the platform's functionality. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (10/6)  | Deliver only what matters the most: relevance.
Precision Marketing lets you apply data-driven relevant messaging to build targeted, highly effective communications across all marketing channels: print, email, online, retail and more.
Click Here to Learn More |
  | Hot Topics |  | | | Top five news stories selected by Shop.org SmartBrief readers in the past week. - Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.
| Companies in the News | | | | - PayPal users quickly adopt iPhone deposit app
IPhone-toting PayPal users deposited more than $100,000 in checks by phone in the first 36 hours after the new function went live, PayPal reports. Users photograph the front and back of a check and send it along for electronic deposit into their PayPal account. USA TODAY (10/8) - Zappos chief aspires to emulate Virgin's Branson
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh says his plans for the Amazon-owned company include more diversity of services along the lines of the strategy that drove Richard Branson's Virgin brand. The online retailer, best known for its shoes, is pushing further into fashion with expanded clothing offerings designed to propel Zappos to $5 billion in annual revenue. Forbes/Reach & Relevance blog (10/10) - Apple is said to be mulling iTunes subscription plan
Apple reportedly is negotiating with the top music labels to create a monthly subscription plan for iTunes. Still to be worked out are the fees, which could range from $10 to $15 a month; the amount of music users may download; and the amount of time users can have access to the music. Apple did not comment for this story. New York Post (10/8)
| Interactive Advertising | | | | - Twitter gets serious about ad sales
Last week, Twitter added three new advertising avenues, signifying that the giant social media site is getting serious about attracting ad revenue. Promoted accounts allow companies to pay to suggest Twitter users follow their free accounts. In addition, ads are now available on Twitter apps, and the company plans to launch a self-serve tool for local advertisers next year. The New York Times (free registration) (10/10) | Shop.org Spotlight | | | | - Online retail sales see solid growth during third quarter
More than half of retailers surveyed saw more than 10% growth during Q3, according to a recent Shop.org survey conducted by Forrester Research. "Online channels continue to be generally resilient, and this gauge for Q3 bolsters cautious optimism for the upcoming Holiday season," said Fiona Swerdlow, Shop.org's Head of Research. View the survey results. - Shop.org SmartStat: Oct. 11, 2010
 Almost two in 10 consumers use nontraditional payment methods to protect themselves from fraud or information misuse. Source: Shop.org survey conducted by Javelin
| SmartQuote | | | |  | Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America."
--James Joyce,
Irish writer,
quoted for Columbus Day in the U.S., Oct. 11, 2010  |
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