 | News about digital retail commerce |  |
- Behind the scenes at LivingSocial
 Tim O'Shaughnessy, CEO of the fast-growing local-deals network LivingSocial, has a strong appetite for risk. He staked all the company's cash on advertising and marketing to attract users to LivingSocial, effectively reducing his company's "burn rate" to six weeks. O'Shaughnessy told NPR, "If you're not making at least one decision a month where you are genuinely nervous about it, you're probably not trying hard enough." National Public Radio (text and audio) (1/18)        | Webinar: The Future of Interactive Marketing
Join GSI Commerce and Shar VanBoskirk, a guest speaker from Forrester Research, Inc., to explore the state of interactive marketing, how current trends will drive opportunities, and what marketers can do to take advantage in 2011.
Download the recording now. | | Spotlight on Social Commerce |  |  | | |  | - Delta embraces Facebook as a selling tool
 Facebook and other social networks have rapidly become vital brand marketing and customer-service channels, but merchants only now are beginning to explore Facebook's utility as a selling tool. Delta Air Lines has embraced the "F-commerce" trend with a page that allows customers to book flights without leaving the social-networking site. The company says it's careful to keep selling and social separate because of concerns that too many sales pitches could turn off prospective customers. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (1/18)  | What will social marketing look like in a year? Get the Social Commerce Trends Report, a guide that reveals insights from social's biggest gurus, including digital pioneers Douglas Rushkoff and Mitch Joel, and industry-leading brands like Urban Outfitters, Dell and Google. Download now. | - Top 5 mobile retail sites
Mobile websites that are always up, make shopping easier and add value with coupons and other promotions will become more important this year, with more than half of consumers expected to use their smartphones for some retail purposes, according to research from ForeSee Results. Advertising Age ranks Amazon at the top of its list of five favorite mobile sites, followed by Crate & Barrel, J.C. Penney, REI and Target. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (1/17) - M-commerce trickles down to smaller merchants
The number of mobile sites is growing rapidly, and a trend that began with giants like Amazon and eBay is beginning to trickle down to small merchants. BasketLady.com's mobile site was an afterthought added when the basket company's e-commerce developer offered to throw it in free last year. The site, which optimizes the retailer's website for mobile users, has resulted in $3,000 in new sales. InternetRetailer.com (1/17)  | Get the free Coverity Scan 2010 Open Source Integrity Report featuring the Coverity Software Integrity Report for the Android Kernel. Coverity has been testing code in open source projects since 2006. In 2010 Coverity analyzed over 291 projects and 61 million lines of code. The 2010 report shares everything found — from security defects to what could be shipping inside Android devices. |
 - Interactive window-shopping system in the works
Developers in Germany built a prototype of an interactive system to allow window shoppers to manipulate images to get a better look at the products they're thinking of buying. The setup uses a 3D camera system and image-processing software to create the new shopping experience, which would let shoppers complete purchases without entering stores. ScienceDaily (1/17)  | Health care reform got you down? Learn more from UnitedHealthcare on how the federal changes to medical benefits will affect you and your employees. This comprehensive guide highlights incentives for enrollment and a timeline of important dates and deadlines. Don't let them pass you by—Learn more here! |
 | Companies in the News | | | | - EBay Canada urges consumers to sell unwanted gifts
EBay Canada and its classifieds site, Kijiji, are trying to persuade consumers to list unwanted Christmas gifts for sale. The company's research reveals that about 40% of consumers received at least one gift they didn't like, but less than 10% would consider selling the item for cash. The survey also lists some of the worst gifts ever, including an open fruit basket and a used diary. AuctionBytes (1/18) - Groupon CEO says sorry to Japanese consumers
 Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason posted a video apology to Japanese consumers on YouTube for a New Year's meal promotion gone wrong. Many customers who ordered New Year's meals via the site received the meals in poor condition or late. Groupon also provided refunds to disappointed customers, many of whom publicly expressed their anger online. ABC News/The Associated Press (1/17) - Amazon adds nearly real-time report for third-party sellers
Amazon launched a report designed to give Fulfillment by Amazon's third-party sellers nearly real-time sales-performance data. The report does not include identifying data for customers but offers more insight into which items are selling and aids in mitigating spikes in order volume. AuctionBytes (1/17)
| Interactive Advertising | | | | - Paid search ended 2010 on strong note
The U.S. search ad spend in Q4 increased about 36% for all marketers and about 37% for retailers, compared with the comparable quarter in 2009, SearchIgnite reported. For all of 2010, search budgets increased about 19% from the previous year. Google's control of U.S. paid search rose to 82.6% in Q4, while the tandem of Bing-Yahoo! dropped to 17.4%, according to SearchIgnite. MediaPost Communications/Online Media Daily (1/18) | Shop.org Spotlight | | | | - Shop.org SmartStat: Jan. 18, 2011
 Just 3% of adults 18 years and older cite blogs as a top way that they find an online shopping website. Source: Shop.org's 2010 eHoliday survey. - Calling all foodies: Free regional dinners coming to a city near you
Shop.org's free, retailer-only regional dinners are heading to Boston, Los Angeles, Austin and Minneapolis this spring. Take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy a great meal at a local restaurant and network with other e-commerce executives in your area. Spots fill up quickly -- register soon to ensure you don't miss out! Learn more.
| SmartQuote | | | |  | A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push."
--Ludwig Wittgenstein,
Austrian philosopher  |
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