Tips for prepping your e-commerce site for Cyber Monday

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November 9, 2011 Sign up Forward Archive RSS Feed News about digital retail commerce   Top Story    Target aims to iron out site glitches ahead of the holidays Target's website has crashed six times since the company launched the revamped site. As it strives to improve the online experience ahead of the holidays, Target and other merchants that have made similar moves face challenges hiring top talent from a relatively small pool of highly skilled engineers, says Forrester Research's Sucharita Mulpuru. Bloomberg Businessweek (11/9)      Live Webinar: All Hands on Deck for the 2011 Holiday Season: Ensuring Operational Readiness during the Final Stretch -- Tuesday, November 15th, 11:30am ET Forrester Research Analyst Peter Sheldon will guide you through a final audit of the 2011 online holiday season. You’ll hear practical and timely recommendations for making sure your team is 100% prepared and focused on success. Hosted by Demandware. Register Now.   Online Retail Trends    Following up with shoppers who abandon their carts Only 18.7% of the top 500 online retailers send follow-up e-mails to shoppers who abandon their carts before checking out, but that's a 42% increase since January, according to Listrak, which says the most successful follow-up campaigns include multiple e-mails. "About 50% of the revenue from these e-mail programs comes in the second or third messages," said CEO Ross Kramer. InternetRetailer.com (11/8)      Tips for prepping your e-commerce site for Cyber Monday Make sure your e-commerce site is uncluttered, double-check that you have got sufficient bandwidth and tailor your content to your local niche, expert Jim Silverman advises smaller online merchants hoping for a Cyber Monday rush. The average consumer plans to do 36% of their holiday shopping online this year, according to NRF. TheStreet.com (11/8)      Stronger economy, safer sites drive e-commerce growth in India Online retail in India is forecast to grow to $1 billion by 2015, driven largely by a stronger economy and stricter regulations aimed at reducing fraud, says Tradus.in President Rahul Sethi. Mobile phones, computers and other technology are the products Indian consumers buy most online. Business Standard (India) (11/9)        John Jantsch shows you how to win at the local marketing game. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing gives five strategies for helping any local business to stand out online in this exclusive offer to SmartBrief readers. Download your free white paper from American Express OPEN, How to Win at the Local Marketing Game.   New Media & Technology    Survey: Retailers digital priorities may shift in 2012 Retailers plan to increase their digital marketing budgets next year, and some are likely to shift some resources from paid-search and e-mail campaigns to SEO, social media and retargeting efforts, according to a survey from Bronto Software. Multichannel Merchant (11/8)      Other News What department stores can teach luxury brands about mobile marketing Luxury Daily (11/8)      Consumer Insights Your Brand Needs to Know: Latest Trends in Behavioral Advertising Learn what brand managers, advertisers, as well as networks, agencies, and publishers need to know about consumer survey insights into behavioral ad serving, also known as interest-based advertising. Learn more today!   Companies in the News    Gilt Groupe expands flash sales to 90 countries Flash-sale site Gilt Groupe has expanded its operations to 90 countries and said it will also offer its luxury men's site Park & Bond internationally starting next month. Also, in December, customers around the globe will be able to buy from Gilt using their mobile devices. TechCrunch (11/8)        AmEx to invest in digital-commerce startups American Express is seeking to diversify beyond its credit card business by investing $100 million in early-stage digital-commerce ventures. The company plans to focus on startups in areas including mobile and online payments, loyalty and rewards programs, and fraud detection. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (11/8)      Japan's Rakuten will pay $315 million to acquire Kobo Rakuten of Japan agreed to acquire Canadian e-reader maker Kobo. The acquisition is the latest move among international companies to position themselves in the growing e-reader and tablet market. Other companies have been launching products to compete against Apple's iPad. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (11/9)      Other News Richard Branson invests "multimillions" in Square Reuters (11/8)      Amazon to sell Kindle at Virgin Megastores in France Reuters (11/8)      Starbucks app makes holiday cups come to life Mashable (11/8)      Improve Holiday Sales Results with Tools from Akamai! Now is the perfect time to ensure your website will hold up to the rush of holiday shoppers headed your way. With the challenges facing retailers this holiday shopping season, it's never too soon to focus. Download Akamai's Holiday Toolkit now!   Featured Content    Are Small Businesses Really Saving Our Economy? Katie Morell 5 Ways To Make Small Business Saturday Work For You Debbie Kuehn- FedEx Small Business Team How Instagram Can Help Spread Your Beverage Brand's Message Todd Wasserman Why Customer Engagement Is Just As Important As Customer Service Rick Jensen Web Software Companies Give Large Enterprise Power To Small Businesses Shel Israel   Interactive Advertising    Retailers ring in the holidays with new apps Wal-Mart and Apple stores are among the retailers that are rolling out new mobile apps aimed at spurring holiday sales. Wal-Mart's new iPhone app lets shoppers add to their holiday shopping lists by speaking, typing or scanning, and Apple unveiled a new app that lets users order on their mobiles and pick up items at the store. Smartphones and tablets are "indispensable tools" for many consumers, said NRF's Mike Gatti. "They allow you to shop wherever and whenever you want." USA TODAY (11/8)      GREAT HAPPENS IN threes AT HYATT. 3% REBATE. TRIPLE HYATT GOLD PASSPORT® BONUS POINTS. COMPLIMENTARY INTERNET. Book your qualifying meeting by 12/31/2011 and hold by 3/31/2012 to take advantage of this special offer. To book your next meeting, contact your Hyatt Sales Representative and reference offer code REWARDS or go to hyattmeetings.com/REWARDS.   Legislative & Regulatory  Retailers turn up the heat on sales tax issue Brick-and-mortar retail interests and major online retailers have beefed up their federal lobbying efforts on both sides of the issue as Congress prepares to consider three separate bills that would allow states to begin requiring online retailers to collect sales tax. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (11/7)      The Buzz(CORPORATE ANNOUNCEMENTS) Move ahead of your competition this holiday season with the strategic insights offered in "The Ultimate Guide To Optimizing Your Website For Holiday Traffic," a new eBook from Monetate, the next-generation platform for website testing, targeting and personalization. Interested in learning more about advertising with SmartBrief? Click here for detailed industry information and media kits.     Shop.org Spotlight  Why Internet domain expansion could cost more than brand identity This January, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will begin accepting applications for new extensions of generic top-level domains from the familiar .com, .org and .edu and will allow brands to turn their names into Internet extensions. If you're part of a retail organization that conducts business online, now is the time to learn exactly how these changes will impact your brand. Shop.org's Artemis Berry shares the top five things you need to know to prepare your legal, e-commerce, and branding teams for the switch. Read more. Shop.org Blog (11/1)      Shop.org SmartStat: Nov. 9, 2011 Holiday shoppers who shop in multiple channels will spend 22% more this year than people who shop only in stores. Source: Shop.org's 2011 eHoliday survey        Cabela's, Michael's and Henri Bendel are hiring Shop.org offers a jobs board for people looking for positions in e-commerce. Recent postings include an Internet product manager at Cabela's, an e-commerce analyst at Michael's, and a director of e-commerce at Henri Bendel. Shop.org member companies are invited to post jobs for free. Visit the jobs board.      Learn more about Shop.org -> Website  |  Events  |  Research  |  Shop.org Blog  |  Join Shop.org   SmartQuote  Get action. Seize the moment. 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