Best Buy's cloud-based music service expands to U.S.

Reading this on a mobile device? Try our optimized mobile version here: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/cXaYCaiGapCagSggCidagdBWcNqIdg

June 20, 2011 Sign up Forward Archive RSS Feed News about digital retail commerce   Top Story    States see Internet sales tax as key to budget woes Cash-strapped state governments across the country are looking to Internet sales taxes as one solution for refilling their coffers and restoring teachers and other services that have taken a beating since the recession started, but the revenue has proven tough to collect. Online retailers including Amazon support a federal initiative to streamline sales tax collection as a workable alternative to a patchwork of state laws. San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)/The Associated Press (free registration) (6/19) WEBINAR: Drive Real Revenues with Social Commerce Join us for a free webinar featuring Forrester Research, Inc. on June 28 at 1 PM EDT to discuss how you can unleash the power of Social Commerce to drive revenue growth. Presenters include Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research and John Mulliken of private event retailer Joss & Main. Register today!   Online Retail Trends  Brands use flash sales to drive traffic to online stores Traffic spiked at Saint Parfum's website the day after flash-sale site One King's Lane sold its $55 candles for $25, and luxury brand makers are finding that similar sales on sites including Gilt Groupe and HauteLook are more than just a way to sell off their overstocks. "It's really becoming less about dumping inventory and more about shining a spotlight on a new or existing brand," said marketing strategist John Gerzema. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (6/19) 3 ways that ConAgra went social to build relationships ConAgra Foods' portfolio includes disparate brands such as Orville Redenbacher, Healthy Choice and Slim Jim, so social media chief Genevieve Mazzeo has had to learn to tailor her strategies to different brand identities. To achieve that, Mazzeo hires community managers with personalities and other attributes that make sense for the brand in question, and uses community-monitoring techniques to gauge the success of social campaigns on a brand-by-brand basis. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media (6/20) Report: Privacy fears will keep consumers from m-commerce Mobile commerce is likely to hit $31 billion by 2016, but consumer privacy fears and merchants' concerns about an unproven channel are likely to limit m-commerce expansion during the next five years, according to a report from Forrester Research. Of consumers surveyed, 45% said they would be more likely to shop via mobile if their phone numbers could be kept private, and 44% said they'd purchase more if mobile payment services were more secure. InternetRetailer.com (6/17), The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/Bits blog (6/17) The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN Spending power for your business. Premium benefits for you. Access a portfolio of 30+ premium benefits, including: • Membership Rewards® points that pay for flights, hotels, and more • 24/7, 1-on-1 Concierge for help with your life and your Business • Complimentary Airport Club Access Business Platinum Card APPLY NOW   New Media & Technology    Naratte software might speed shift to smartphone transactions Naratte is expected to introduce technology called Zoosh, which upgrades smartphones to handle transactions at store checkout. The system, available to shoppers through download, requires no additional hardware and uses ultrasonic sound to allow an exchange of data between handsets that are inches apart. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (6/20) Sway Group plays matchmaker with mommy bloggers, brands Sway Group is a startup founded by former Edelman digital executive Danielle Wiley that matches mommy bloggers with PR agencies looking for placements for their brands. Sway doesn't charge marketers for its services -- its fees are paid in commissions by its blogging roster -- and pledges to ensure work dovetails brands and conforms to Federal Trade Commission regulations. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (6/20) 2 Banners That Used Gaming to Drive Engagement Make your online ads more engaging and they'll become more effective. This report will show you how to: • Leverage in-banner rewards, competition and more • Dramatically increase your banner's quantifiable impact • Take advantage of new ad unit formats and technologies • Deliver on ever-increasing consumer expectations   Hot Topics  Top five news stories selected by Shop.org SmartBrief readers in the past week. Study: Only 20% of deal buyers return to pay full price (ClickZ) How video can boost your site's traffic and sales (Practical eCommerce) Amazon is among the top in customer service, survey finds (Chicago Tribune) Macy's and other U.S. merchants explore global e-commerce (Investor's Business Daily) Tips on getting the most from SEM (MediaPost Communications) Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.   Companies in the News  Best Buy's cloud-based music service expands to U.S. Best Buy is expanding a U.K. cloud-based music service to the U.S. My Music Anywhere, which lets users listen to their music on a variety of devices, aims to compete with cloud offerings from Amazon and Apple. Bloomberg Businessweek (6/17) Carrefour builds platform to enable online shopping in India France's Carrefour is developing an information technology platform to facilitate online shopping in India. Subhodip Bandyopadhyay, a director at Carrefour, said the platform is being created while "keeping in mind the Indian IT growth story and tech-savvy business establishments all over India, particularly in National Capital Region." The Economic Times (India)/Press Trust of India (6/19) Will Groupon learn from others' mistakes in China? For Groupon to succeed in China, it can't repeat the mistakes of eBay and other U.S. companies that failed to adapt the business model to the countries various cultures, industry experts say. "A restaurant owner in another province won't even understand what a salesperson from a call center in Beijing is saying, the accents are so different. It would be the equivalent of having someone in Paris call," said Jack Jia of GSR Ventures. GigaOm (6/19)   Remote town in India changes its name to SnapDeal A remote rural town in northern India that has electricity only two hours a day has changed its name to SnapDeal as a thank you to the Indian daily deal site that installed 15 pumps that mean residents no longer have to walk miles for water each day. The company's next project: computers for the village. WDIV-TV (Detroit)/CNN (6/18)   Featured Content    When Big Companies Go Back To School, Will Small Businesses Benefit? Anita Campbell 5 More Handy Web Apps To Save You Time At Work Matt Silverman How To Sell On Twitter Without Ticking Off Your Followers Katie Morell 4 Gigantic Companies That Started From Nothing Kim Bhasin The Business Advantage Of Dying Before 2013 Barbara Weltman   Interactive Advertising  Advertising is absent on popular children's social sites Social websites for children are popular and profitable but not because of advertising, as wariness about who should have access to children online puts watchdogs on alert and causes sites to be extra cautious. "Believe me, we get asked to incorporate branding and advertising all the time," said Rebecca Newton, chief community and safety officer at Moshi Monsters, one of the hottest children's sites. "But it's complicated." Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (6/20)   Shop.org Spotlight  Serve with the best and brightest in digital retail Want to network and idea-share with the best and brightest in the industry? In a recent blog post, Interim Executive Director Joan Broughton shares quotes current Shop.org Board members from Onlineshoes.com, Ice.com, Demandware, Forrester Research and JCP.com on why they’re a part of this elite group -- and why you should consider nominating yourself for a coveted spot. Read more. Shop.org SmartStat: June 20, 2011 Two out of five retailers surveyed are either just developing a mobile strategy or have none at all yet. Source: Shop.org’s 2011 State of Retailing Online survey   Home Depot, REI, Southwest Airlines, Under Armour attending Online Merchandising Workshop Online executives from Home Depot, REI, Southwest Airlines and Under Armour have already reserved their spot at Shop.org's Online Merchandising Workshop, July 11-13 in San Diego. The Workshop, which focuses on tactics and best practices for improving online merchandising efforts, will include sessions on cart abandonment, mobile customer experience, and how to leverage video in a meaningful way. See who else is attending. Learn more about Shop.org -> Website  |  Events  |  Research  |  Shop.org Blog  |  Join Shop.org   SmartQuote  We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." --Stevie Wonder, American singer and songwriter   This SmartBrief was created for cpgbrokers.data@blogger.com   Subscriber Tools       Update account information | Change e-mail address | Unsubscribe | Print friendly format | Web version | Search past news | Archive | Privacy policy Grab our News Widget Publish your Press Release   Advertise Senior Account Director:  Dena Malouf (202) 407-7837 Download Media Kit       Recent Shop.org SmartBrief Issues: Friday, June 17, 2011 Thursday, June 16, 2011 Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Tuesday, June 14, 2011 Monday, June 13, 2011     Lead Editor:  Megan Conniff       Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005     © 1999-2011 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information