  | News about digital retail commerce |  |
| Top Story |  |  | | - Mobile shopping dollars doubled this year, report says
The percentage of shoppers accessing retailers via their mobile devices doubled from 9% to 18% from April to December, and their purchases represented 3.74% of total sales in December compared to 1.87% nine months earlier, according to a report from RichRelevance. Fully 90% of mobile browsing and buying happened on Apple gadgets, and iPad and iPhone shoppers spent 19% more than Android users. AuctionBytes (12/22)       | See how Cardmembers use American Express OPEN Cards to help run their business:
“I use my Business Card on all of my company’s shipping costs because it helps us save more money for the business.” -Anis Lacerte, Anais Corp
With The New Business Gold Rewards Card, you can earn 2X points on your shipping purchases.
LEARN MORE & APPLY |
  - Easy return policies pay off for online retailers
Free shipping on returns has paid off for online shoe seller Zappos and, while it's a model that likely won't work for most small merchants, creating simple, easy-to-understand return policies can go a long way toward persuading shoppers to buy, says FreeShipping.org's Kendal Perez. "You want to make sure that the information consumers need is easily accessible, so they can find it quickly." eCommerce-Guide.com (12/21) - India's online retailers are in hiring mode
India's online retailers have nearly doubled their staffing levels this year and plan to continue growing in 2012 as e-commerce booms. "The pace of growth is crazy, and we need more hands to enable e-commerce. By December 2012, I will hire an additional 1,000 people," said Snapdeal.com COO Rohit Bansal. The Economic Times (India) (12/20)  | Make 2012 the year your customer community delivers
Pluck powers social commerce initiatives for companies like Redbox, Whole Foods, Kraft, Nestlé and the NFL. It includes ratings, reviews, forums, galleries, contests, profiles, reputation and more. Our Community Results Blueprint shows you how to capture these brands’ tangible Engagement, Conversion and Advocacy results. | - Does a Facebook "like" mean customers really like you?
More than half of marketers say that the chief meaning of a Facebook "like" is to signal that they enjoy the content in question, and 41% said that "liking" a brand indicates a desire to communicate with that brand, according to a study by CMO Council and Lithium. Meanwhile, one-third of marketers said that a "like" means customers are seeking incentives or rewards for engagement, and 27% said customers were seeking exclusive events or discounts. eMarketer (12/21)  | Consumer expectations surpass retailer realities. Cross-channel shopping is the new norm: 54% of consumers regularly employ two or more channels before they make a purchase. 20% expect to redeem the same coupons and promotions in stores and online. Download the full results to understand consumer cross-channel expectations. |
 - Amazon's LOVEFiLM signs content deal with Sony
Sony Pictures Television is the latest studio to strike a deal with Amazon-owned LOVEFiLM to stream movies and TV shows. LOVEFiLM has similar content deals with studios including Walt Disney and Warner Bros. The U.K. company lets users watch on about 175 gadgets, including computers, Sony PlayStation and Apple iPad. InternetRetailer.com (12/21) - U.S. takes Baidu off "notorious markets" list
The U.S. government took Baidu, China's biggest search engine, off its "notorious markets" list of companies that help foster counterfeiting and online piracy. The move came after the company reached a settlement with record companies this year that includes paying royalties to the owners of copyrighted music sold on its social site. Bloomberg Businessweek (12/21) 
| Shop.org Spotlight | | | | - Looking for talent? Find the best and brightest at Retail's BIG Show
After last year's wildly popular event, the NRF Foundation will again be hosting a Retail Talent Networking Luncheon and speed networking activity. Retailers and recruiters are invited to join the event held in conjunction with Retail's BIG Show in New York City on Jan. 15. Executives from Brooks Brothers, Chico's, The Container Store, Five Below, Kohl's, Macy's, Saks, Sears, and Toys R Us have already confirmed their spots -- don't miss out! Learn more. - Shop.org SmartStat: Dec. 22, 2011
 Of those who own tablet devices and plan to shop for holiday items this year, 1 in 5 will seek out group buying sites. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch - When retailers will report monthly sales in 2012
NRF's 4-5-4 calendar serves as a voluntary guide for the retail industry and ensures sales comparability between years by dividing the year into months based on a 4 weeks/5 weeks/4 weeks format. The 4-5-4 calendar also establishes sales release dates, which have historically been on the first Thursday following the month's end. NRF has released calendars for 2012, 2013 and 2014. View the calendars.
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