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  | News about digital retail commerce |  |
- Amazon enters the daily-deal arena with a LivingSocial stake
Amazon has invested $175 million in fast-growing daily-deal site LivingSocial. The news was announced amid rumors that Google plans to acquire coupon provider Groupon. LivingSocial plans to use the investment, along with an $8 million infusion of venture capital from Lightspeed Venture Partners, to expand worldwide. Reuters (12/2)        | What retailers can teach etailers
They are two different worlds, but etail can still learn a lot from retail. Learn 4 key mistakes that make etailers lose out big on sales, and the solutions that even a corner store retailer knows by heart. Ensure your online store really is open for business! No registration required: watch the video now! | - Luxury-goods companies search for Chinese consumers online
 Emporio Armani has led the way in tapping into a broader cross-section of Chinese consumers by opening online sales via its own website. China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for luxury goods as well as one of the biggest markets of Internet users. "This is a strategic move that will open up luxury to the entire nation," said Federico Marchetti, founder and CEO of Yoox, which developed the retail website for the Giorgio Armani label. The Wall Street Journal (12/2) - Customizable tools add excitement to e-commerce fashion sites
A growing number of online apparel and accessories merchants have been adding new features designed to make the shopping experience more personal. Examples include Blank Label, which lets customers have a hand in designing their shirts, and Bergdorf Goodman, which allows shoppers to confer with friends by e-mailing product pages. InternetRetailer.com (12/1)  | FREE Forrester Research Report: What Every Exec Needs to Know About the Future of eCommerce Technology, compliments of Adobe. From shopping in Facebook to mobile purchases, this indispensable guide covers all the key emerging eCommerce technologies to help you make the right technological investments for your online business. Download the report. | - Is social media giving holiday e-commerce sales a boost?
Social sites such as Facebook drove less than 5% of Black Friday traffic to the top 500 e-commerce sites, according to Hitwise. The small percentage may reflect an ongoing reluctance to use social communities for strictly marketing purposes, but building relationships and cultivating customer reviews and referrals may pay off in the long term -- several online merchants said that shoppers who came to them through social referrals were much more likely to buy. Practical eCommerce (12/2) - Gazaro alerts Best Buy shoppers about post-purchase price cuts
A startup called Gazaro has built a system to alert Best Buy shoppers when a product they've purchased under a price-protection plan goes on sale. The company expects to expand the service to other merchants that offer to refund the difference on certain products if the store cuts the price within a certain number of days after the sale. CNET/Rafe's Radar (12/2)  | Supercharging the Online Channel
Getting to the right shoppers and then converting them to buyers in your online store is every retailer's key objective. Short purchase windows, impatient buyers, and new mandates around security are creating unprecedented demands on commerce sites. Learn how to attract customers to your site, optimize their online shopping experience and drive more transactions. Watch the webinar NOW! |
 - Groupon will let merchants post their own deals
Groupon unveiled a feature this week that will allow merchants to post their own group-buying bargains rather than wait months to be featured as Groupon's deal of the day. Groupon Stores will let participating retailers and restaurants post as many deals as they want as often as they want and keep a larger percentage of the revenue from each Groupon sold. CIO.com (12/1) - EBay acquires Milo.com to assist in-store shoppers
EBay announced Thursday that it has acquired Milo.com, a search engine that has developed software to provide real-time inventory tracking at the local-store level. Information from Milo is expected to begin appearing on eBay's pages and mobile applications during the next year as the e-commerce giant seeks to meld its online and in-store shopping offerings. The Wall Street Journal (12/2)  | You may be considering a cloud computing solution or in the midst of specifying one or even implementing a solution. Read this paper to see what IBM discovered about how companies like yours are adopting, implementing and using cloud computing solutions. Learn about the current rate of adoption, drivers, barriers, and considerations that are influencing the adoption of cloud computing. |
| Shop.org Spotlight |  | | | - 3 new (and complicated) product safety regulations to watch
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has set new safety standards that have created significant problems and confusion for retailers and manufacturers. In a recent blog post, NRF Vice President of Supply Chain Jon Gold details three specific rulings that are causing confusion as retailers struggle to comply. Gold writes, "It is critical for retailers to fully understand what is required under this comprehensive and oftentimes confusing law so as not to end up with products which could be subject to a costly recall." Read more. - Shop.org SmartStat: Dec. 3, 2010
 More than a quarter of consumers plan to use their smartphone to research or make holiday purchases. Source: NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch - Ann Taylor, The Home Depot, HSN and YUM! Brands execs talk mobile strategy
There is no "one size fits all" strategy for a successful retail mobile integration. Retailers need to consider everything from mobile payment to in-store operations to geolocation data. At Retail's BIG Show in New York City, Jan. 9 to 12, IT executives from Ann Taylor, The Home Depot, HSN and YUM! Brands will help decipher the intricacies of successful mobile integration. Learn more.
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