Ecommerce News: Online Shoe Sales Grow, Inventory Management & Online Fraud Prevention

by Elana Birnbaum - April 10th, 2012 3:38 pm

Is Ecommerce a Perfect Solution for Retailers that Sell Shoes?

According to new figures released in January of 2012 by IBISWorld, shoe sales are predicted to grow to $7.8 million, generating a 16.3% increase in online sales over the past year. IBISWorld industry analyst, Brian Bueno, noted that, “The industry has grown furiously for more than a decade as consumers increasingly shift purchases online. Every year, more than 100 million Americans purchase goods from the online retail marketplace, one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.”

The rapid growth of online shoes sales can partially be attributed to the rapid success of Zappos.com, which was sold to Amazon in 2009. The customer-centric business model has created a climate that attracts online shoe shoppers, and with this new data, more business owners with brick and mortar stores are expanding their market reach by using ecommerce solutions to create an online store that will give their customers better and more convenient purchasing options.

Source: http://www.dailydealmedia.com/456ecommerce-is-a-perfect-fit-for-shoes-say-retailers/

Tips for Retailers when Buying Inventory Management Software

Inventory management software is a very effective tool that many interactive agencies use to ensure that their inventory is properly maintained. When selecting an inventory management software program, there are two broad-based solutions that ecommerce retailers can use: a program that integrates into an existing warehouse management and stock control system or an all-inclusive system that includes both warehouse and stock control features. Online vendors can evaluate the benefits to each of these services before deciding which type of program will integrate best with their existing inventory management system. Vendors may also choose to rework their current inventory management mechanisms to incorporate a more streamlined, efficient system with inventory management software.

Source: http://www.zippycart.com/ecommerce-news/what-to-look-for-when-buying-ecommerce-inventory-management-software.html

SEO Strategies and Link Building Tips for Online Stores

Quality link building is an essential ecommerce service for online businesses that want to gain better placement with the search engines and increase their rankings. According to Richard Baxter of SEO Gadget, online vendors can increase links to their pages by creating amazing product pages, ingenious products, embeddable images and videos, ‘accidentally’ listing the wrong price, evaluating competitor’s link building activity, and incentivizing users with rewards. Among the other recommendations, Baxter also suggests creating instructographics, a variation of the popular infographic. By using these tips and creating shareable content and product pages, online stores can naturally increase their link building opportunities.

Source: http://www.stateofsearch.com/link-building-seo-strategies-for-e-commerce-smx-munich/

MasterCard Launches New Tool Designed to Predict Ecommerce Fraud

MasterCard is now introducing a tool known as “Expert Monitoring Fraud Scoring for Merchants,” which helps to mitigate the risk of online fraud or theft on an ecommerce website. This new tool is designed to help improve the quality of information provided about card behavior. By analyzing each card, the new tool produces a predictive fraud score for transactions that completed when a card is not physically present. The results are measured in real time, and merchants are now able to detect fraudulent transactions more accurately with the introduction of this new tool by MasterCard. With the Expert Monitoring Fraud Scoring tool, merchants will be able to evaluate a card’s transaction history over a longer period of time to more accurately predict whether the transaction will be fraudulent.

Source: http://www.sunherald.com/2012/03/28/3847576/mastercard-introduces-new-tool.html

Shipping Options Stifling Ecommerce Growth in Australia

Australia’s post delivery has been stunted by occasionally slow and inefficient parcel delivery options that have pervaded shipping companies across the country. Merchants are faced with a limited number of shipping options, and this has suppressed the growth of ecommerce in Australia, according to a recent report. The percentage of people that have complained about shipping cost and time has increased significantly from 50% to 55% in the last year on eBay. Customers have also noted that tracking needs to be improved as well as shipping cost and fulfillment times. According to Carl Hartmann of Ternando, an online logistics company, “The reality is, there is not a single provider that can offer best pricing across the board.” Ecommerce solutions that incorporate the lowest shipping costs and best processing times will be the most popular in Australia moving forward.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/pricey-ponderous-deliveries-hindering-ecommerce-growth-20120328-1vyty.html

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 at 3:38 pm and is filed under Ecommerce, International, Search Engine News, SEO.

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