Research Shows Younger Generation Prefers Safari and Chrome over Internet Explorer

Forbes Magazine and the Ars Technica technology news source has indicated that based on recent studies, Internet Explorer is regaining momentum as the most popular web browser in the world. Although according to other studies by LiveIntent, a web agency that places millions of dollars in advertising through email alerts and newsletters, says that the younger generation under 35 years of age prefers to use Safari and Google Chrome over Internet Explorer. The data also shows a lot of mobile Internet activity, which indicates that the younger generation is also very active on their mobile devices whether they are using the Android or iPhone.

Source: http://www.internetretailer.com/commentary/2012/05/04/people-under-35-prefer-chrome-and-safari

More than 33% of E-Retailers Deliver a Superior Web Experience

According to a study from ForeSee, online consumers give Amazon.com the best ratings as far as customer satisfaction. On a scale of 100, the mega-popular online store scored an 89, which indicates very high satisfaction with the customer experience on Amazon. ForeSee also measured the satisfaction scores of the other top 100 e-retailers. While Amazon had the highest satisfaction score, 36 out of the 100 online vendors scored better than 80 out of 100. Apple Inc. and QVC were the next two top scorers with 85 points each. By utilizing the latest technologies and innovations, the top 100 online vendors are putting in place ecommerce strategies that have improved customer satisfaction and the web browsing experience significantly.

Source: http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/05/09/more-third-e-retailers-deliver-top-experiences

Google’s Algorithm Updates Shine Light on Scoring, Freshness, and Authority

With two Google Panda updates, a Penguin update, unnatural link warnings, and a parked domain issue, Google has launched more than 50 updates to their algorithm in the last year. In many cases, Google is not always transparent about exactly what their changes entail, and it is difficult to know which change has impacted websites in the past month. According to Google, ‘more authoritative results’ will be displayed which likely means that strong link profiles will play a significant role in ranking websites. Google will also be ranking based on ‘freshness’ factors, which includes how Google interprets fresh content and posts to a website. Companies are now revamping their online marketing initiatives to drive more traffic and increase their Google rankings.

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2173275/Authority-Scoring-Freshness-Signals-Among-Googles-April-Algorithm-Updates

Smartphones: The New Babysitter

Mothers are finding that mobile devices are a great way to keep kids entertained, and they are being increasingly used to help mothers keep bored kids busy. New research suggests that mothers are sharing their mobile devices with children as young as 1 year old. Research also states that 39% of Internet using moms pass their children their mobile devices to keep them engaged and entertained. Only two devices are used more frequently to keep children entertained in the car: the Nintendo DS and the car DVD player. Mothers also frequently share their iPad, iPod, and laptop with their kids, and the CEO and founder of Mom Central, Stacy DeBroff, says that mothers are ‘raising digital natives.’ This could affect ecommerce strategies, as online vendors make their website more family and user friendly for mobile devices.

Source: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1009031

Multi-Platform Social Media Accounts a Favorite of Ecommerce Vendors

Ecommerce vendors are utilizing social media marketing campaigns that take a multi-platform approach to diversify their Internet marketing strategies and boost their online success. By interacting on several social media profiles, businesses are targeting certain segments of their audience by actively participating in social media platforms that appeal to different types of people. According to a study by Campalyst, 97% of businesses maintain a Facebook page, while 96% also have an active Twitter account. 90% of businesses are now using video marketing to create content on the most popular web-based video platform.

Source: http://www.brafton.com/news/top-ecommerce-vendors-favor-multi-platform-social-media-marketing-campaigns

1)      Will online retail sales finally exceed their B&M counterparts in the near future?

2)      Optimizing your company Twitter account

3)      Anand Subramaniam insight on enhancing online customer experience

4)      Define your businesses value proposition to increase awareness, loyalty & authority

2012 Ecommerce Sales Forecasts

Interactive retail stores have been shaking the foundations of conventional retail stores for years, but this question remains: how much of the market share will the ecommerce sector command in 2012? Is there a natural ceiling for online sales or will ecommerce eventually overtake physical retail sales as a percentage of the retail industry? Experts predict that online sales may soar to 15% -20% of the overall retail industry, and while it is unclear how the next few years will impact brick and mortar stores, ecommerce has certainly become a power player in the retail industry.

Source: http://www.insideretailing.com.au/IR/IRnews/The-magic-number…-4866.aspx

Is Twitter an Effective Social Marketing Tool for Your Businesses?

In some circles, Twitter is hailed as an excellent medium for business owners looking to promote their products and services, but in other ways, Twitter seems to not stack up as well to Facebook and the new virtual pin board site, Pinterest, in terms of driving sales. However, online vendors can still utilize this wildly popular social networking site to release deals to their customers, promote special offers, and drive more traffic to their website. As an ecommerce strategy, Twitter can help promote your website and sell products and services, as long as calls to action and special promotions are used in the company’s tweets.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3510-Using-Twitter-to-Promote-Your-Ecommerce-Products

Insights from eGain’s Anand Subramaniam on Improving the Customer Experience

In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Anand Subramaniam answered some very pointed questions as they pertain to ecommerce businesses and ecommerce website design. Anand pinpointed certain problems that are arising with ecommerce websites, despite the fact that he calls the industry ‘white hot’ and projects that online sales will hit nearly a trillion dollars in 2012. He discusses shopping cart abandonment and how businesses can revamp their shopping model to encourage a better user experience and increased sales. “Ecommerce sites need to make it easier for the customer to buy by making it easier for customers to find, decide, and complete their purchase transactions,” he says when discussing how online vendors can correct this problem.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesinsights/2012/05/04/forbes-insights-qa-with-egains-anand-subramaniam-on-ecommerce-and-the-customer-experience/

Defining Your Ecommerce Company’s Value Proposition

As an ecommerce business, it is essential that the company’s point of differentiation be stated as a value proposition to the customer. Whether the proposition is to provide the lowest prices, the highest quality products, or the best customer service, defining a value proposition will help customers understand the best reason to shop with you instead of with someone else. By engendering trust and loyalty through meeting the expectations that you set forth for your clients through the value proposition, ecommerce business owners can increase brand awareness, improve brand loyalty, and establish themselves as an authority in their industry. When defining your company’s value proposition, merchants should ensure that the proposition is in alignment with their business model and demonstrates the best aspect of their company to the customer.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3516-What-s-the-Value-Proposition-of-Your-Ecommerce-Company-

Gil Levy Presents: Latest Trends in Ecommerce

Gil Levy, Founder & Managing Partner, presented at the event and spoke about various ecommerce solutions and the latest trends in ecommerce including five common, yet rapidly evolving areas:

• Social Commerce
• Mobile Commerce
• Enhanced Media
• Personalization
• Segmentation

ECP's Gil Levy at INSIGHT 2012

INSIGHT 2012 focused on the benefits of BlueCherry and Leadtec technology, including improved planning and execution across an entire product lifecycle. BlueCherry is a leading Supply Chain Management System which assists businesses in demand management, sourcing & manufacturing, distribution & compliance, and financials & business intelligence. ECommerce Partners works closely with BlueCherry in integrating their system with various ecommerce websites.

New Buzzword for Online Retailers: Social Gifting

In an effort to leverage the social media mega trend, ecommerce vendors are now looking at social gifting as a driving force behind increasing sales and exposure. Social gifting allows customers to purchase gift cards for their friends on Facebook, and this gives online retailers a new, more efficient method to promote their business and drive sales. With Wrapp, a start-up company based in Sweden, people can run an app on their mobile devices that allow Facebook friends the opportunity to purchase gift cards for each other from retailers that have joined the community. The online marketing cost is very low, and since customers end up buying more upon accessing the retailer’s store, the concept of social gifting is quickly becoming more and more popular among Ecommerce merchants.

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/chi-social-gifting-the-new-buzzword-in-ecommerce-20120430,0,2956567.story

Creating Open Models to Overcome Barriers to Ecommerce Success

With traditional ecommerce website design, consumers have found many problems with the process and are generally unhappy with at least something about the buying experience. A new ecommerce platform and model has emerged, referred to as ‘agile commerce’ or ‘open commerce.’ With this more open, innovative platform, ecommerce consumers are able to purchase products and services directly from the source, instead of going through a static, sometimes boring website to complete the buying process. These ideas strive to eliminate any traditional boundaries that online merchants have tried to overcome to create a more streamlined approach that appeals to consumers.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/strategy/overcoming-traditional-ecommerce-barriers-with-new-open-models-0171494

Reasons that Ecommerce Vendors Should be Measuring Lifetime Value

In terms of metrics, online merchants have a myriad of data sources to evaluate, but one often overlooked metric that vendors may want to take a closer look at is the lifetime value of their products or services. While other metrics are geared towards assessing buyer behavior, measuring lifetime value of a product or service helps to evaluate the best way to shift buyer behavior to impact profitability. Lifetime Value or LVT represents all of a buyer’s lifetime purchases and predicts purchases that he or she is likely to make in the future. Measuring the lifetime purchases of  buyers is a great ecommerce strategy that helps to refocus discussions towards positively impacting buyer profitability rather than ad management or sales growth.

Source: http://multichannelmerchant.com/ecommerce/lifetime-value-0429tpp9/

New Online Merchant’s Guide Gives Insight into Ecommerce Best Practices

Among the many practices discussed in the information packed guide by PowerRetail, ecommerce strategies unfold in precise detail to allow start- up entrepreneurs and established online merchants to delve deeply into their current platform to see if they are harnessing best practices and utilizing the latest technologies to their advantage. Among the many insights listed in the guide, building a dream website, an essentials checklist, and many other useful tidbits of information are of extreme importance. Entrepreneurs are now able to take a glimpse into the growing ecommerce world with helpful tips like the following. In an effort to maximize potential while managing costs and ad-spending, online vendors should assess each marketing channel to see which are yielding the greatest profits before investing more in those channels.

Source: http://www.powerretail.com.au/getting-started/power-up-ecommerce-platforms-2/

Magazines Jump into Ecommerce Market

Magazines are now looking at new ways to leverage the power of ecommerce to build their business and attract their loyal readers to events or to offer them the chance to purchase items directly from the magazine’s online application and improve user experience. Time Out New York has been experimenting with new ways to harness the power of ecommerce to explore new revenue streams and to help their digital magazine prosper. In an effort to bridge the editorial divide between retail sales and content creation, magazine editors are looking for new ways to offer products while still maintaining their readers’ trust. Vogue has accomplished this by offering their retail items as a service by partnering with Moda Operandi.

Source:  http://mashable.com/2012/04/29/magazines-ecommerce/

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

Big and small businesses alike are now joining the ever-expanding online shopping network, and many are also taking advantage of established shopping portals such as Amazon.com to promote their products. George Manlove, CEO of Vann’s shoe company, established his ecommerce store 15 years ago, as one of the first ecommerce sites to receive CE vendor authorization. Manlove, like many other vendors, has also become a third-party seller on Amazon, and he states that while he competes with Amazon, the increase in traffic to his website is well worth it. Other retailers have also used this ecommerce strategy to gain more exposure for their brand and to increase traffic to their website.

Source: www.twice.com/article/482271-Dealers_Finding_New_Paths_To_E_Commerce_Parity.php

Brazil Posts Record-Breaking Online Sales Figures

Posting $11 billion in total revenue for 2011, Brazil’s ecommerce sector has grown by more than 26% just in the last year. As the middle class continues to grow, so does the propensity to shop online. With 32 million online customers averaging $210 per purchase, Brazil has generated a lot of new e-consumers in the past few years. The increase in online shopping activity has been on an upward trend for several years with 2010 figures 40% higher than the year before. Brazil is also expanding Internet accessibility by providing very inexpensive connectivity to broadband Internet, which is also expected to generate more ecommerce solutions and activity in the future.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2012/03/23/brazils-e-commerce-is-booming-record-breaking-figures-in-2011-growth-of-26-earnings-of-11-bi/

Important Metrics for Mobile Tracking of Online Sales

When tracking online marketing initiatives in an interactive agency, evaluating metrics provides valuable insight into areas in need of improvement and those that are currently performing well. According to Mashable, vendors should be tracking certain metrics to evaluable mobile and tablet usability of their online store. These three basic metrics include acquisition (visits, unique visitors, page views), behavior (pages per visit, length of visit, bounce rate), and conversions (average order size, conversion rate). It is also important to differentiate between users on their mobile devices and those that access the store from their tablet computer. Consumers on these devices may have ‘markedly different needs and motivations,’ and vendors should be mindful of how their store appears on all computers/devices.

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/03/23/mobile-ecommerce-site-metrics/

A Critical Factor for Marketers

Ecommerce platforms have transformed the way that businesses interact with their customers, and this has “cemented their role as a critical marketing channel for brands that want to reach online consumers at their highest point of brand consideration.” Since many people now have the incentive to peruse a store’s inventory in the comfort of their own home from the business’s online store, marketers must be able to cater to this growing group of consumers through effective targeting and Internet marketing. For many businesses, the benefits of utilizing the Internet to market products and generate more sales have become part of the marketing landscape and will continue to be in the future.

Source: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/31275.asp

Digital Catalogs are Driving Online Conversions

While print catalogs have been shown to increase online buying activity by two to one, they are expensive and cumbersome to produce and distribute. Businesses are now utilizing digital catalogs and a custom web design to drive more sales and to generate more interest in their product line. Easily accessible, cost effective, and shareable, these catalogs give consumers the ability to browse their favorite brands and products at their leisure. Products can also be shared with friends and family through social networking channels like Facebook and Pinterest. In a recent study, digital catalogs have also been shown to significantly increase online sales and to promote brand awareness.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3446-Do-Digital-Catalogs-Drive-Conversions-

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2012/03/23/brazils-e-commerce-is-booming-record-breaking-figures-in-2011-growth-of-26-earnings-of-11-bi/

The WSJ published an article discussing changes expected to sweep Google, America’s most popular search engine. Several new changes were discussed in the article including more than blue links in the search results, ‘semantic’ search, and a broader collection of results from search queries. According to Search Engine Land, Google has already been providing answers to questions and more information than just the blue links and has also used ‘semantic’ search in order to understand the meaning of words to produce more relevant search results. The third change may involve using a wider collection of entities to create a more comprehensive list of relevant search terms.

Source: http://searchengineland.com/wsj-says-big-google-search-changes-coming-reality-check-time-115227

Content Marketing Strategy Helps Appeal to Customers

Ecommerce solutions continue to advance as the market for online shopping grows at an exceedingly high rate. With so many retailers offering similar products at similar prices, online shopping vendors can use content marketing to stand out from their competitors and intrigue their customers to shop their store. According to ForeSee, many customers explore the Internet for information on products before they buy, and a strong web presence appeals to shoppers as they make their decision. 65% of respondents to a recent survey said that they visit a brick and mortar store’s website before making a purchase, and in order for Ecommerce vendors to stay competitive with large chain stores, a strong content marketing campaign can provide customers with the information that they need before they make their final purchase.

Source: http://www.brafton.com/news/retailers-need-content-marketing-as-in-store-shoppers-increasingly-search-for-ecommerce-options

Reduce Shipping Costs in Your Online Store

In an interactive agency, lowering your shipping costs can be the difference between closing the sale and losing a customer to another retail store with lower shipping costs. According to the CEO of Spend Management Experts, John Haber, there are several ways that merchants can ensure that they are paying the best possible shipping rates. Merchants should check to make sure that they are using the best shipping products and carriers. Another common problem is that merchants don’t always choose the best shipping service. For example, if you need to send a package from Atlanta to Chicago in 2 days, many merchants would choose the more expensive two-day air option when the UPS and FedEx guarantee 2 day ground delivery to that location.

Source: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3421-How-to-Reduce-Ecommerce-Shipping-Costs

How to Know Who’s Driving Your Online Sales: Google or Affiliates?

Online merchants have the difficult task of tracking all of their sales with an effective ecommerce strategy, especially after affiliates join the team and begin contributing to an ecommerce vendor’s sales. One common scenario that occurs for many vendors is that a customer will shop their products through Google Organic ‘shopping’ and will then go through and search for coupon codes, which are issued in many cases by affiliates. When the customer enters the coupon code, the affiliate will get the commission for the sale, even if the customer found the product through Google organic search. Vendors can try to correct this issue by offering coupons on their website so that customers can easily access the discount codes.

Source: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2161610/Affiliates-or-Google-Who-Really-Drove-That-Ecommerce-Sale

One Quarter of UK Retail Sales Will be Online by 2016

The United Kingdom is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing ecommerce economies. According to projections made by the Boston Consulting Group, a quarter of all retail sales activity will be made online, and the report also cites that the UK has the most internet-based economy in the world. David Dean, coauthor of the report and senior BCG partner said, “If [the UK ecommerce sector] were a national economy, it would rank in the world’s top five, behind only the U.S., China, India, and Japan, and ahead of Germany.” When analyzing the current rate of growth, the U.K. is positioned to become a major ecommerce player in the next few years, and internet marketing will become an integral component to staying competitive in the UK.

Source: http://www.internetretailing.net/2012/03/almost-a-quarter-of-uk-retail-sales-to-be-online-in-four-years-study/

Pinterest, the popular social media site, allows users to pin their favorite videos and images on a personalized ‘virtual pin board.’ For ecommerce stores, this popular social media outlet is perfect for marketing products to a large audience, and by pinning the best pictures of their products, retailers can increase online exposure and generate more interest in their store. Once Pinterest users discover the pictures, they can easily share them with everyone that follows their pins. With 7.2 million users and 328% growth in the past year, Pinterest is an exciting new platform that online retailers should use to share their products and connect with people that are familiar with their brand. This is a great online marketing tool that should not be overlooked and can help draw traffic and life long customers to your website.

Source: www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/sales-and-marketing/an-ecommerce-guide-to-getting-started-with-pinterest-09032012.html

Creating a Personalized Ecommerce Experience

Rapid growth in the ecommerce sector indicates that shopping online is the future of the retail industry. Forrester projections show that the ‘online retail industry will be worth $279 billion in the US alone.’ Ecommerce sales in this industry are expected to grow in the future, and this has given retailers a new challenge to consider: personalization. Traditional retailers have been able to design a unique, personalized shopping experience for their customers, and now online retailers can utilize some of the same principles by leveraging critical data while designing an intuitive, simplified ecommerce platform for customers to enjoy while shopping online.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grace-nasri/personalizing-ecommerce-t_b_1310397.html

Google Consolidates Ecommerce Platforms and Offerings Under Single Moniker: Google Play

Google has created an amalgamation of ecommerce platforms to simplify the process for customers and to present a more unified image. Google Play is the term that describes all of the Google platforms that are used to purchase and play online. Google, in an effort to create an accessible, cohesive unit, has made use of their technological expertise in cloud computing to make it easier for consumers to share their purchases on all of their devices with an active Google account including mobile, tablet, laptop, and/or desktop computer. Consolidation seems to be the order of the day for Google, which is why Google Play is one of several initiatives that have been put in place in order to streamline their service offerings.

Source: http://www.shopsafe.co.uk/news/google-amalgamates-ecommerce-offerings/10530

Make Your Website More Visually Attractive to Increase Conversions

Since online shopping has taken a significant percentage of the retail industry’s market share, it is essential for business to establish new ecommerce strategies to ensure that their platforms coincide with the needs of their customers. With more visual appeal, websites are able to attract and retain customers, as well as increase conversions and create a more enjoyable shopping experience. According to an article on Mashable, pretty product images, an attractive layout, proper scaling, moderate use of dynamic code, and mobile optimization are essential to create a welcoming, intuitive customer experience for ecommerce stores.

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/03/08/ecommerce-visual-tips/

U.S. Ecommerce Brands Successfully Branching out into Europe

U.S. ecommerce brands are posting impressive figures that indicate a growing number of people are interested in shopping their brands online, not just in the U.S. but also in Europe. This global industry presents a great opportunity for U.S. brands to create an international shopping experience for customers all over the world. Since expanding into European markets, U.S. brands are already seeing significant growth, and they currently have a greater market share in the ecommerce sector than their European counterparts. The U.S. has become an integral component to European ecommerce sales, and research suggests that online shopping activity will continue to grow in Europe as it has in the United States. U.S. success in the international ecommerce sector appears very promising in the years to come.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/310865/20120307/seo-companies.htm

Many e-retailers are beginning to capitalize on the improvements in advanced image recognition technology that has recently been introduced to the market. This technology allows consumers to snap a photograph of their favorite products with their mobile device and then access a list on their smart phone of products similar to the photo they took. This creates new ways for online retailers to interact with consumers. By incorporating image recognition into an ecommerce platform, retailers can position themselves to meet the needs of their customers and to connect with customers that are searching for the products that they offer.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2012/03/05/image-recognition-technology-goes-shopping/

Ecommerce Sales Skyrocket in China

Ecommerce has become one of the fastest growing industries in the world. China is the latest country to fully integrate with online shopping and has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. When compared to 2010, China’s online sales for 2011 increased a total of 66% and have aided in opening job opportunities and creating a more cost-efficient production model. Currently, online turnover accounts for approximately 3% of China’s total retail sales but it is anticipated to increase to 7% by 2015. Many companies are already taking action to capitalize on the growing Chinese market by launching Chinese ecommerce ventures.

Source: http://www.gaebler.com/News/Small-Business-Marketing/Chinese-eCommerce-skyrockets-900000095.htm

Ecommerce Community Anticipating Release of New Tablet Computer

Tablet computers are proving to be one of the best devices for online shopping, and with the introduction of the new Apple iPad3, it’s expected to revolutionize the online shopping industry. According to Mike Randazzo, an independent business analyst, “The iPad3 is going to create more jobs and revenue in the ecommerce sector than any other mobile device we’re going to see this year, bar none.” Randazzo cited a study by RichRelevance, which showed that 90% of all mobile purchases were powered by an iPad or iPhone. Tablet sales are expected to increase, with more new tablet users joining the fray this year than ever before.

Source: http://www.dailydealmedia.com/635apples-ipad-3-announcement-electrifies-ecommerce-community/

Most ecommerce websites can have hundreds or even thousands of pages. Having so many pages might make it difficult to effectively optimize each page for search engines. Online retailers can create search engine friendly websites by utilizing internal linking networks to make it easier for the search engines to crawl all of the web pages on the site. Retailers should also improve their internal site search so that users will receive a relevant list of products after using your company’s search bar. Websites that feature consolidated pages, ease of use, and an intuitive navigation system rank better with the search engines and provide a better customer experience. By optimizing your site to be user friendly, retailers will drive more traffic leading to more sales and conversions.

Source: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-for-ecommerce/40596/

Customer Satisfaction among Ecommerce Customers on the Rise

Customer satisfaction with only shopping websites is said to have increased to 80.1% according to a study completed by the University of Michigan. The study measured customer evaluations for 225 companies across 47 industries. Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee said, “Consumer expectation continues to increase” in regards to online shopping. The U.S. Census Bureau provided data on total ecommerce sales from the year, and this data revealed an increase in ecommerce sales by 16% in 2011 to $194.3 billion. As people become more accustomed to shopping online, retailers are meeting their needs with intuitive ecommerce platforms that provide a user-friendly customer experience.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-02-21/ecommerce-customer-satisfaction/53180110/1

Ecommerce Sales in South Korea Hit All Time High

South Korea’s ecommerce sales have hit an all-time high.  According to a government report, businesses have been more predisposed to purchase supplies online. Ecommerce sales have risen by 21.2% in 2011 in South Korea, with $999.25 trillion worth of transactions completed in 2011 as compared to $885.62 billion in 2010. Business-to-business sales were attributed with the credit for the unprecedented rise in ecommerce sales, as these transactions account for 90% of total sales in South Korea. Around the world, ecommerce sales have exceeded expectations and have risen in spite of in-store sales reductions.

Source: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90777/7738182.html