Multichannel Retail/E-commerce News

Forrester: Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook dominate e-commerce

Alex Palmer

Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook will continue to dominate online business, but Internet retailers and marketers should tread carefully in partnering with them, according to a Feb. 7 Forrester report.

Groupon reports revenue spike in first public earnings report

Alex Palmer

Groupon reported a 419% increase in 2011 revenue to $1.6 billion, the company said in its first earnings report as a public company on Feb. 8.

Amazon billed by Arizona for $53 million in sales taxes

Dianna Dilworth

Amazon claims that the state of Arizona has served the online company a tax bill for $53 million for uncollected sales tax.

Staples to launch tablet-optimized e-commerce site

Dianna Dilworth

Office supply retailer Staples is launching a new e-commerce site that optimized specifically for shopping on tablet computers.

Study: CPG website visits boost in-store sales

Alex Palmer

Visitors to consumer package goods (CPG) e-commerce websites spend 37% more in retail stores than consumers who do not visit the brand sites, according to a Jan. 30 study by comScore, Accenture and dunnhumbyUSA.

Executional excellence sets standard

Carol Krol

The news grabbing headlines this month was eBay's $2.4 billion acquisition of e-commerce services giant GSI Commerce, its bid to take on industry leader Amazon.com.

Know the risks in affiliate marketing

Linda Goldstein, partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

The use of affiliate marketers is a highly efficient and effective way for marketers to generate online traffic and new customers. The lack of control that a marketer has over the actions of its affiliates, however, creates increased risk of regulatory action.

On the Beat

B-to-b brands reshape online checkout

Juan Martinez

Several b-to-b merchants are taking their cue from consumer-oriented e-commerce sites to provide business customers with a friendlier, streamlined online buying experience.

Motorcycle retailer delivers e-commerce navigation tool

Juan Martinez

Chaparral Motorsports, a San Bernardino, Calif.-based retailer of motorcycle parts, helmets, gear and tires, wanted to drive transactions from its Facebook fan page. In addition to an e-commerce site and a brick-and-mortar showroom, the company decided it made sense to provide consumers with a Facebook shopping option that was both social and informative.

Nick Swinmurn, founder of Zappos.com and Rnkd

Juan Martinez

Nick Swinmurn, founder of Zappos.com, discusses his newest venture, Rnkd, and the power of social media commerce.

Customer loyalty strategies determine the department store champion

In addition to long-standing tenure in the retail space, Wal-Mart Stores and Sears Holdings Corp. apply a similar approach to direct marketing, including direct mail, email, social media outreach, loyalty rewards and extensive e-commerce platforms.

Direct-mail heavy nonprofits apply an integrated approach

Direct mail has long been the prime channel for nonprofit organizations looking to raise funds, but as charities move into 2012 and beyond, marketers say marrying these messages with outreach through other media is becoming an essential part of the nonprofit marketing mix.