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Retailers and consumer products brands have traditionally relied mostly on offline media and promotion to deploy shopper marketing programs that help drive sales, secure customer loyalty and encourage trial of new products. However, as digital media and technology have grown more pervasive in consumers’ lives, they play an increasingly significant role in decision-making at each phase of the shopping process.

Consumers open just over 20% of retailer e-mails they receive on their mobile devices—the highest percentage of any industry segment, according to a new study.

Shopping skeptics said people would never buy certain things — shoes, diamond rings, cars — online because they needed to see the products in person. They were wrong. E-commerce companies have found success in all of those fields.

Allison Cerra Walgreens announced several executive appointments Monday, which included naming a former United Airlines executive to the post of chief customer experience officer.

As e-commerce marketers set or adjust their strategies for 2011, there are some important trends and developments to pay attention to that can help capture new revenue streams and strengthen brand awareness this year and beyond.

Careening out of the canyon of confusion that was 2010, we come face-to-face with an alien marketing landscape of owned media, geolocation and real time. What do these strange terms mean? What do they demand of marketers in retail? Are we facing another year of social media-driven craziness?

The National Retail Federation's BIG Show, which took place in New York last week, is an annual opportunity for retailers to tap into the latest technologies for improving everything from customer analysis to mobile commerce.

eBay announced on Friday it had completed its acquisition of brands4friends, an online shopping club site for fashion and lifestyle in Germany. eBay announced the acquisition on December 20 and acquired the site for a transaction value of approximately US$200 million (EUR150 million) in cash. brands4friends.de has 3.5 million registered club members, who are on average 32 years old, and operates in Austria, the U.K. and Japan. eBay said its research shows online shopping clubs account for approximately 20 percent of online fashion sales in Europe.

Retailers saw their best holiday season since the start of the recession, but a loss of momentum in December fed concerns about the strength of the sector's revival in the new year.

Technology that leverages the Apple iPad into a multi-function in-store kiosk is being deployed in a new City Sports concept store and in a pilot program at personalized gift retailer Things Remembered.