6 Online Retail Trends

By Melissa Campanelli

4. Emerging disruptive business models and fast-growing consumer trends. The following is a list of new business models that Silverman said retailers should be aware of since "consumer adoption of some of these new trends is so rapid right now it's frightening":

Social games and virtual goods. Zynga, the publisher of FarmVille and Mafia Wars, is generating close to a billion dollars in revenue from consumers spending real money on virtual goods.
Private flash sales. These sales are exclusively for members, last only a few days and usually include limited quantities of luxury items. Examples include Rue La La, One Kings Lane and The Gilt Groupe.
Gaming mechanics. These online game rules can be used in e-commerce. A good example of this, Silverman said, is Swoopo, a bidding fee auction site where purchased credits are used to make bids.

5. Free shipping. "Customers love free shipping," Silverman said. Amazon.com introduced this idea, and it's caught on like wildfire. Amazon now has "Amazon Prime," a membership service that allows consumers to pay a yearly flat fee to get two-day shipping for free the entire year. "This is a competitive advantage Amazon has been able to leverage." Silverman also offered the following data from comScore about free shipping:

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Companies:
Amazon.com

People:
Scott Silverman

Places:
U.S.

Melissa Campanelli Author's page Melissa Campanelli is Editor-in-Chief of Total Retail. She is an industry veteran, having covered all aspects of retail, tech, digital, e-commerce, and marketing over the past 20 years. Melissa is also the co-founder of the Women in Retail Leadership Circle.