E-Commerce

Some excitement in the business community this week over the news that flash-sale site Rue La La may be up for sale for $400 million. JP Morgan is said to be advising the company, which lends some heft to the deal. Still, this particular e-tail model seems to me to be increasingly yesterday's news. I can't remember the last time I heard a friend or a shopper relating a flash-sale purchase with breathless excitement, or even telling me that she had been up late surfing, say, gilt.com or ideeli.com. 

Forbes contributor and retail consultant Robin Lewis has up and declared the imminent death of the Michael Kors brand (originally published on the author's site The Robin Report). His reasoning lies in the growing ubiquity of the brand's product. In Lewis' words, "wonderful becomes awful," when ubiquity strikes. "The brand stands for nothing for anybody — everywhere," said Lewis. He cited Michael Kors' widespread distribution and products priced at every level in order to hit every 

Listen as we map out simple customer service best practices you can implement today, and keep customers coming back time and again.

How small retailers (both online and brick-and-mortar) can compete with Amazon and its vast resources, cheap pricing and fast delivery.

A look at how retailers connect with their customers digitally to create a seamless online and offline brand experience.

Join John Lawson as he runs through 15 ways to acquire news customers in 30 minutes.

In this webinar, executives discuss the key challenges omnichannel retail marketers faced heading into the 2014 holiday season.

How do you compete if you can’t offer same-day delivery? Doug Sternberg offers his expert thoughts in this webinar.

In conjunction with its new premium tween brand for girls called I Heart UGG, UGG Australia is planning to launch on July 14 a dedicated e-commerce site that will offer the entire product line called iheartugg.com. The line includes footwear, loungewear, accessories and handbags, and will be available in the United States, Japan and China. The new brand, the company said, has been designed to not only tap into the tween market but also to foster enduring brand loyalty among customers.  

Christmas comes in July for Superior Fireworks, an Orange Park, Fla-based online retailer of fireworks. After all, instead of the traditional Christmas busy season, more than 60 percent of Superior Fireworks’ sales are made during the run up to July 4. Furthermore, many of those sales are made via PayPal and it's Bill Me Later service. To find out why, I conducted an email interview with the founder of Superior Fireworks, Matt Pappas. Here are some excerpts from our conversation: