E-Commerce

While Amazon's Login and Pay offers convenience for merchants and consumers, there are severe security concerns associated with this service. Specifically, if one of the participating retail websites is compromised, login and credit card credentials for several websites can be exposed to cybercriminals. Using such a service ignores a cybercrime prevention measure security experts have stressed the importance of for some time — using unique logins across websites. 

Aggressive discounts on clothes and toys lured slightly more consumers into stores on Thanksgiving and Black Friday this year, but budget-conscious shoppers spent less. Total spending from Thursday through Sunday fell 3 percent from a year earlier to $57.4 billion, with shoppers spending an average of $407.02, down 4 percent from $423.55 a year earlier, according to the National Retail Federation. The retail trade group said the number of people who went shopping over the four-day weekend that kicked off with Thanksgiving rose slightly to 141 million, up from 139 million last year. 

Amazon.com is testing drones to deliver goods as it works to improve efficiency and speed in getting products to consumers. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos unveiled the plan on CBS's "60 Minutes" news program in the U.S., showing interviewer Charlie Rose the flying machines that can serve as delivery vehicles. The CEO said the gadgets, called octocopters, can carry as much as five pounds within a 10-mile radius of an Amazon fulfillment center. Amazon may start using the drones, which can make a delivery within 30 minutes, within five years pending Federal Aviation Administration approval, Bezos said.

Absorbing shipping costs on a mass scale can stress any operating budget, so retailers have been searching for the best ways to balance these expenses against higher abandonment rates. A few companies, including Amazon.com and Sears, have found solutions via pre-paid shipping programs. These programs charge consumers an up-front fee that helps fund ongoing shipping options and keeps consumers committed.

Overall Thanksgiving online sales are up 19.7 percent over last year, according to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark report. Mobile traffic accounted for 42.6 percent of all online traffic, up more than 32 percent compared to last year. Mobile sales remained strong, accounting for 25.8 percent of all online sales, up 49 percent year-over-year.

Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are extremely important for any online retailer. It can make or break your year, so it's essential to get ready to attract both new and previous customers to choose your store over your competitors. We're sure you've been preparing for the holiday rush, but some double-checking can never hurt. Although there's less than a week until Cyber Monday, you still have some time left to ensure that you get the most out of the largest online celebration this year. Let's go through the checklist to make sure you're ready.

The time is here for the online shopping onslaught — Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the whole run up to Christmas. The promotions have been prepared, the email campaigns set up, so just one questions remains: Is your website ready to handle the volume? The issues around website performance have never been as prominent in the news. So let's review the top tips for making sure your websites — and remember this is now across desktop, tablet and smartphone devices — are ready for showtime.

Cyber Monday is the event of the season for e-commerce brands. Coming off of the Black Friday rush, IBM's Smarter Commerce division reported that 2012 Cyber Monday was the largest online shopping day in history. With sales steadily increasing, the National Retail Federation has cited potential for this season, forecasting higher than the 10-year average holiday sales. Retailers should have their own checklist: All that's needed to meet the festive customer demand. Below find five tips to mastering the impending Cyber Monday chaos:

According to eMarketer, online retail holiday sales will increase 15 percent this holiday season, seeing a rise from $53.7 billion in 2012 to $61.8 billion in 2013. With statistics like this, it's easy to understand the immense pressure that retailers feel to drive increased revenues during this time of year. However, building and getting more marketing campaigns out the door isn't the answer. Instead, marketers need to take a customer-centric approach to their holiday strategy, leveraging the data they have about their customers to individualize the customer journey.

Ralph Lauren is making a bold statement on its homepage, but it's backing it up. In golden letters, the site reads "Legendary Customer Service." And, given its performance in Stella Monthly Benchmarks, that may be the case. The retailer topped the rankings for the first time, unseating J.Crew, which led all retailers for the past three months. J.Crew was still strong, ranking third, while L.L.Bean ranked second overall. Ralph Lauren was particularly strong in phone support, with an average total time to live agent under 30 seconds and 100 percent issue resolution.