E-Commerce

Delia's, a 113-store national apparel chain (stores in 33 states, almost all in malls), is trying to master finding the sales promotion silver lining inside various Web crash clouds. On at least three occasions over the last several months, the chain's site suffered a non-trivial outage. It happens. But Delia's cleverly turned these outages into a marketing opportunity by sending an E-mail to all of its customers, where the chain apologized for the outage and offered to show its sincerity by offering free shipping on all products—but only for a couple of days, if that. 

As it watched its biggest competitor file for bankruptcy and cease operating, Barnes & Noble knew that a change to its business model was necessary for its survival. Specifically, that change meant shifting its focus to becoming a digital book seller. In his keynote address at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble, detailed how the bookstore chain has used the web to redefine and grow its business.

The British label Burberry under the direction of Christopher Bailey is one-upping everybody else with its fall/winter 2012 campaign. Sure, there are the stunning photographs of Gabriella Wilde and Roo Panes by Mario Testino, London landmarks, fog, rain and all. And yes, there are the videos too-a series of small films that call to mind the brooding cinematography of The English Patient. But what sets these videos apart from the rest of the pack is that they are, to use the digital age's favorite marketing term, shoppable.

Blue Nile, Inc. , the leading online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, today announced the launch of a Japanese language version of its website. The new site allows customers in Japan to shop on Blue Nile in their native language for the first time. Second to only the United States, Japan is the largest luxury goods market in the world and accounts for 10 percent of diamond jewelry sales. "Blue Nile began serving Japan in 2008, and has developed a loyal customer following over the last four years," said Vijay Talwar, Blue Nile President.

Furniture retailer IKEA is coming out with a new TV set that allows viewers to purchase advertised products with just a few clicks of the remote control, according to GigaOM.

Google has announced that it will transition Google Product Search away from being free for merchants to list their products into a commercial model built on the Product Listing Ads program. The new paid program will simply be called Google Shopping.

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What matters most to online shoppers? Hint: It has less to do with specific products and everything to do with communication, and that includes shipping and returns. You'll find key insights into what makes online shoppers click, consumers’ online shopping preferences, what shipping and post-purchase services enhance the customer experience most, and more with this fact-filled whitepaper. Check it out here!

Urban Outfitters is betting that providing its online visitors a more personalized experience will increase its chances of converting them into customers. The retailer has tested customized product recommendations as well as segmenting its audience to deliver different experiences to different segments.

Despite all the buzz around social media over the past several years, the concept of "real" social commerce — when consumers can actually buy merchandise directly from whichever social network they're visiting and wherever they happen to be — has eluded the industry.