E-Commerce

Steve Schlecht, CEO of Duluth Trading Company, describes himself as an uncanny merchant. Early on he realized that his company isn't just a cataloger, but a web-based and multichannel retailer. He didn't view the digital world as an add-on, but as a way to fundamentally improve his business model in terms of costs and customer benefits. 

Office Depot is boosting its capital expenditure budget for 2012 to approximately $160 million, with a heavy emphasis on e-commerce and other IT investments. The retailer's digital investments will be particularly important given its plans to shrink both the average size of its brick-and-mortar stores and its product assortments.

Oodle, which powers the Facebook Marketplace and lets users post items for sale across Facebook, launched a new feature this week that allows users to refine their selling activity. Facebook users can now easily sell, give or ask within specific social circles within the Marketplace.

By the time NBC's new reality series "Fashion Star" airs, the garments featured on TV will be available online from Saks, Macy's and even H&M, which doesn't currently have an e-commerce platform in the U.S. but will offer online shopping specifically for the items it's produced for the show.

Retail e-commerce sales continued to skyrocket in 2011. While seemingly great news for retailers, it does create additional inefficiencies in a fulfillment system and drive up operational costs. To prevent those costs from cutting into revenue, retailers need to make sure they're running as efficiently as possible. One way to improve fulfillment efficiency is through accurate contact data.

Overstock.com isn't disclosing details about its new initiative in which it's launching products on other marketplaces, despite referencing it in a slide deck during its fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts. Stephen Chesnut, senior vice president of finance and risk management at Overstock.com, said during the post-earnings call on March 2 that Overstock.com had deployed a marketplace initiative during the fourth quarter in which it was bringing its assortment live on other marketplaces.

Destination Maternity, the maternity apparel retailer, today announced the expansion of its business in South Korea with the launch of a dedicated South Korean e-commerce site. South Korean consumers will now be able to shop online for A Pea in the Pod, A Pea in the Pod Collection and Motherhood Maternity brand maternity clothing and accessories. The site will be operated by Destination Maternity's South Korean franchise partner, Agabang & Company, and will provide a fast, easy shopping experience for consumers with convenient local shipping.

Fans of Club Monaco's brand of relaxed chic will be able to shop the label's wares online for the first time starting March 26. Not only will shoppers be able to snap up Club Monaco's complete spring offerings, they'll also be able to shop some Web-exclusive items for both ladies and gents.

Most retailers would agree that the more customer data you have, the better. While this can be true for larger analytical efforts, it's important you focus on collecting the right data and use it sensibly to execute effective email, mobile and social marketing campaigns. The following are some vital tactics for data collection and usage that will help you acquire more subscribers, increase engagement and drive revenue.

Just as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and other celebs did for Twitter, the world of daily deals is getting some of its own glam factor, as NBA All-Star Tracy McGrady is the latest athlete-turned-entrepreneur to launch his own online business, in the form of a quasi-Groupon for sports.