E-Commerce

iPerceptions, a provider of online voice-of-customer analytics based on actual visitor feedback, announced the release of its Retail/E-Commerce Industry Report for the fourth quarter of 2011. The report found that while more retail website visitors were ready to make a purchase compared to the previous year, only 58 percent were able to complete their purpose of visit.

In lieu of physical mailers and catalogs, Barneys New York is releasing shoppable digital videos for its Co-Op line, a collection catering to the younger affluent market. Although the brand will continue to offer catalogs for other lines, Co-Op's spring line will be completely digital for the first time.

Women’s apparel retailer Cache said that it's partnered with e-commerce solution provider FiftyOne Global Ecommerce to facilitate international sales and shipments to more than 100 countries, beginning in fall 2012. Cache said it also plans to further enhance its web offering with a spring 2012 launch of its mobile website. The site will feature the brand image and product offering of Cache.com and is optimized for web-enabled mobile devices to ease navigation and transactions.

Retailers are coming to the realization that video helps sell product. That’s why Camo Trading made the decision to add product videos to its e-commerce site. As a small brand with limited resources, however, Camo Trading couldn’t produce videos in-house quickly enough or at a high enough quality to justify the expense.

Armed with the knowledge that consumers are more comfortable and willing to make purchases online than ever before, retailers must take the next step and take advantage of this trend. Here are seven tips to help you get on the right track:

Apple may be a big dog in music and movies, but it's definitely not one in e-books. In a post on PaidContent, Seth Godin writes that Apple has refused to sell his new book because it contains links to Amazon in the bibliography.

Etsy is holding a one-day workshop at its headquarters in New York to help sellers increase the visibility of their items, reporting that 80 percent of sellers surveyed wanted more resources to help them in this area.

It's widely agreed that increasing the lifetime value of customers increases profits. It's less expensive and more effective to increase current customer loyalty than attract new customers. Behavioral targeting can promote loyalty by giving your best customers a personalized shopping experience, exhibiting you know their likes, dislikes, wants and needs. Retailers who aren't currently offering this personalized experience are missing a significant opportunity to grow online sales. The prime place to exhibit this knowledge and draw customers back to your site is the homepage.

Overstock.com has announced the launch of a new consumer information portal: www.O.info. The website features blogs, reviews and buying guides, all to help consumers make informed decisions about products before purchasing.

What impact will Blue Nile, the leading online diamond retailer, feel from having to collect internet sales tax? The company sells a high-value product, so charging sales tax would mean several hundred dollars added to its prices. This could make a big difference for the retailer as price is "incredibly important" to its buyers, according to its chairman.