E-Commerce

It’s an undisputed fact that a significant shift is occurring in the modern retail industry, with a substantial amount of consumer spending moving from in-store to online purchases. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales reached $165.4 billion in 2010. What's more, Forrester Research predicts that figure will reach $279 billion by 2015. When the experts point to growth of more than $100 billion in just five years, those involved in the retail ecosystem need to be prepared to effectively embrace this trend moving forward.

LuckyChic.com announced the official launch of its “Social Commerce Network for Women” as well as highly anticipated new game “Lucky Peek” and its debut social game “Lucky Look.”

Wal-Mart has begun testing an online grocery delivery service in San Jose, Calif., a company spokesman said. The world's biggest retailer had been rumored to be considering dipping its toe into online grocery delivery for the past few years.

National figure skating champion and U.S. Olympian Johnny Weir is gliding into the fashion fray. He’s launching a Little Black Dress collection for spring exclusively on eDressMe.com. The dresses, which will be available April 30, are being unveiled in conjunction with the second annual “Ice Dreams” skating show in Bensenville, Ill., which offers young skaters a chance to perform alongside their Olympic heroes.

In an effort to bring in young, new customers, Shiseido — Japan’s leading cosmetics brand — plans to open a new beauty and health internet mall. The website will be called “Beauty Platform” or BPF. The site is expected to launch in April of 2012 for Japanese consumers.

Bulldog, the men’s natural grooming brand, is planning its biggest marketing push to date to support the launch of its Facebook commerce site. The brand is launching its advertising campaign using the strapline "Man up" in an attempt to promote its natural credentials and attract people to its website and Facebook page.

Google wanted to buy Groupon last fall for $5.3 billion. Spurned, Google is launching a Groupon clone called Google Offers. While not a surprise that Google was working on a local-deals service, it's now official — Google Retail tweeted a link to the Google Offers sign-up page.

The recent Study of Online Shopping Habits commissioned by RetailMeNot.com found that coupon usage among online shoppers in the U.S. remained strong in the first quarter of 2011 despite signs of an economic recovery and that businesses providing regular discounts are likely to see increased customer loyalty.

Americans accumulate approximately $48 billion in rewards points and miles annually, according to the results of a first-ever study on the perceived dollar value of loyalty programs that illustrates the real economic power of these programs for consumers, issuers, merchants and manufacturers.

Columbia Sportswear said it would launch new e-commerce sites for its primary Columbia brand and the fast-growing Sorel boot brand to allow customers in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Spain to buy products online.