E-Commerce

In what seems like a generation ago — before the internet — catalog orders came in one of two ways: via the mail or phone. Source code capture rates of 85 percent were the norm and it was easy to read the results from each mailing list. Then along came the internet and measuring catalog response rates became complicated. The percentage of online orders continues to grow, making the attribution of orders very complicated. Consumers receive catalogs, emails, online ads and many more advertisements. Knowing which marketing vehicle should get credit for an order is a challenge.

These days it’s rare to hear of a successful retail startup that isn’t trying to reinvent e-commerce. But that’s exactly what J. Hilburn, a three-year-old brand that focuses on made-to-measure dress shirts and other men’s apparel, is doing.

8thBridge, a Minneapolis-based social e-commerce company that helps merchants take their shopping experience onto Facebook, announced it raised $10 million in Series B funding led by Trident Capital, with help from existing investor Split Rock Partners. This round brings the company’s total funding raised to more than $15 million.

A new comScore study of online shopping in Europe shows that in January 2011, 270.6 million unique visitors browsed sites in the retail category, representing a market penetration of 74.5 percent of internet users, up 8.5 percent vs. last year.

After a series of Super Bowl ads caused a wash of bad press for Groupon, the company has cut ties with the ad agency that it says was responsible for the spots. Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason placed the blame for the commercials — one of which seemed to many to equate the plight of Tibet with saving money on dinner — pointedly on the shoulders of the advertising firm that created the spot, CP&B.

A tremendous shift is taking place in online advertising right now. Google is pushing its display capabilities to new levels, Project Devil at AOL is bringing art back into advertising and organizations like the Interactive Advertising Bureau are pushing the industry to innovate with new ad formats. However, regardless of creative execution, the holy grail of advertising is the ability to reach the right person with the most relevant story — whether it’s through rich media or custom sponsorships — at the right time. At the end of the day, ads have one simple goal: to influence and drive purchases.

It feels like we’re in a golden age of the web, led by consumer internet services and e-commerce. Just consider these stats: Facebook has over 600 million users; 25 billion tweets were sent last year; 

Forever 21 donated 100 percent of its global online sales from March 18 to help the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. All of Forever 21's e-commerce sites participated in the initiative. A statement from the company said: "The time to take action and send help to those who need it most is right now. Forever 21 strives to put forth the first of its relief efforts by donating all online sales made on March 18 to deliver support."

Finnish textiles, apparel, accessories and lifestyle brand Marimekko — perhaps best known for its iconic giant flower prints — will expand its presence this summer by launching a U.S. e-commerce site.

eBay's changes to its fee structure will have a big impact on auction sellers — and they only have one month from the time of the announcement to adjust their auction-selling strategies. eBay will begin including shipping and handling costs into its Final Value Fees.