E-Commerce

Google is getting into the online deal-a-day game with a program of its own, a move that may cause Groupon to break a little sweat.

The new year creates an opportunity to review product and retail strategies with a view toward continuous improvement. Nowhere is this more relevant or important than in merchandising strategies. To take a closer look at these strategies, SymphonyIRI Group released its current issue of Times & Trends, "Merchandising Trends: Achieving Differentiation with a Shopper-Centric Approach," which explores current and emerging merchandising trends that CPG marketers have embraced during the last few years in an ongoing effort to satisfy shoppers’ rapidly changing definition of value.

The National Retail Federation's BIG Show fills the Javits Center with people from every area of retail, and everyone I talked with seemed to have video on their mind. Three things stood out from my conversations.

LivingSocial, the local deals competitor to Groupon, made waves with what has already become the biggest deal in the company’s history: 50 percent off a $20 gift card for shopping on Amazon.com.

The 50-year-old to 64-year-old demographic is leading the way in online consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales, according to a study by the Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research. Shopping in general might be down, but online shopping is way up (the US just finished its biggest ecommerce holiday shopping season ever).

Results of the e-tailing group's 13th Annual Mystery Shopping Study recognized nine merchants out of the 100 benchmarked for excelling at online customer service.

Sometimes it's best to say you're sorry. Groupon's CEO, Andrew Mason, released a subtitled video on YouTube apologizing for problems Japanese customers experienced during a New Year's promotion. Groupon's deal-of-the-day site offers promotions and discounts to local markets.

As e-commerce marketers set or adjust their strategies for 2011, there are some important trends and developments to pay attention to that can help capture new revenue streams and strengthen brand awareness this year and beyond.

Shopping skeptics said people would never buy certain things — shoes, diamond rings, cars — online because they needed to see the products in person. They were wrong. E-commerce companies have found success in all of those fields.

How the online shopping experience has changed since the birth of e-commerce was the focus of a lively session at the National Retail Federation's BIG Show in New York City this week.