E-Commerce

More and more, traditional media sites and magazines are entering the world of e-commerce, while more and more e-tailers are offering content that's very similar to what could be found in fashion magazines.

Problem: Lead Apparel, a retailer of men’s, women’s, children's and even baby clothing, as well as accessories, totes and luggage, wanted to launch an e-commerce website.

Lunchtime wouldn't be nearly so fabulous for budget-conscious fashionistas if it weren't for Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson. The duo joined forces in 2007 to launch Gilt Groupe and bring designer sample sales — famous in New York for inducing tug-of-war frenzies — to an online audience. A few minutes before noon Eastern time each day, the Manhattan company sends an email alert to its nearly three million members, announcing the day's online private sales in women's and men's luxury brands at up to 70 percent off retail prices.

Problem: Skinstinct, an eco-friendly clothing, towel and spa product designer, manufacturer and distributor, wanted an e-commerce platform that accounted for scalability, security, hosting and checkout.

In the genteel world of luxury, companies long felt that the Web was no place for merchandising exclusive products. And there was a gentlemen’s agreement with department stores not to siphon sales by reaching out directly to wealthy customers. Then, in came the recession, and out went the niceties. Department stores slashed prices on $1,200 handbags, while luxury lines fretted about losing their exclusivity. Now, come September, marcjacobs.com is going retail, 10 years after most brands opened Web showrooms.

1. Online retail growth in the context of overall retail and Amazon.com. Online sales today far outperform retail stores, and they continue to be a bright spot in the industry and a growth driver in retail overall. But retailers should also think about the web's impact on offline sales. "Looking at the impact the web has on offline sales makes you think about things differently, and makes you think about the fact that online sales are just the tip of the iceberg," Silverman said.

It's Christmas in July! Or it better be if you plan to have your e-commerce website optimized for the first holiday season since the great recession theoretically ended. Here are 12 tactics to implement now if you want to maximize your products' slice of Santa's workshop budget.1. Add More Email Sign-UpsDuring the holidays, the number…

PROBLEM: ElectricShopping.com, a London-based online retailer of electronic appliances and accessories, wanted to increase the conversion rate on its website while reducing bounces. SOLUTION: Implemented an onsite comparative pricing tool to prove to consumers that its prices were the lowest. RESULTS: Sales increased in last year's fourth quarter after the tool's launch, with the website's conversion rate up 18.7 percent and bounce rate down 7.2 percent.

Marketers have developed quite a bag of promotion and coupon tricks to get consumers to spend more at the checkout counter or when mailing in the order form. The good news for online retailers is that modern e-commerce software lets them easily adapt these proven promotional marketing techniques to an online environment to lift average order sizes, revenues and profits.

Netshoes, a leading Brazilian sports retailer, has selected software company Baynote's recommendation technology to deliver customers a more adaptive online shopping experience. Within one month of deploying Baynote's Collective Intelligence Platform, Netshoes’ conversion rate increased 30 percent and its average order value rose 10 percent.