E-Commerce

Selecting software for order management or warehouse management systems, e-commerce solutions, or other applications is a challenging task. The process begins by documenting a set of requirements, constructing a request for proposal (RFP), identifying vendors, viewing Web demos, and conducting site visits and reference checks. But a trend is emerging to select vendors based on word-of-mouth recommendations and two-hour Web demos. The question is, is that really the right approach?

As I mentioned in my most recent column — a recap of the National Center for Database Marketing conference last month — it’s not good enough to just serve your customers anymore. You must cement them emotionally to your brand, your products and your customer service.

A client recently called me in a panic. The company often personalizes its e-mails, but this time the send button got pushed too fast. Instead of the recipients’ first names being nicely displayed, the e-mail showed “[FIRST_NAME].” This company prides itself on its e-mail program and customer relationships, and felt this would tarnish its image. That client decided to immediately send a second e-mail with an apology, which went out about three hours after the error occurred.

When it launched a digital version of its catalog 18 months ago, natural nutritional goods cataloger/wholesaler Shaklee was pursuing cost savings and the chance to target a new customer segment. And last week during a Catalog Success webinar called “Digital Catalogs: Expand your audience while slashing your costs,” which was sponsored by digital publishing services provider Nxtbook Media, John Cortez, e-commerce manager at Shaklee, chronicled his company's experience with its digital book.

Online fraud will account for more lost revenue than ever before in the decade-plus history of e-commerce. Online merchants expect to lose a record $4 billion to fraud in 2008, up from $3.7 billion last year, according to a recent survey from CyberSource, a provider of electronic payment and risk management solutions. The survey of 400 online retailers was conducted from Oct. 21 to Nov. 11. Here are some more findings of the survey:

In the final installment of this three-part series on how multichannel merchants should adjust their marketing budgets to account for an influx of Web traffic and buyers, this week I continue with my list of online programs that make sense to invest your resources in.

The Internet isn’t pink, and it’s certainly not gray. It’s pure black and white. Users want Web sites to be like grocery stores: It doesn’t matter which supermarket you go to in the U.S. — whether it’s a Piggly Wiggly in South Carolina, Safeway in Seattle or Shop ’n Save in Maine — you know milk will be near the eggs, flour close to the sugar and the bananas in the vicinity of the apples. You don’t expect ice cream in the dog food aisle or pickles sandwiched between puppy chow and cat litter. A typical grocery store is full of absolutes. Same

It may come as no surprise that our current economic conditions and diminishing consumer confidence are predicted to limit the growth of retail sales this holiday season. But what may be shocking is that even e-tailers are expected to take a hit. While online sales this holiday season are expected to reach $44 billion, the 12 percent increase over last year represents the slowest growth to date, according to Forrester Research. All this uncertainty means that Black Friday and the weeks that follow will be an even more critical time for e-commerce. Retailers’ ability to keep Web shops running reliably through heavy holiday traffic

Despite the faltering economy surrounding them, online retailers remain optimistic for the holiday shopping season. In a recent survey from Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, conducted by the shopping search site Shopzilla.com, 56.1 percent of online retailers surveyed said they expect their holiday sales to increase at least 15 percent over last year. The 2008 eHoliday Study polled 2,040 online buyers and 60 online retailers from Sept. 29-Oct. 20. Here are some more of the study’s findings. * 78 percent of the retailers said they plan to offer free shipping (with conditions) at some point during the holiday season, consistent with

As more retailers turn to the Web, direct mail and catalogs to offer customers alternatives to burning gas traveling to malls, many are taking a crash course in direct marketing, seeking ways to make the direct channel work for them. Last month, we laid out the first five of 10 key principles retailers should follow to make the most of catalogs and the Web to augment their retail/multichannel programs. Here are principles six to 10. 6. Use effective segmentation to select names for catalog contact. While very sophisticated segmentation and scoring models have proven successful at larger companies, it’s best to first exploit the