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5 Reasons Why Catalogers Struggle Selling Online
June 8, 2010

In a session he led at the refocused Retail Marketing Conference in Orlando, Fla., Bill LaPierre, senior vice president of direct marketing and list firm Direct Media/Millard, discussed why traditional catalog marketers have encountered difficulty transitioning into online merchants. A recap of LaPierre's session follows, along with five pitfalls to avoid when shifting from a catalog-centric business to an online-driven operation.

Changing Channels
June 1, 2010

Whether you want to grow your business or maintain your database size as customers age out, prospecting is a challenge every successful cross-channel retailer needs to master. For some, buying lists and using paid search are the beginning and end of their prospecting efforts. But many eventually realize that to grow their businesses — and combat limited list universes
and increasingly competitive paid search pricing — they need to look at expanding further into multichannel prospecting.

Retailers Integrate Brick-and-Mortar Stores to Expedite Online Orders
May 21, 2010

Some traditional retailers, seeking to compete with the efficiency and shipping speed of online merchants like Amazon.com, are finding new ways to tap their stores to fill online orders. Nordstrom and Jones Apparel Group are increasingly using their large store networks, in addition to big centralized distribution hubs, to ship online orders quickly to buyers nearby. New inventory management software, they say, helps them increase efficiency in part by using online orders to keep excess inventory from building up in stores.

Amazon to Extend its Reach Into Publishing
May 19, 2010

Amazon.com Inc. said it plans to launch a publishing imprint that will produce English-language translations of foreign-language books. The imprint, AmazonCrossing, will acquire rights to books and hire writers to translate them into English before printing and selling them through Amazon's retail website, said Jeff Belle, Amazon's vice president of books.

"Shipping Costs Are Eating Me Alive"
May 1, 2010

Q:"Shipping costs are eating me alive. Customers want free or very low shipping, but they have no idea what that means for small online retail stores. Do you have any strategies to deal with shipping costs and remain competitive?"— Carla Rose, owner, Green and Chic

iPad Mobile Shopping is Where E-Commerce Meets Catalogs
May 1, 2010

In publishing, they're calling it "the Moses Tablet." Such is the potential seen in Apple's recently released iPad, the bigger version of the iPhone — sans phone. But that potential extends to retailers too, and with its big, shiny, multitouch, high-definition screen, the iPad may be the best visual selling space since catalogs.

Going Mobile
May 1, 2010

Will 2010 finally be the year of mobile commerce? While mobile has been the "next big thing" for at least the last five years, 2010 may actually be a banner year for the platform. Smartphone and iPhone usage has soared, and even older adults use phones to check the stock market, find the best deals at the grocery store and price insurance policies.

Retailers Well Represented in List of Top Hiring Companies
April 2, 2010

The Labor Department reported that 36,000 jobs were lost in February, in addition to the 8.4 million that have vanished since the Great Recession began. The unemployment rate still sits at 9.7 percent. But not every big company has been hunkering down and waiting for the economy to recover--some are expanding right now to gain market share while their weaker competitors flounder. Looking at data from publicly traded companies, Forbes created a top 10 list of publicly traded companies that added the most workers organically in 2009. It includes blue chips like Amazon.com, Comcast and Lowe's. The group is a window into where the recovery will take place.

Befriend Consumers With Your Merchandise
March 22, 2010

Brands endear themselves to their customers by creating products that become part of their customers’ lives. Products endear themselves to customers by making their lives easier, simpler or better in some way.