Best Buy

If you’re like most consumers, buying online is more of a possibility today than it was yesterday, and you’ll probably think about it more tomorrow. Can big wins be made by optimizing your online shopping experience? Best Buy did and boasted a 34 percent increase in online sales for the fourth quarter of 2008. infoUSA.com did, and it more than doubled its online revenue in just one year.

An interview with Jason Blake, founder and president of The Pond Guy, a catalog/multichannel marketer of supplies for the maintenance of ponds, lakes and water features.

Finding a nonstruggling multichannel retailer these days isn’t easy, but finding some that seem to know how to get through the recession is very possible. And during a session at the recent National Retail Federation Convention & Expo in New York ...

With the holiday shopping season now all wrapped up, here's a look back at several reports over the past month to provide an overview of how it all went down — both from what was predicted to what actually transpired.

You don’t have to operate any stores to always “mind the store.” For us in the catalog/direct/multichannel world, that means finding time in our 24/7, 365-days-a-year world to step back and ask ourselves a few questions. It’s not an easy task to pull back from our everyday happenings, but it’s mission critical to stop and ask:
1. Are we the company our customers want us to be?
2. Are we the company our competition envies?
3. Are we looking around every corner to see what’s coming next?
4. And for that matter, how can we adapt to meet the needs of

Catalogers’ Updates Acquisitions Multichannel apparel and home products merchant Appleseed’s, a portfolio company of private equity firm Golden Gate capital, acquired in January apparel and home goods cataloger Blair Corp. The deal, expected to close later this spring, is valued at $173.6 million. Musician’s Friend catalog, a subsidiary of Guitar Center, in February acquired multititle musical instrument merchant The Woodwind and Brasswind. The $29.9 million transaction has been approved following a stalled purchase attempt in November. Finance Private equity firm Parallel Investment Part-ners in January completed the recapitalization of multichannel outdoor apparel and equipment merchant Moosejaw Mountaineering and Backcountry Travel. Furthermore … Multititle general merchandise cataloger Miles Kimball Co. will

Move toward a consistent opt strategy across all business units, channels and programs. The challenge is determine whether it's an opt-in or opt-out strategy. Identify how to communicate your opt strategy across all channels and media. Develop processes for opt-out across your brand, channels and programs. - Tony Hart, chief privacy officer and vice president of enterprise CRM, Best Buy