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If you think email is starting to feel outdated, perhaps it's not the tool, but your misuse of the tool. For years, I resorted to email when other forms of communication would have been much more effective. Why? Because everyone has an inbox. It's the most reliable way to reach someone without having to know all their different communication preferences. What our chosen email tool did was help break us out of the email box we were in to see all the different communication streams we could choose from for any given task. 

While retailers are diving headfirst into mobile payments, consumers appear to be a bit more hesitant. Usage of digital wallets remains at less than one-third, even though a surprisingly high number of U.S. consumers — 80 percent — recognize the technology as an alternative to cash-based transactions, according to a survey of more than 2,000 smartphone, tablet and desktop users from local search and digital marketing research firm Thrive Analytics.

Google's secretive research laboratory is trying to build a fleet of drones designed to bypass earthbound traffic so packages can be delivered to people more quickly. The ambitious program announced Thursday escalates Google's technological arms race with rival Amazon.com Inc., which also is experimenting with self-flying vehicles to carry merchandise bought by customers of its online store. Amazon is mounting its own challenges to Google in online video, digital advertising and mobile computing in a battle that

Zappos and training app MapMyFitness are teaming up to ensure runners are never logging miles on worn-out shoes. The two companies announced last week a new feature called Gear Tracker in the MapMyFitness app for Apple iOS users. The feature lets users estimate when their shoes are too worn to run in and then gives them the option of buying a new pair of shoes directly from the fitness tracking app. The companies expect to bring the same feature to Google's Android before the end of the year.

Yesterday, Uber introduced the Corner Store, a same-day home delivery service. The personal ride-share company is enabling mobile app users to order household items (e.g., medicine, toiletries) and have a driver bring them directly to their doorstep. "But of course! Why haven't retailers and tech startups thought of this before? What a novel idea! Not to mention how cost effective it is!" said no one.

The back-to-school (BTS) season is dwarfed by the year-end holiday season, but with close to $75B at stake this BTS season, it's no small matter for retailers. A recent survey by e-commerce personalization software provider Baynote, in conjunction with the e-tailing group, looked at the behavior of today's BTS consumer and offered insights that are useful to retailers which want to make the most of the short but sweet BTS season. Here are four key takeaways that retailers should heed:

Most small retailers lack the resources and store footprint to handle same-day shipping on their own. However, it's still possible for small retail brands to offer same-day shipping with the support of a third-party fulfillment and logistics provider. Here are five ways smaller retailers can compete with Amazon's same-day delivery model:

Q: "When PLAs were free, our company was king. Now that they're paid, we can't figure out how to crack the code and get PLA visibility. Any best practices around getting the most out of PLAs?" — Jackie Eldridge,  director of social media and affiliate 
marketing, DollarDays.com

Holiday 2014 is right around the corner, and it's going to be mobile. For the first time ever, according to Branding Brand's Mobile Commerce Index, the majority of online retail visitors will come from smartphones and tablets, not desktops. This historic shift requires retailers to prepare for the holidays with a mobile audience in mind.

As a kid, I would have been a lot more willing to share toys and treats with my siblings, friends, etc., if there was a reward for doing so. My reward for sharing? Avoiding a punishment from my mother. Retailers are taking a slightly different tact to persuade customers to share their purchases with family and friends: they're paying them — or at least giving them cash back for their purchases.