Google

Online fashion retailer Piperlime recently announced plans to open its first brick-and-mortar location in New York City. With this announcement, Piperlime joins Amazon.com, eBay, Google and other major online brands in a migration beyond the frontiers of the cybersphere and into the physical retail space.

To beat web "spam," Google continues to change the rules and algorithms on how consumers find websites and products through its search engine. With the latest algorithm debuting on April 24, "Google Penguin," many online retailers are scratching their heads as they find their website traffic has slowed or come to a complete stop. Unfortunately, their poor page ranking in Google is the result of being penalized for search engine optimization practices in use for over the past 10 years.

Google created an infographic exploring Father’s Day digital trends. Take a look at what Google found below, including how instrumental and varied online research is for gift-giving.

Retail search marketers have for years longed to capitalize on "long-tail keywords." Unlike "head terms" that are short and have high query volume, long-tail terms are highly specific and have much lower query volume. Not only are long-tail keywords cheaper than their shorter, more competitive head term counterparts, they're more qualified and therefore lead to significantly higher conversion rates. In theory, lower costs and higher conversions should lead to higher return on investment for retailers. Unfortunately, capitalizing on long-tail keywords has proven to be much easier said than done.

Google's Project Glass, a wearable computer that provides an augmented reality experience, has created a buzz about how its futuristic capabilities will transform daily experiences. Among these, Google is changing the way consumers interact with retailers, bringing a new wave of mobile devices to the commercial space. 

As it watched its biggest competitor file for bankruptcy and cease operating, Barnes & Noble knew that a change to its business model was necessary for its survival. Specifically, that change meant shifting its focus to becoming a digital book seller. In his keynote address at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble, detailed how the bookstore chain has used the web to redefine and grow its business.

Google has announced that it will transition Google Product Search away from being free for merchants to list their products into a commercial model built on the Product Listing Ads program. The new paid program will simply be called Google Shopping.

Mobile isn't just a useful tool in a retailer's toolkit anymore; it's an essential element of successful multichannel marketing, engagement and loyalty initiatives. The mobile internet — the mobile web, native applications, hybrid platforms and web apps — is fundamentally changing the way businesses can interact, engage and monetize their relationship with consumers.

Clear your throat, put down your mouse, take your fingers off the touchscreen; retail is primed to be the next industry to use the spoken word as the interface between consumers and technology. Driving this innovation in large part is the prevalence of smartphones today and, in turn, the growth of mobile commerce.

As the price of postage continues to rise, it's time for B-to-B marketers to get out there and actively explore new ways to reach their customers who bypass the USPS. It's time to consider digital catalogs as part of your media mix.