March 3, 2015
The world's biggest maker of Android phones launched a major challenge to Google Wallet on Sunday, saying it will soon launch a rival phone-based payment system. Samsung Pay will appear first in the summer in the U.S. — later in other markets — and will allow consumers to make tap-and-go payments with a smartphone. It's being introduced as Google is moving to strengthen its position in the mobile payments market to better compete with Apple Pay.
February 26, 2015
Any small business working with a limited budget or staff knows the challenges that come with gaining traffic, traction and sales. Unlike retail giants that can drop millions on advertising and marketing initiatives, smaller e-tailers need to be crafty and use inexpensive (or even free) tools to connect with consumers. Here are three tips on how to accomplish that:
February 24, 2015
Google has inked a distribution deal with the biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. to get its Google Wallet payments app pre-installed on their phones. At the same time, Google is buying technology from Softcard, the mobile payments app backed by the same carriers. The deal will see Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T pre-install Google Wallet on their Android phones in the U.S. later this year. The move also involves Google buying some intellectual property from Softcard, formerly known as ISIS.
February 18, 2015
Retailers took spending on product listing ads (PLAs) to another level at the end of 2014. According to data from Adobe Digital Index, Google Shopping ad spending in the retail sector grew 47 percent year-over-year and 53 percent quarter-over-quarter in last year's fourth quarter. Meanwhile, spending on Google text ads was down 6 percent year-over-year. PLAs accounted for one-fifth of U.S. retail search ad clicks in the fourth quarter of 2014. Despite their decline in spend, Google text ads led in share of search engine marketing clicks, grabbing two-thirds of the total.
February 9, 2015
It's a new year and the Lett Direct team has put together "50 Best Tips for 2015" that will help you increase your profits. While not in any particular order, these suggestions are being made to help you improve your print catalog and digital marketing programs. Some of our suggestions might be obvious while other tips might stimulate your thinking. Regardless, we hope our tips and suggestions for 2015 will benefit your business.
February 6, 2015
Apple Pay is shiny, it looks nice, it's fun, but it could have been made much more compelling to consumers and merchants, simultaneously creating incremental value, following the Starbucks model. There has to be a method that consumers can adopt easily. For example, it has to easily work with all smartphones and there needs to be some method of giving more value to both merchant and user than existing payment cards and systems are able to offer.
February 3, 2015
Google determines search rank through an algorithm that includes keywords, listing quality and reviews, and having the product in stock, so it's important for retail marketers to optimize the use of each of these factors on their product pages. Products with all of these attributes will land on the first two pages 25 percent of the time, while failing to have just one of these likely pushes it to the third page or later.
January 29, 2015
Ever bent on competing with everyone, Amazon.com launched an email service yesterday called WorkMail. The new service is exclusively for the workplace — not personal use. Amazon will be charging subscription fees of $4 a month for each account on WorkMail, prices that are in keeping with both Office 365 and Google Apps for Work. Additional features include calendaring, calendar sharing, tasks, contact lists, distribution lists, resource booking, public folders and away messages. The subscription will give users 50 gigabytes of email storage as well.
January 23, 2015
Recent security breaches and new emerging payment alternatives such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet are expanding the exposure of personal information in ways that we haven't seen before. The key question that consumers are now asking is, "Do I trust you enough to share my personal information and will you keep it secure?"
January 22, 2015
As a digital marketer, you work hard every day to support your brand's e-commerce efforts. You strive to differentiate and capture the attention of busy consumers, and, of course, you mind your budget. Like any responsible marketer, you sometimes wonder how you can get even more bang for your buck. Savvy digital marketers know that one of the best ways to capture sales is to optimize their digital ad content.
