November 13, 2014
Given that the majority of shoppers will begin researching gifts before Thanksgiving arrives, it's crucial to think ahead. In a perfect world, you've perfected your digital strategy months in advance. But even if you're late to the game, there are ways to fine-tune your digital strategies ahead of the holiday rush. Here are six tips on how to make the most of the massive e-commerce opportunity on Cyber Monday:
November 3, 2014
With all the acclaim that Amazon.com receives for being an innovative, bleeding-edge technology company/online retailer, it may come as somewhat of a surprise that its workforce is primarily composed of white men. Without knowing any better, I would have thought that the online retail giant had a more diversified workforce.
October 30, 2014
The mobile payments app — which hasn't been officially released — was created for the sole purpose of getting stores away from credit card fees they pay every time you swipe your card. On Wednesday, those taking part in the CurrentC pilot program received a warning from the consortium of anti-credit card retailers called MCX, or Merchant Consumer Exchange: The program was hacked in the last 36 hours, and criminals managed to grab the email addresses of anyone who signed up for the program.
October 24, 2014
After accepting Apple Pay at all of its stores on Oct. 20 — Apple Pay's launch day — Rite Aid apparently stopped its support for the technology yesterday, according to a report yesterday in Mac Rumors.
October 23, 2014
Imagine spilling coffee on your way to a holiday party and needing a new shirt right away. Macy's has a solution: A quick Google search on your smartphone will tell you if that red sweater is stocked at a Macy's nearby, in your size, and at what price. Beginning in November, shoppers can search for an item on their phone and see what's stocked at their nearest Macy's location. Alongside the images are product details like price, size and color, directions to the store, and a link to the item on the retailer's website.
October 23, 2014
Whether web designers or developers choose to optimize images — and how they choose to optimize them — has been a longstanding area of opinion and debate. Optimizing images so that they render more quickly in the user's browser should be a priority for every site owner. There are a number of image optimization techniques — ranging from basic to advanced — that site owners can leverage. Here are six:
October 22, 2014
These days, anyone can sell online and make significant profits. During the budding years of e-commerce, online selling was dominated by large retail corporations with the resources to sell (and ship) far and wide. But new technologies and platforms (think Etsy and Shopify) are giving independent e-tailers the resources, tools and momentum they need to push their bigger counterparts out of the way.
October 21, 2014
While the quest for faster shipping is an ongoing struggle for retailers and fulfillment companies, it's unlikely that drones or anticipatory shipping alone will be the key to faster deliveries. Instead, these services will be the gateway into a new shipping model — one that's customer centric, highly personalized and characterized by the following:
October 14, 2014
Google is expanding its delivery service and will start charging a membership fee, intensifying its battle with Amazon.com for consumer spending. Starting this week, Google will charge $10 a month, or $95 a year, for unlimited same-day or overnight delivery on orders over $15. Nonmembers will pay $4.99 an order, or $7.99 if the order costs less than $15. Until now, the deliveries had been free. The service, initially named Google Shopping Express but now known simply as Google Express, lets customers place orders online for products from physical stores run by retailers including Costco, Staples and Walgreens.
October 8, 2014
The launch of Apple Pay last month is a significant development in mobile payments, which is set to dramatically change the way that consumers shop in-store.
