Internet Retailer

In a session at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, Kevin Gardiner, Macy's director of retail services, discussed the company's ship-from-store program, including its challenges, how success is measured, why data is integral to the program as well as future innovation opportunities for the retailer. 

How has Joyus, the San Francisco-based video shopping platform startup that's raised more than $19 million in funding, been able to realize success from its use of online video? Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, chairman and founder of Joyus, explained how via three lessons during her keynote presentation at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday.

In a conversation with Retail Online Integration yesterday at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago, GameStop's Executive Vice President of Business Development Mike Hogan discusses the brand's loyalty program, PowerUp Rewards. In part one of this two-part series, Hogan discusses the

Growing his e-commerce business from $5,000 in sales in year one (2008) to $27 million in sales five years later, Josh Neblett, co-founder and CEO of Etailz.com, which operates three e-commerce websites — GreenCupboards.com, ecomom.com and everyCasa.com; a soon-to-launch site, coybeauty.com; a brick-and-mortar store in the company's hometown of Spokane, Wash.; and etoolz, a division focused on developing proprietary software solutions and tools, is well schooled on what it takes to grow a business from startup to thriving operation. Neblett shared those insights yesterday at a session at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. Here's a list of his five things bootstrapped e-commerce businesses should do, followed by five things they shouldn't do:

Changing consumer demands and increased competition are ushering in a new era of retail fulfillment and delivery. The new face of shipping that will take form over the next year will be completely catered to consumers, who now expect fast, free shipping and returns as the industry norm. There are several strategies retailers can adopt to appeal to today's tech-savvy, budget-conscious consumers, and compete with industry giants such as Amazon.com:

The culture of retail has been evolving for decades. In the 90s, the growth occurred in brick-and-mortar stores; from 2000 to 2010, retailers had to shift their focus to offer better online shopping experiences; and this decade is all about the evolution of omnichannel. Today, retailers are charged with creating the ideal shopping experience everywhere. For consumers, it must be seamless and simple no matter where their purchases take place.

Quartz reported that Wal-Mart has taken a step to be more like Amazon.com with its announcement of the opening of two warehouses dedicated solely to shipping web orders in the U.S. "Wal-Mart has been angling to compete in the e-commerce world for over a decade but has failed to catch up with Amazon. In 2012,…

Having had a couple of days to regroup and recover from last week's Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE) in Chicago, I wanted to take the opportunity this space provides me to offer my thoughts on the event. So, in no particular order, here they are:

Niraj Shah, CEO of Wayfair (formerly CSN Stores), the Boston-based online seller of home furnishings, with 1,250 employees, a global presence, 2012 revenue of $600 million and a 40 percent growth rate, offered his four drivers of long-term retail success during a session at the 2013 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago last week. They include the following:

In this video from the 2013 Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, Melissa Campanelli, editor-in-chief of Retail Online Integration, chats with Sarah Mcilroy, founder and president of FashionPlaytes.com (also known as F.P. Girl). Mcilroy discusses the concept of "metaling," along with how FashionPlaytes.com stays true to its audience to help evolve the brand.