Cover Story
Small e-retailers fight to wrest the “value” shopper
from Wal-Mart and Amazon
Online shoppers are seeking value. And that’s helped big retailers with a reputation for low prices—like Wal-Mart, Amazon and Costco—to thrive during the recession. Smaller e-retailers are fighting back, seeking ways to convey their own value proposition. This story will take a detailed look at a swath of 25 smaller retailers in the Internet Retailer Top 500 to see what they’re doing to woo cost-conscious shoppers, which of these strategies is working, how consumer behavior is changing as the economy shows some signs of improvement, and how the value mantra will impact the ability of smaller online merchants to compete in the 2009 holiday season.

Strategies for boosting ROI and shopper satisfaction
At a time when consumers are spending carefully, a loyal shopper is more valuable than ever to online retailers. That makes it imperative for e-retailers to provide the best possible customer service. But the economic downturn has made consumers finicky. It was a sign of the times that customer satisfaction with top online retailers fell last year in an annual survey by ForeSee Results. That’s a wake-up call, but also an opportunity: Retailers that can provide outstanding customer service can win the loyalty of valuable shoppers for years to come. Winning that loyalty will require retailers to raise their customer service game, now that so many consumers are comfortable researching products and services through retailer and manufacturer web sites, blogs, forums and social media sites. Read more

• Full Page Ad - across from editorial
• Editorial Mention: Your company will be prominently mentioned within the text of the special editorial report across from your full page ad
• Bonus Online Visibility: included as a special feature on InternetRetailer.com, our high-traffic industry web site. Advertisers in the print version of the special report will receive a hot link to their web sites in the online version of the report.
• Exclusive Advertising: The only advertising included in this section will be that of companies participating in this special offer.
• Cost: $8,000 net