Categories Covered in November Issue Personalization E-commerce Technology Payment Security E-mail Marketing

Cover story:
Minimum prices and the threat to e-commerce
With less overhead, online retailers can sell goods at lower prices than merchants that operate stores. Now the retail chains are fighting back, aided by a Supreme Court decision last year that opened the door to manufacturers enforcing minimum prices on their goods. A lawsuit filed by BabyAge.com alleges that the dominant retailer in baby products, the Babies ‘R Us subsidiary of Toys ‘R Us, has pressured major suppliers of baby strollers, breast pumps, car seats and other items to insist that online retailers not sell below certain prices. This story will look at whether the same is occurring in other industries, how online retailers are responding in court and in the marketplace, and the implications for the future of online retailing.

Other stories:
The several flavors of recommendation engines
Personalization is a hot topic and vendors have come up with different approaches to providing recommendations to online shoppers. Some base their recommendations on the customer’s demographic profile and buying history, others on what consumers across the web are viewing and buying, and still others on profiles derived from the online behavior of the individual consumer. This story will examine each approach and report on retailers’ experiences with each. A sidebar will examine how often consumers delete cookies, and what that means to retailers that use cookies to track customer behavior.

eBay reinvents itself—again
The auction format that made eBay a household name is losing its allure, and eBay’s new management has responded with measures aimed at winning back the loyalty of its consumer base. Some of those measures have angered eBay merchants, but they’re likely to stick around if eBay can continue to deliver millions of consumers. Some already have moved to Amazon and other shopping platforms, and more will if eBay doesn’t come up with a winning strategy. This story will look at the changes eBay has made, how consumers are responding and how eBay merchants are fine-tuning their strategies to maximize profits from selling on the new eBay.

The ins and outs of web site imagery
E-retailers have made great strides in bringing their products to life by displaying beautiful, detailed images. But many challenges remain, especially for retailers selling goods that consumers want to look at closely, such as apparel or furniture. This story will explore what consumers are looking for and what technology is available to enable retailers to provide great product images. It will also look at how online retailers produce the multiple views of a product that enable a web shopper to see the product from various angles. Must retailers become their own photographers, or are there services that can do this work?

How to choose among the latest e-commerce tech toys
Sexy new technologies come along all the time, but few retailers have the resources to implement them all. Which ones do experts view as holding the greatest promise? How do retailers decide which technologies to explore? And how are e-commerce teams organized to implement new systems with maximum efficiency?.

The bad guys don’t always wear black
Criminals make billions from Internet fraud, giving them every incentive to recruit the brightest, if not the best, of young web enthusiasts who come up with new ways to commit fraud all the time. This story will look at some of the latest scams and the new technologies and security practices that help retailers tell the difference between legitimate customers and criminals.

E-mail marketing: segmenting for success
With consumers’ e-mail inboxes overflowing, retailers have to be smarter than ever about how to use this highly cost-effective marketing tool without turning off good customers. This story will explore how online retailers are segmenting their lists to deliver e-mails consumers will appreciate because of their relevancy, how often they send e-mail, how to combine demographic and purchase data to target e-mails, and how retailers woo back customers who are especially fast to hit the delete key.

The web in the store: what works?
Wal-Mart just announced plans to Internet-enable 27,000 screens in 2,700 stores, enabling the retail giant to customize each display according to such local conditions as what’s selling and the weather. That’s just one example of how stores are incorporating Internet technology to enable more targeted marketing and greater efficiency. This story will explore the latest web technologies to reach the bricks-and-mortar world.

To reserve advertising space in November's IR issue, please contact one of the display advertising sales representatives today!

Space Reservation: October 8, 2008
Materials Due Deadline: October 15, 2008