/ Technology

Putting together an online marketing strategy is one thing. Building a strategy for measuring the impact of marketing is quite another.

/ Technology

Planogram applications help chain retailers effectively disseminate merchandising and other planning information to every store.

/ Technology

There are three crucial tasks for e-retailers seeking success with contact center outsourcing: monitor, measure and motivate.

/ Marketing

Companies like Micros Retail, Escalate Retail, Microsoft, IBM and iCongo are offering more multi-channel functionality in technology platforms, enabling merchants to better market and merchandise to shoppers based on their shopping behavior across multiple channels.

/ Marketing

When beauty products retailer Sephora wanted to create buzz among consumers loyal to its brand to build a broader network of engaged shoppers, it turned to a viral marketing campaign that produced a response rate three times higher than attempts made through banner ads and e-mail marketing.

/ E-Retailers

Circuit City is operating with new senior management for its online channel as its web sales approach $1.4 billion for the fiscal year ending Feb. 28, as online sales grow to 13% of total sales. Its strategy going forward to be to emphasize interactivity with online shoppers, such as through product videos.

/ Technology

To emphasize customer service, Sears is bringing products out to customers waiting in cars for orders placed online for store pick-up—even though customers who come inside the store to pick up products ordered online often buy additional products, Sears says.

/ Marketing

The auto parts retailer has been getting better results from comparison shopping sites since deploying a new tool that feeds product data to the third-party sites and provides a dashboard view of click activity. AutoBarn says it`s on pace to save 17% of its comparison shopping ad budget.

/ Marketing

Rather than disappearing from the retail scene, CompUSA.com will evolve into a broader e-commerce site with an improved shopping experience and an extended line of consumer electronics, according to Systemax, which expects to closed this quarter on its planned purchase of CompUSA.

/ Marketing

Eleven of the 100 online retailers surveyed in The E-Tailing Group`s 10 th Annual Mystery Shopping Study offer all 12 shopping features researched in the study, including a toll-free phone number on the home page, keyword site search and correct answers to customer e-mail questions within 25 hours.

/ Technology

Online shopping grew 19% this Christmas while store sales were virtually flat. Even with fewer crowds, shopping at stores just wasn`t much fun.

/ Technology

Web hosting is a cornerstone of e-commerce. As such, e-retailers must carefully prepare prior to seeking a host, understanding their needs to ensure a successful marriage.

/ Technology

Thanks to integrated systems, better logistics and stricter cost control, many merchants now view fulfillment and shipping as a profit center.

/ Marketing

Site search is blossoming into a tool that delivers more than a list of results. E-retailers are ordering results based on business goals and beginning to blend site and web search.

/ Marketing

Customer reviews can lift sales—and do much more. Retailers, for example, are including reviews in e-mail marketing, with big results; and they’re using reviews to enhance how shoppers navigate sites. But gaining enough reviews and avoiding shenanigans are challenges.

/ Marketing

/ Technology

68% of online consumers buy on the web at least once a month, Forrester Research says.