November 11, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Room 77 has expanded their comprehensive search engine and hotel room review website and will now allow travelers to book hotel rooms directly from their site. The new Room 77 feature helps travelers ensure they are booking the perfect room at their desired hotel.

The site launched back in February and is still in beta. Since its launch, Room 77 has been providing travelers with detailed reviews of hotel rooms at specific properties. The reviews include room type/category, square footage, bed type, elevator proximity and whether or not it is a connecting room. Travelers can also access a virtual room view for each room which simulates the actual view from that room’s window using Google Earth technology.

As of yesterday, travelers using Room 77 can shop and compare prices from every major online travel agency site and book rooms from over 120,000 hotels around the world. Room 77 differentiates their services from those of their competitors by working with travelers beyond the reservation. The company offers travelers access to a free Room Concierge for bookings in 3 to 5 star hotels. The Room Concierge employs Room 77’s RoomMatch feature in order to identify the best type of room for specific travelers and then works with hotels to book one.

Although it is not possible for the site to guarantee travelers a specific room number, it allows them to book according to a hotel specific type of room. For example, Room 77’s Concierge Service will work to find you a room that is quiet or has a great view. The Concierge Service aims to fit traveler preferences with the best room within a particular category.

Room 77 realizes that many travelers feel like they are placed in average or worse rooms when they book using online travel deal sites. Company founder Brad Gerstner had this to say to address traveler concerns:

“We want travelers to rest assured that when they use Room 77 they not only get a great deal but they also get a great room because our Room Concierge has their back.”

The website also offers a grid-view of competitors prices to ensure travelers find the best deal. Although other sites like Expedia, Travelocity, or Priceline may have cheaper prices for certain hotels, travelers only get the benefit of the complimentary Room Concierge if their room is booked through Room 77.

Room 77 can be accessed on the web and via smartphone applications. However, online booking is currently unavailable for travelers using mobile devices. The company is in the works of releasing a mobile app in upcoming months.

November 9, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

We recently got a chance to sit down with Jim Wehmann, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Digital River, to chat about some strategies that businesses are using to market their ecommerce solutions this holiday season.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Businesses are increasingly turning to multi-channel marketing techniques to establish and reinforce online offers. We are seeing much higher levels of coordination this holiday season across a variety of online marketing channels such as email campaigns, flash deal sites, social media, and search campaigns. Companies are using combinations of these channels to keep customers checking back for new offers.

Social Commerce

The days of social media sites being a strictly “social” experience are over, embedded commerce is now a large part of the experience on sites like Facebook. Marketers are using these channels to engage target audiences and promote offers more than ever. The main challenge that marketers face with social media sites is how to most effectively leverage the millions of fans or users in a way that makes it a better user experience for them as well.

A real-life example of how a business might leverage Facebook users to promote an offer would be to have a “hidden” offer on the business’s Facebook page. Let’s say the offer is 50 percent off on a downloadable PC game but users can’t see the offer until they “like” the page. Once a customer has signed up for the offer they have to wait until 1000 people have also “liked” the page and signed up for the offer before the download is released. This type of promotion keeps people coming back to check on the offer and also encourages them to spread the word to their friends.

Mobile and Tablet Commerce

The rapid expansion of mobile commerce is in effect multiplying the workload that marketers have to tackle. Merchants have to reformat and adapt their ecommerce solutions to function on a variety of devices in order to provide a convenient and easy shopping experience for customers. Most aspects of a promotional strategy need to be restructured for mobile because there is not as much “real estate” on small devices. For example banner ads that would be large and prominent on a computer screen don’t fit well into a tiny mobile display.

U.S. Market vs. Global Market

When it comes to marketing ecommerce solutions globally, companies have to take into account a lot of local factors for the country or region that they are promoting in. It is important to understand what a culturally appropriate user experience looks like and how different groups of people want to browse, shop, and buy. There are some universal commonalities in how people shop online but there are also lots of differences.

In the U.S., marketing strategies tend to be more promotional and harder hitting direct marketing strategies are used frequently. Customers respond well to things like discounts and free shipping when deciding what they want in their shopping carts. Comparatively, customers in Europe tend to be less spontaneous and want to see more research about a product so marketers might be more personal and use more of a letter format to promote offers.

About Digital River, Inc.

Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global ecommerce solutions, builds and manages online businesses for software and game publishers, consumer electronics manufacturers, distributors, online retailers and affiliates. Its multi-channel ecommerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an ecommerce operation. The company’s comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services. Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate website, call +1 952-253-1234, or follow the company on Twitter.

About Jim Wehmann

In addition to leading Digital River’s corporate marketing activities as the Senior Vice President of Global Marketing, Jim Wehmann manages a group of skilled direct marketing experts who impact the success of some of the biggest and most recognizable brands on the Internet. Jim’s team specializes in marketing online programs, merchandising stores and implementing proven best practices that drive website traffic, increase close rates, multiply average order values and raise overall sales for many of Digital River’s largest clients.

November 7, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday swiftly approaching, Amazon has released their much-anticipated 2011 Holiday Toy List. Revealed on Wednesday (11/2), this year’s Toy List features items such as games, movies, electronics, and sporting goods in addition to popular toys. Amazon’s list is a great tool for parents who are fighting to keep up with popular toy trends. The toy list can be filtered by different categories like “Gifts for Girls,” “Gifts for Boys,” “Top Video Game Gifts,” “Games and Puzzle Gifts,” etc. Shoppers will also find it helpful to further filter the categories by organizing them according to price, rating, and best sellers.

Toys ‘R’ Us released their 2011 Holiday Hot Toy List at the end of September, which included several of the gifts on Amazon’s list. However, Amazon’s list highlights hundreds of toys and is much larger than the Hot Toy list. It also has a lot more variety for children of different age groups.

There are around 600 toys on the list, ranging in price from $6 to $360. The most expensive toy that made the list is National Products 12 Chevrolet Camaro Ride-on coming in at $359.99, while the cheapest is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, ringing up at $5.99 plus shipping. Below are a few of the most popular toys this 2011 holiday season. As usual on Amazon, the prices of these items are subject to fluctuation.

Let’s Rock Elmo: This toy is ready to rock out with children ages 18 months to 4 years. Elmo comes with a microphone, drum set and tambourine and is able to “magically” recognize which instrument is placed in front of him. Kids can also play along with Elmo as he sings his songs with the drums and tambourine that are perfectly sized for little hands. Elmo can also interact with the LET’S ROCK! guitar, keyboard and microphone (all sold separately). Let’s Rock Elmo is currently priced at $54.88.

Razor Graffiti Chalk Scooter: Recommended for children aged 6 and older, the Graffiti Chalk Scooter lets kids leave their mark while they ride. Equipped with 6 non-toxic chalk sticks, your child can make colorful designs while they ride around the neighborhood on this coveted Razor scooter. The sleek design features foam handlebars and a patented folding system for easy transport and storage. Those who are wishing to purchase the Razor Graffiti Chalk Scooter can expect to pay $49.94 on Amazon.

LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet: Watch your kids have fun while they expand their knowledge of subjects like science, reading, and mathematics. The tablet, made by LeapFrog, comes with a built-in camera, which allows kids to create interactive art. The LeapPad Explorer Learning Tablet features a design that will withstand shaking, flipping, and turning. The tablet is designed for children ages 4 to 9 and comes with a library with over 100 learning games and apps. This tablet for kids is currently available for $99.

Hot Wheels Wall Tracks Starter Set: Hot Wheels continues to innovate this year with the Wall Tracks Starter Set. This track mounts to the wall, bringing Hot Wheels stunts to new heights. This set can be connected to other track sets or used alone. The full-color template gives you incredibly simple instructions on how to assemble the set–and most of the construction can be done by children. The track set comes with a Hot Wheels Car, 3M Command Strips for mounting, and the easy instructions poster for the hot price of $27.88.

Kodak EasyShare Sport: This camera is perfect for your future photographer. The Kodak EasyShare Sport can be used under up to 10 feet of water and is also built to withstand exposure to sand, dirt, and dust. The camera features a share button that lets you tag, e-mail, or share your pictures and videos on popular social networking sites. It’s available in gray, blue, and red. Currently listed at $72.41, the price of this camera cannot be beat.

November 5, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Wine flash sale site Lot18 will be turning one year old next week and certainly has a lot to celebrate.

Since Lot18 began selling wine last November the site has gained more than 500,000 members, sold more than 500,000 bottles of wine, grown from six employees to more than 80, and is currently doing more than $1 million in monthly sales. The company closed two rounds of funding earlier this year totalling $13 million and to top it all off has just raised another $30 million in a third round. The round was led by Accel Partners with additional participation from earlier investors New Enterprise Associates and FirstMark Capital.

Lot18 is an invitation-only site that provides its members with access to deals on fine wines and artisinal wine-themed food selections such as cheeses, chocolate, and cured meats. Every day the site offers up to 20 new high-end products procured from around the world. Users receive daily emails notifying them of the latest offers but if they don’t make purchases or look at the deals emails will become less frequent.

Unlike some of the other flash sale ecommerce solutions out there Lot18 is not just about the deals. The company wants to attract people who are interested in discovering new wines and foods from around the world that they might not otherwise be exposed to. Founder Philip James explained it like this:

“When I think of flash sales, I think of discounts on products I already know. When something is artisanal, and it comes from a small, family-owned business, it’s about introducing people to brands they don’t already know.”

Last month the site added Lot18 Experiences, offering exclusive getaways and excursions to some of the worlds best wine countries and regions. The most luxurious travel deal offered through Lot18 experiences is a seven-week long wine tour of eight countries including Argentina, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa, and Napa in the U.S. Members who want to add this getaway to their shopping cart can do so for a mere $100,000.

Sameer Gandhi of Accel Partners will be joining Lot18’s board of directors. He previously led Accel’s investments in Bonobos, Spotify, and StumbleUpon and was listed in Forbes magazine’s Midas 100 list of top tech investors. Gandhi had the following to say about the company:

“Companies such as Bonobos and Diapers.com are successful because their sites offer an unparalleled, delightful customer experience. Lot18′s philosophy is identical, from navigating the site, through the purchase and receiving of a product, to the company’s responsive customer service…The company is uniquely positioned to continue growing, innovating and improving as consumers’ appetites grow for professionally curated goods.”

Lot18’s ecommerce solution launched in November 2010 and was founded by Philip James and Kevin Fortuna. New user invitations are sent out periodically to people who register their names and emails on Lot18.com.

November 3, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

It is now officially the 2011 holiday shopping season and a number of recent studies have forecast some interesting trends that will be taking place this season.

Holiday sales in the U.S. are projected to reach $466 billion this year, a nearly three percent rise from last year. Although sales are still rising this year, it is a significantly smaller rise than last years five percent.

Shoppers will be looking to ecommerce solutions more than ever during the 2011 holiday shopping season as they hunt for deals and comparison shop. The majority of online readers surveyed by Shop.org said that they expected their sales to grow at least 15 percent through the holidays. According to NRF’s holiday survey the average person plans to do at least one third of their holiday shopping online. Shoppers will be using the Internet in greater numbers than ever for making actual purchases as well as to research and compare products and prices.

The overarching trend this season is that shoppers are looking for the most bang for their buck and any kind of deal or perk offered by retailers has major potential to influence where, when, and what consumers are putting in their shopping carts. A major factor for shoppers this season is free shipping. 92.5 percent of online retailers say that they will provide free shipping offers through the holidays and 56 percent say that they have a much higher budget for free shipping this year.

Customers are looking for the best deals on purchases, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to spend less. Shoppers are trying to get the most out of their money this season and will be looking for items that can be used or worn frequently rather than spending on something that will only get used once in a while. NRF’s holiday survey also found that people will be spending more on themselves this year. The average person who wants to take advantage of holiday deals will be spending about $130 on themselves compared to $112 last year.

For brick-and-mortar stores Thanksgiving weekend is the time to rack up sales and this year many retailers will be opening their doors earlier than ever. This week Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Target announced that they will be opening their doors at midnight on Thanksgiving night.

Another trend this year is an increase in the amount of shopping done via smartphones and tablets. 70 percent of people who own tablets will use their devices to make purchases through ecommerce solutions. Smartphones will also play a larger role than ever in holiday shopping this season as consumers use them to find products, read reviews, redeem coupons, or find store locations and hours.

The takeaway from all this is that during the 2011 holiday shopping season, customers will be spending more than last year but will be more choosy about what they are spending it on. They will be increasingly turning to ecommerce solutions to find the deals that they are looking for. Retailers can expect their online traffic to increase over the next two months and should make sure to offer customers things like free shipping on their shopping cart orders to increase sales.

November 1, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

November is here and if you haven’t started already, now is the time to optimize your ecommerce solution and marketing plan for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This Thanksgiving weekend is predicted to be more profitable than last year, but there will also be more competition for consumer dollars than ever before. The online sphere is particularly competitive with e-tailers trying to compete with ecommerce giants like eBay and Amazon. In order to attract consumers, many businesses have already begun advertising and promotions for the holiday shopping season.

If you have not yet begun holiday promotions (or even if you have), ecommerce software provider Volusion has released their “2011 Ecommerce Survival Guide for Black Friday Weekend“. We have outlined 4 of the most notable tips from their guide:

1. Increase Average Order Value

The easiest and most obvious way to boost AOV is to simply increase the price of merchandise. Increasing prices may be a good way to go if your merchandise is already priced lower than competitors or if you are planning on offering deep discounts. However, raising prices is risky business because shoppers will be especially sensitive to prices during Thanksgiving weekend due to the amount of discounts and promotions offered by a wide range of retailers.

Another approach to increasing AOV is by offering free shipping for orders over a certain amount. Consumers are attracted to free shipping and e-tailers can leverage this by offering free shipping on orders that exceed a specified amount such as $50. This will encourage consumers to fill up their shopping carts and increase the value of their order.

An alternative to offering free shipping is giving away gift cards with orders that exceed a specified amount. For example, retailers could offer a $10 gift card with a $100 purchase. This draws in consumers and also benefits merchants because  consumers will more than likely spend more than the gift card amount when they decide to redeem it.

2. Decrease Bounce Rates

To decrease bounce rates it is important to make your best holiday deals known. Consumers often move onto the next website because they aren’t finding the right product or a convincing deal. Make your best holiday deals known by prominently displaying them on your homepage. Let consumers know about the promotions you’re running during Thanksgiving weekend by announcing them front and center on your webpage. Another way to decrease bounce rates is highlighting featured deals and/or popular products with banners or icons.

3. Optimize Use of Email

Throughout the holiday season shoppers will be looking for gift ideas and special offers in their email inbox. Last year there was an average of 17.3 retailer emails sent during the months of November and December, in order to increase the chances of your email being seen you may need to up the frequency in which emails are sent. However, you must pay careful attention to avoid sending too many emails and spamming your customers. Another way to optimize the use of email is to start sending promotions out early. Many retailers have already been sending out holiday promotions for the past couple weeks.

4. Employ a Smart Coupon Strategy

70% of consumers expect retailers to offer better prices and promotions this year versus 2010 due to the state of the current economy. In addition, 38% of adult consumers will spend between 1 and 3 hours researching coupons on the Internet. Many ecommerce solutions will be offering great deals this Thanksgiving weekend and in order to compete you will need to employ a unique coupon strategy. When deciding on a coupon strategy, it is important to consider whether you are offering too much or perhaps too little. Whatever coupon or discount strategy you decide to employ, make sure you aren’t stretching your profits too thin. It is important that your business can support whatever deal you choose to promote.

October 31, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Mega-retailer Macy’s is adding a blog to their already successful ecommerce solution. Macy’s blog, or mBLOG, was officially launched last Wednesday (October 26th) and is set to include posts on various topics such as men and women’s fashion trends, home and lifestyle news, and beauty. The blog will include embedded ecommerce, which will allow readers to fill their shopping carts and purchase merchandise directly from blog posts.

Macy’s has partnered with FoodRepublic.com and Fashionista.com, who along with Macy’s style experts, will work to integrate exciting content and variety into mBLOG posts. Readers can look forward to blog posts that provide fashion and beauty tips, announcements of product launches and major sales, expert advice, and exclusive access to in-store events.

To encourage readership, the mBLOG will dedicate each day of the week to a specific topic/category. In each post Macy’s along with experts from their partnerships will provide tips and discussion in the form of how-to videos, reviews, trend-spotting, original blog posts and more.

On Monday’s, mBLOG readers can expect posts related to specifically women’s fashion. These posts might include reviews of featured products and trends, with captivating and informative articles targeting women. Guest bloggers, Macy’s fashion executives, and celebrity designers will contribute to “In My Humble Opinion”, which will be a reoccurring editorial about style.

Readers will find a fashion advice column “The Ugly Truth” on Tuesdays where men can gain insight to a female’s opinion of the clothes they wear. Tuesday’s will always feature style advice for  men, while Wednesday blog posts will be dedicated to all things home. Home blog posts will offer readers decorating ideas, cooking advice, and housewarming gift suggestions. FoodRepublic.com will be a regular contributor to these posts.

Thursday’s will focus on accessories such as shoes, handbags and jewelry. Fashionista.com will offer readers tips on how to correctly accessorize. Beauty posts are reserved for Fridays and will feature posts that review popular beauty products as well as tips and tutorials from industry experts.

Saturdays and Sundays will cover a mix of miscellaneous topics. A few reoccurring posts will be “Buzz and Weddings”, “Destinations”, and “All in the Family”. Macy’s “Buzz and Weddings” will provide readers with updates in the fashion and design world, book reviews, and more. “Destinations” will outline must-see locations throughout the United States, while “All in the Family” will have posts about ideas for entertainment, DIY projects, and sometimes pet-training tips.

This new blog seems like a logical move for Macy’s who leads the industry in social media innovation. Just this year, they launched their “Million Dollar Makeover” campaign that boosted Facebook fans from 900,000 to 1.8 million. The introduction of mBLOG comes just in time to provide shopping advice and offer ecommerce promotion for holiday shoppers.

October 27, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Millions of Internet users are members of social websites. In order to access that growing market, more and more retailers are utilizing social shopping platforms in addition to their ecommerce solutions. Just this week, Sociable Labs, a popular social ecommerce software provider, announced the $7 million success of their Series B funding round. There’s no doubt the social shopping sphere is expanding, but how important is it for retailers to invest in social shopping platforms for their ecommerce solution?

A social shopping survey conducted by Performics revealed the necessity of retailers’ acknowledgment of the opportunities to be had through the optimization of social ecommerce. The 2011 Social Shopping Study released by Performics on Thursday examined the usage of shopping sites, social networks, and deal sites in several different aspects of the shopping experience.

Some of the most notable results included those about how many people are using social shopping sites daily and what they are using them for. Between 17% and 19% of respondents use daily deal sites, shopping sites, and social networks every day to find coupons, deals, and specials. Also, 10-12% use these sites every day to read product reviews.

The survey also showed the gaining popularity of people using online networks while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. A significant amount of respondents said they occasionally or frequently engage in in-store social or search activities. A few interesting figures include:

• 65% responded that they compare prices online while in a retail location
• 45% “check-in” at brick-and-mortar store locations
• 41% look for information using a search engine on their mobile phone
• 30% use a barcode scanner on their mobile phone to shop for prices

In addition, twenty-five percent of those surveyed will take the time while at a physical store location to seek information on a social network prior to finalizing a purchase. Immediately before consumers make a purchase is a vital moment for retailers. The fact that 1 in 4 customers may be conducting last minute research and seeking validation of their purchase through social networks deserves attention from retailers. People are also willing to wait for information longer than you would expect. Results showed 41% of respondents are willing to wait between 5 and 10 minutes to obtain information about products online while physically present in store.

Not only are social sites being used as part of both the online and brick-and-mortar shopping experience, but they are also breaking gender stereotypes. When it comes to social network usage, people assume that women are more active than men. However, as revealed by Performics’ survey, men engage social networks more frequently than women in five of six online shopping activities. Men research product information, read reviews, compare products, find product availability and get store information using social networks, shopping and deal sites more often than women. Women trump men when it comes to how often they look for deals and coupons.

Although “social shopping” is still a fairly new idea, its popularity is undoubtedly increasing. Retailers may want to consider their social presence on the web before the holiday shopping season is upon us to avoid missing precious sales.

October 27, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Social ecommerce solution provider Sociable Labs has raised $7 million in a Series B funding round led by Battery Ventures. The announcement came Wednesday after the company emerged out of stealth. Existing investor Javelin Venture Partners also contributed to this round of funding.

Sociable Labs, a 25-person start-up based in San Francisco, also received seed funding from Facebook’s 2009 fbFund. The unique ecommerce solution provider helps clients draw in customers by focusing on the brand’s ecommerce website and encouraging users to share purchases within their social networks.

Sociable Labs offers customers a unique approach to social commerce by focusing on sharing within a brand’s ecommerce solution rather than building fan pages and accumulating “likes.”

The company has an array of tools merchants can integrate into their online retail stores. Sociable Labs sees the social commerce value in real communication and interaction with consumers while they are on a retailer’s website. Sociable RSVP and Purchase Share, the company’s most popular features, are integrated directly into a retailer’s website, which allows customers to share their purchasing via Facebook. The technology employed combines features of Facebook’s social graph with ecommerce functions of a merchant’s site.The focus is on delivering “hard” ROI to retailers. “Hard” ROI refers to traffic, sales and conversions. Sociable Labs asserts its technology works exponentially better than simply adding a “like” or “share” button.

Sociable Labs Founder and Chief Executive Officer Nisan Gabbay evaluates the success of their ROI-platform:

“Traffic converts 300 percent better into sales than traffic from Facebook fan pages, and also better than traditional forms of online marketing. It’s a win-win for marketers and consumers.”

Sociable Labs provides an innovative platform that enables consumer social sharing straight from retailer websites. They understand that word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful tool in today’s market. Their applications allow consumers to share purchases with friends or identify friends they want advice from before completing a purchase. Their platform is already used by several top retail brands such as Rue La La, HauteLook, Chegg.com, and Active.com.

The most social shopping experience online is currently the “like” button on Facebook. However, the “like” button is not a useful shopping tool to consumers until they are preparing to make a purchase. If the social shopping experience is moved to retailers’ ecommerce websites, people will find the social sharing of friends’ buying activities much more beneficial.

For example, if you log onto Rue La La (and have authorized Facebook Connect for the site) and are looking at a certain brand, it will show you which of your Facebook friends are fans of that brand.

Sociable Labs currently charges merchants $50,000 a year to use their social commerce platform. The company plans to use the new funding to market their software more extensively now that it has moved out of beta.

October 27, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Slice is a free service for Gmail and Yahoo! Mail users that takes information about online purchases from their inbox and organizes it all in one place.

The ecommerce solution aims to ease the hassle of sorting through an inbox full of order confirmation emails and tracking notices. Users can sign up using their Gmail or Yahoo! Mail accounts and Slice will automatically aggregate all of this information on its website at projectslice.com. The service was previously only available through the All My Purchases application for Yahoo! Mail. The wider launch comes just in time for the 2011 holiday shopping season. Slice CEO Scott Brady had this to say:

“Today’s online shoppers are provided with every convenience imaginable, but once they complete checkout, the post-purchase phase of the shopping process can be messy. As we move further into an era of brick-and-mortar stores offering customers electronic receipts for their in-store purchases, the time is right to organize purchases in a better way so we can actually make use of the information. Whether you’re dealing with tracking, price adjustments, returns, reorders or any number of other post-purchase activities, Slice simply makes the shopping process easier.”

One of Slice’s main features is that it allows users to track all their shipments from one interface, saving them the trouble of searching through different emails and clicking multiple links to check where a package is. With Slice, the locations of all of a customer’s in-progress shipments are displayed on one map. Another nice feature is that Slice will monitor the current price of recent purchases and notify customers if the price of an item decreases, so that they can try to get a price adjustment from merchants that offer them.

The ecommerce solution also organizes information about return policies and backs up all receipts and original confirmation emails. Users can view their entire purchase history and see when and where they are spending money online. If for some reason Slice misses a purchase email upon scanning a user’s inbox, they can easily forward the email to have it automatically added to their Slice account.

Slice has kept track of more than two million purchases since it launched for Yahoo! Mail back in May. This holiday season shoppers will be increasingly filling their shopping carts with online gift purchases. Keeping track of the locations of various packages in transit can be a stressful thing around the holidays, especially for those last minute shoppers. Slice makes that a lot easier, as well as simplifying returns and keeping track of spending.

October 26, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

“You are what you buy.” Whether or not you agree with this statement, it’s the way the folks at MasterCard see it and they want access to everything you buy. MasterCard and Visa want to take what they know about your purchasing habits and use that information to accurately target ads to you online.

Credit card companies have long had relationships with advertising agencies, selling them information about customers in order for marketers to better target buyers. What you buy and what you do with it unveils precious details about who you are as a consumer. Marketers yearn for this data due to the ever-increasing value of information on the individual buyer. Marketers want more and more information and credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard want to give it to them. Ad executives suggest details about consumer’s credit-card activity would be extremely beneficial because it gives insight to their budgets, where they are shopping, what products and services they are buying and how they spend their time.

Most everyone with a mailing address receives junk mail, which is a sign of credit card companies providing marketers with customer information for offline advertising. The only difference is they now want to move into the online sphere. It is an attempt to tie together consumers’ online and offline lives.

An example of what credit card companies are envisioning is when a customer purchases lunch from a fast food restaurant, they may come home to online advertisements for weight-loss products. If they end up purchasing one of the products advertised, credit card companies will be able to track the full circle of their buying behaviors.

It is a way for credit card companies and marketers to gain a deeper understanding of individual consumers. However, it runs into a common problem- Where is the line of anonymity drawn? How much customer information is too much? At what point does it become invasive and a breech to our privacy?

The original plans MasterCard had about how to access and use customer purchasing information have been thrown out because they realized it would reveal too much about individuals. Visionaries at both MasterCard and Visa are now working on ways to sell marketers an analysis of aggregated anonymous data sorted into marketing segments.

An ad executive who recently met with Visa shared with The Wall Street Journal an example of how this method would work:

“[It] would let advertisers, for instance, show cat-grooming offers to people in one area, and dog-grooming ads to people somewhere else, based on the group buying behavior in the areas as a whole.”

MasterCard currently analyzes anonymous aggregate data of customer spending behaviors. Although they are insistent there is no way to link the data to individuals, MasterCard customers can choose to opt out of the studies. Information can be removed from their analysis by providing your card number on the “Data Analytics Opt-Out” page at www.mastercard.us/privacy. Visa always provides notice and choice for use of personal information.

MasterCard and Visa have submitted various patents outlining how they plan to use data collected from offline purchases to target customers online. Both credit card companies say everything is still in the preliminary planning process.

As it is, marketers already use online behaviors to target individuals with web ads. Would it be too intrusive for our offline behaviors to be tracked as well? You decide.

October 26, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Earlier this month Barnes & Noble began pulling 100 DC graphic novel titles from shelves in its brick-and-mortar stores.

The decision came after DC Entertainment made an exclusive digital deal with ecommerce solution Amazon to supply graphic novels for the new Kindle Fire. DC fans can still get the comics from Barnes & Noble but will have to order them from the company’s online store. Jaime Carey, Barnes & Noble chief merchandising officer, said the following about the decision:

“To sell and promote the physical book in our store showrooms and not have the e-book available for sale would undermine our promise to Barnes & Noble customers to make available any book, anywhere, any time.”

Many DC comic authors find the bookseller’s decision strange and frustrating. What the sudden action by Barnes & Noble ultimately means for authors is that dozens of their titles will not receive any exposure to fans in 1300 brick-and-mortar stores. Neil Gaiman, author of DC’s “Sandman” series, had this to say:

“I’m biased: 12 percent of the titles that they’ve physically removed were written by me. From my perspective, it’s a ridiculous overreaction [by Barnes & Noble]. The idea that these people [Amazon] have a digital exclusive, therefore [B&N] will give them a physical exclusive, too — I’m not sure it’s a sane business practice.”

In addition to the “Sandman” series, the 100 titles that will now only be available on Barnes & Noble’s ecommerce solution include many “Batman”, “Superman”, and “Green Lantern” comics. In the meantime, Barnes & Noble will be stocking its comic shelves with an increased selection of 2000 AD comics. Titles will include a number of comics written by British author Alan Moore, co-creator of DC’s “V for Vendetta”, such as the well-known “Future Shocks” series.

Barnes & Noble has been moving to compete more and more with Amazon as a one-stop ecommerce solution. Last week the bookseller began selling home products such as cooking utensils online. The thinking behind this decision is that if people are buying cookbooks online, why not sell utensils too?

Five new shopping categories will be added to the Barnes & Noble website including Home and Gift, Consumer Electronics, Toys and Games, Arts and Crafts, and Baby. With this move the bookseller is stepping its competition with Amazon outside of just the book and ereader arena. However, Barnes & Noble won’t be carrying most of these new items in its own inventory, rather it will be taking a commission from third-party merchants.

The deal between DC Entertainment and Amazon to supply digital formats of popular graphic novels exclusively for the Kindle Fire is likely not permanent. DC has stated that it will continue to explore all potential partnerships. The bottom line is that the company just wants to make its comics available to as many fans as possible in both digital format and hard copy.

October 25, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Ecommerce solutions are the preferred method of shopping for many consumers due to the convenience of 24/7 availability. Some consumers enjoy the one-stop-shop the Internet provides, and others appreciate free shipping and other incentives online retailers offer. Whatever their reasons, more shoppers than previously expected will be turning to ecommerce solutions to complete their holiday shopping this year.

According to new data from the National Retail Federation, the average shopper plans to complete 36% of their holiday gift-buying online this year (up from 32.7% last year). In light of the increase of shoppers planning to use ecommerce solutions this holiday season, e-tailers have become more optimistic than ever before about their holiday sales. Revealed in Shop.org’s eHoliday survey conducted by BIGresearch, 68% of retailers anticipate their online sales to increase by at least 15% or more compared to last holiday season. This expectation is up from 63.8% who felt the same last year.

Shoppers will also be able to take advantage of holiday deals earlier this year. Along with their brick-and-mortar counterparts, some online retailers are planning to begin their 2011 holiday promotions by Halloween. 52.9% of retailers plan to start their Holiday marketing and promotions by next Monday (Halloween), which is up from just 40% who did the same last year. Approximately 37% of retailers are planning to start by mid-November. Thus, shoppers may not have to wait until Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday) to snag the best deals of the season.

Shop.org’s head of research, Fiona Swerdlow, suggested companies are taking steps to prepare for the increase in online shoppers. In her own words:

“There’s no question consumers are eager to hit the Web this holiday season, and online retailers are prepping by optimizing their sites, beginning their marketing and promotions early, and planning plenty of free shipping promotions as they aim to provide value and convenience for their shoppers. Online retailers will also leverage their social media and mobile platforms for savvy shoppers on the go, knowing how important customer reviews and comparison shopping applications are to holiday shoppers.”

Specifically, the survey concluded that 51% of retailers have invested in optimizing their mobile commerce solutions and many have also invested in tablet device apps. Companies have also been working on their Facebook and Twitter pages in preparation for the holiday season.

The survey also outlined the primary reasons why shoppers plan to spend more time shopping online:

• 24-hour availability and convenience are the primary considerations for 43.2% of shoppers surveyed
• 36.3% admitted they will spend more online this year if shipping comes free
• The annoyance of fighting crowds at brick-and-mortar store locations is a factor for 37.2%
• 29.6% of shoppers will turn to ecommerce solutions due to the ease of comparing prices

With this new data, e-tailers are becoming more optimistic about upcoming online sales and re-evaluating their holiday promotions.

October 24, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Anxiety is rising among retailers as the holiday season approaches causing them to offer some unusual promotions.

This holiday season, many ecommerce retailers are willing to sacrifice profit in order to make a sale. Beyond that, some retailers are even giving away free gifts as shopper incentives.

For example, Stauer Jewelers is offering an amethyst necklace valued at $249 to customers for free. The only catch is that shoppers must be able to pay $24.95 in shipping costs for their gift to be delivered. Although it seems Stauer Jewelers will be losing thousands of dollars by implementing this offer, President Michael Biscelgia believes it will actually act as an incentive to persuade customers to add more products to their shopping carts. Biscelgia recalled a similar promotion the jewelry company offered in 2009 when they gave customers a free $149 pearl necklace (customers paid shipping costs). The company ended up making profits from customers who were drawn to the site because of the promotion and purchased additional items.

Sales in November and December account for up to 40% of a company’s revenue. With high stakes, retailers are desperately looking for ways to drive sales this holiday season. Many ecommerce solutions have already eliminated shipping costs from customer purchases. Most notably, Nordstrom recently began offering free shipping on any size order. Although paying for shipping may cut into Nordstrom’s profits when customers make a low cost purchase, it is a necessary incentive to promote sales on their online storefront.

Increased pressure on brick-and-mortar stores to offer bigger and better deals this holiday season is partly due to the growing success of ecommerce giants Amazon and eBay. Because both ecommerce solutions are completely online, they avoid costs associated with operating a physical storefront and are able to offer products at discounted prices.

Another reason ecommerce solutions are looking for creative ways to generate traffic and sales this holiday season is the threat of deceased sales. Although early predictions assumed holiday sales to rise a small percentage this year, many Americans believe we are in the midst of a second recession. Retailers fear shoppers will be tighter with their wallets this season due to the current state of the economy.

In addition to the uncommon holiday bargains shoppers will find on ecommerce solutions, brick-and-mortar stores will also be cutting special deals. Many retailers have notoriously accepted competitor coupons to avoid losing a sale. However, this holiday season several retailers will match the best prices customers can find online. In an attempt to compete with the deals shoppers can find on eBay and Amazon, Bed Bath and Beyond has promised to match deals offered by online-only competitors. Sears has also announced they will not only match online prices, but they will also offer 10% off of the difference.

Retailers are pulling out all the stops this holiday season to attract shoppers to their ecommerce solutions. Even if it means a loss in profits, companies are willing to make the sacrifice to create a sale.

October 24, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Looking for that perfect holiday gift but can’t afford the full retail price? Want to know what top designers, tech giants and celebrities are dreaming of this year? Or maybe you need to reward yourself–since about 60 percent of shoppers admit they will buy themselves a gift this holiday season. If you’re in the NYC area, head over to 404 Park Avenue South between now and November 10 to check out eBay’s and designer Jonathan Adler’s new “Inspiration Shop.”

The storefront was unveiled on Friday, and it allows passersby to act on their impulses. Think of it as modified window shopping–except this time you actually make a purchase, even though you never enter the store. Potential shoppers walk by, and a name, product or pattern catches their eye. They read a little bit about it and raise their smartphones to the display. There, if they’ve downloaded the eBay app, they can scan any of the available QR codes to find similar items on eBay, allowing for price comparison. There are about 200 million eBay listings available on the app.

The window displays feature exclusive products selected by fashion favorites like Betsey Johnson, Charlotte Ronson, Molly Sims and more. It isn’t only designers, though: actors, editors, photographers and musicians were among those asked for their wishlist items. Jonathan Adler contributed his bold patterned designs to provide a visually exciting background for the showcase.

eBay’s Chief Marketing Officer, Richelle Parham, commented on the new concept:

“Consumers today expect to shop how they want, when they want – and mobile technology is blurring the lines between online and offline retail to meet this demand. The Inspiration Shop brings to life how eBay enables people to immediately act on their passion for shopping in this new commerce environment.”

46.7 percent of surveyed shoppers plan to buy gifts online this year, completing about 36 percent of their total shopping via ecommerce solutions. Since about 48 percent of shoppers say they want to be able to purchase desired items immediately, and 46 percent like to browse window displays to get ideas, the eBay Inspiration Shop seems right on target. Consumers’ biggest issues with brick-and-mortar shopping, especially around the holidays, helped inspire (yes, inspire) the concept for the Inspiration Shop. A survey found that 57 percent of consumers hate long lines, 54 percent despise stores with too many shoppers, 52 percent are deterred by commission-driven or otherwise invasive sales people, and 65 percent feel there isn’t enough selection or availability in physical stores.

Although a majority of shoppers–62 percent–hope to spend less on their holiday gift buying this year, consumers are turning to digital shopping carts more frequently. E-tailers should focus on offering incentives like free shipping and discounts, and make sure their brand is top-of-mind so that people will spread the word about their store via social media. That way, the difficulties of the economy don’t have to be quite so difficult for all ecommerce solutions.

With a combination of impulse buys and comparison shopping, such as can be found at eBay’s Inspiration Shop, consumers and online retailers alike can get what they want out of this holiday season. What do you think about the Inspiration Shop and its limited engagement? Would you like to see something like this in your area, and in a more permanent capacity?

October 21, 2011
By the ZippyCart Content Team

Three major publishers will soon provide authors with access to book sales data online through new author portals.

Publisher Simon & Schuster announced Wednesday the creation of its author portal that will allow authors and illustrators to see data online about the sales of their published material. Authors will have access to the last six weeks of sales data broken down by different types of booksellers and book formats. There will be data for e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook sales.

Simon & Schuster’s author portal will also feature tools for authors to manage online interactions with readers. In addition, the publisher has released a portal for agents that will provide information similar to that stored on the author site.

Two other major publishers, Random House and the Hachette Book Group, also announced Wednesday that they are in the process of creating ecommerce solutions for authors. Hachette’s author portal will be up and running sometime in 2012; Random House has not publicly announced a date for the launch of their site. A spokesman for Random House said that their author portal will feature marketing tools and other information in addition to sales data.

This marks the first time that major publishers have provided authors with direct access to data about their book sales. Previously it could take months for authors to get information about how well their books were selling and they often would have to go through their agents to get data from a publisher. The new sites should ease some of the tension between authors and publishers regarding the availability of sales information.

Back in December 2010 ecommerce solution Amazon began offering authors access to Nielsen BookScan sales data. Nielsen BookScan provides limited data about print sales of books and, through Amazon’s “Author Central” site, authors can track the past four weeks of a book’s sales. BookScan is estimated to report on approximately 75 percent of print sales and does not track e-book sales. Amazon itself keeps track of e-book sales but currently only reports the figures to publishers and not to authors themselves.

The launch of services allowing authors direct access to sales data about their published material means that authors will be notified much sooner than in the past if their books are not doing well. With timely access to sales figures and information, authors will be better able to address problems and come up with a plan to market their books more effectively and boost shopping cart sales. Some of the additional tools and resources that these new author portals will provide to authors are focused on marketing strategies including the use of social media sites such as Twitter, as well as video promotion through sites like YouTube.