Online

Click to Talk

SaaS provides personalized shopper assistance online

Customer Support
Faye Brookman

SaaS provides personalized shopper assistance online


T hanks to the Internet, consumers can tackle many retail issues themselves, from researching products prior to purchase to digitally “trying on” cosmetics. Now some of the most nagging tasks associated with online shopping can be addressed, thanks to a new software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform.

Playing with Friends

Sociable Labs boosts Active.com’s interactivity

Social Commerce
Karen M. Kroll

Sociable Labs boosts Active.com’s interactivity


T he equivalent of one in every three U.S. citizens has completed a transaction on Active.com, an online destination at which people can sign up to do everything from run a 5K race, enroll in a pottery class or reserve a night at a campground. Clearly, the site gets a great deal of use.

The Push to Paperless

Online receipt storage provides easy access to purchasing info

Data Analysis
Karen M. Kroll

Online receipt storage provides easy access to purchasing info

Holding onto paper receipts, warranties or return policies can be a never-ending chore for consumers. Retailers, too, find it difficult and time-consuming to access the receipt information residing within their sales and financial systems. “Their systems were built to sell products and track purchases, not serve the data back in a form for analysis,” says David Crossett, CEO of Ready Receipts.

Updating a Classic

London Fog weathers first foray into e-commerce

Website Set-Up
Fiona Soltes

London Fog weathers first foray into e-commerce


Before the first cold snap of 2011, iconic outerwear brand London Fog aimed to sell merchandise from a domain previously unheard of: its own website. Though the company had an online presence — and regular traffic — consumers had to go elsewhere to buy.

Seeing is Buying

Customer-centric e-commerce solutions deliver life-like shopping

Craig Guillot

Customer-centric e-commerce solutions deliver life-like shopping


Retailers seeking ways to strengthen their web presence are incorporating more rich shopping experiences and social media into their sites. In 2011, Fluid partnered with software R&D provider GlobalLogic to develop and implement solutions like Fluid Experience, which allows shoppers to change colors on products, rotate them, zoom and see multiple views. Fluid says such capabilities can increase conversions by up to 40 percent.

Couch Commerce

Executive Editor's View
Susan Reda


Here in Redaville, we’re pretty traditional when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving. The turkey will be in the oven shortly after the Macy’s parade kicks off on Broadway; sweet potatoes, sausage stuffing, string beans and the rest of the fixings will be served along with pumpkin, pecan and apple pies. The house will be chock-full of family, and football play-by-play will be the soundtrack of the day.

Go Fetch!

Milo helps shoppers find local products

Search
D. Gail Fleenor

Milo helps shoppers find local products


Small local retailers have been at a disadvantage since the Internet changed the way the world shops. The little store around the corner could not compete online with national retailers, but eBay’s recent acquisition of local search engine Milo may level the playing field in the near future.

E-Commerce Elite

The retailers that are defining the online channel

Cover Story
Susan Reda

The retailers that are defining the online channel

Consumers have their favorite online retailers — and so do e-commerce experts.

Bidding Gone Bad

Executive Editor's View
Susan Reda


A  recent e-mail from my daughter Jill caught my eye. “Check this out … It’s pretty cool,” she wrote. Being a well-trained Mom, I investigated a website called Quibids.

Next Stop: The World

Web-only article: Global trends in online retailing

E-Commerce
Sandy Smith

Web-only article: Global trends in online retailing

The growth rate for e-commerce in markets like Mexico, Brazil, India and China is expected to far outpace that of the United States over the next four years. The combination of a struggling U.S. economy and maturing e-commerce market is forcing retailers to look elsewhere for the type of growth experienced domestically over the last decade.

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