Online

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.

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.

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.

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.