Online

Many Channels, One Customer

Vineyard Vines sees its shoppers through a single lens
From Jun 2010 | By M.V. Greene | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Online
Online
M.V. Greene
Vineyard Vines sees its shoppers through a single lens


As a cross-channel apparel company serving a largely preppy clientele, Stamford, Conn.-based Vineyard Vines knows it must work to keep its customers happy and shopping.

Preppy still generally connotes well-heeled, well-educated and affluent, and these days you can add tech-savvy to the list of descriptors.

Trying Customization on for Size

Trying Customization on for Size
From Jun 2010 | By Sandy Smith | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Online
Web-only article
Sandy Smith
Trying Customization on for Size


Wet Seal has always tried to stay fashion-forward in its bid to reach teenage girls. Now it’s finding big business in staying at the forefront of social media as well.

The clothing retailer started out with a simple mission: To create a site that increased the average order value while allowing the business team to handle much of its functionality. To accomplish that, Wet Seal partnered with e-commerce pioneer Fry, whose Open Commerce Platform could easily accommodate the changes Wet Seal wanted to make.

Mutually Beneficial

On-demand API helps Etsy.com build sales serendipitously
From Jun 2010 | By Fiona Soltes | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Online
Web-only article
Fiona Soltes
On-demand API helps Etsy.com build sales serendipitously

Etsy, the handmade-item e-commerce extravaganza featuring more than 400,000 active sellers, has been putting out the welcome mat for new community members since 2005. Now it has a new kind of customer in mind: web developers and application builders who can form new distribution channels for the company through the Etsy API. The on-demand application programming interface (API), developed in conjunction with Mashery, gives third-party developers creative access to the “back-office” workings of the website, while at the same time allowing Etsy to retain some control.

Delivering the Goods

High-speed transit can satisfy customers and lead to fewer returns
From May 2010 | By D. Gail Fleenor | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Online
Delivery Services
D. Gail Fleenor
High-speed transit can satisfy customers and lead to fewer returns

     
Competition is fierce as retailers continue to look for ways to appeal to consumers and satisfy their needs. One company is providing retailers a competitive edge through high-speed delivery service that includes technical installation or assembly in the customer’s home.

Power of the People

Collective intelligence translates into increased sales for Bluefly.com
From Apr 2010 | By Sandy Smith | Tags: Nuts & Bolts, Online
Sandy Smith
Collective intelligence translates into increased sales for Bluefly.com

Imagine a retail floor teeming with hundreds of associates. While that may not be practical in this day and age, it is possible in the world of e-commerce, thanks to the latest recommendation technology.

“Putting the power of peer influence to work for customers allows you to turn every single person who visits a website into a salesperson,” says Jack Jia, founder and CEO of Baynote, a San Jose, Calif.-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider.

Social Network-Assisted Voyeurism

From Mar 2010 | By Susan Reda | Tags: Consider This, Online
Executive Editor's View
Susan Reda

Maybe it’s a generational thing, but I’m a little put off by the latest iteration of social networking. It’s a service called Blippy. If you can imagine your credit card having its own Twitter account, you begin to get a sense of the concept.

Open-Shelf Solution

New e-commerce platform driving sales for The Container Store
From Mar 2010 | By Len Lewis | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Online
Online
Len Lewis
New e-commerce platform driving sales for The Container Store

The Container Store has become synonymous with getting organized, and nowhere has this been more evident than the chain’s recently re-launched website. Running on an open-source solution from Broadleaf Commerce, it has enabled the 48-store chain to serve a growing customer segment with new features while eliminating costly fees.

The open-source market “is thriving with a variety of powerful tools,” says Tom Birmingham, the chain’s CIO, and “the platform has allowed us to take e-commerce to the next level.”

Network Booster

SocialGrub helps build promotional platforms fast
From Mar 2010 | By Sandy Smith | Tags: Online, Social Media Solutions
Worth Watching
Sandy Smith
SocialGrub helps build promotional platforms fast

In 2009, social media officially shed its “fad” tag. Facebook surpassed 350 million users worldwide, adding some 500,000 per day, and Twitter grew 1,300 percent.

Based on sheer numbers alone, both sites offer potential for businesses. But with roots in consumer-to-consumer connection, retailers have been challenged to find the right kinds of interaction. SocialGrub, a new social media marketing solution, intends to help retailers leverage the divide by building relationships with their fans, who, in turn, share that relationship with their social network.

CPG Goes D2C

Has Alice.com found the model for selling household goods online?
From Jan 2010 | By Len Lewis | Tags: Nuts and Bolts, Online
Online
Len Lewis
Has Alice.com found the model for selling household goods online?

Tired of shopping for those boring basics like toilet paper and toothpaste? Just ask Alice — or, as the tagline of the recently launched website states, “Everyone needs an Alice.”

An homage to the bubbly housekeeper for TV’s “Brady Bunch,” Alice.com is the brainchild of Mark McGuire and Brian Wiegand — serial online entrepreneurs who, after several successful start-ups in other areas, have entered the CPG (consumer packaged goods) arena with a service-oriented site that gives manufacturers an innovative new platform for direct-to-consumer selling.

Saving Money – and Trees

Digital coupons provide consumers, retailers with a green alternative
From Jan 2010 | By D. Gail Fleenor | Tags: Online, Worth Watching
Digital Coupons
D. Gail Fleenor
Digital coupons provide consumers, retailers with a green alternative

Coupons remain a popular way to introduce product, increase sales and boost traffic. Consumers snip, pocket — and sometimes even remember to redeem — paper coupons, a universal promotional tool.

But these little pieces of paper can slow checkout lines and require processing by hand. The Zavers digital incentive platform for retailers means no paper, higher redemption rates and the opportunity to promote corporate brands.

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