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Facebook Gears Up For Major eCommerce Drive (BusinessWeek)
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Posted: 03/03/2011
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In an effort to convert more of the social network’s 500 million users into regular online shoppers, Facebook is now wooing big business. Facebook has added e-commerce features designed to “attract users, keep them logged-on longer, and generate higher advertising sales,” thereby attracting major brands to sell their products and services through the social networking site. Helping with the effort are companies like Minneapolis-based Alvenda and San Francisco-based Payvment, whose technologies have allowed the company to integrate a retail component into Facebook pages and facilitate payment. David Fisch, who runs the newly formed commerce partnerships group at Facebook, hopes the effort may turn the company into an online shopping alternative. More than half of the top 25 retail sites, including retail competitors like eBay and Amazon, have linked their sites to the social network in the past year, Facebook says.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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The Social Factor For Online Retail (New Media Knowledge)
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Posted: 03/03/2011
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New Media Knowledge recently reported that social networks are responsible for directing 13 percent more traffic to online retailers than they did in 2009. “As more time is being spent on social networking sites, we are seeing retail brands tapping into the power of social media to drive online traffic and sales,” said Robin Goad, Research Director, Experian Hitwise. The competitive intelligence research company says that while Facebook, YouTube and Twitter dominate the social sphere, others sites such as Vimeo, Badoo and tumblr have increased their online traffic by 50% or more in the past year. “It is important that retailers understand which social networks their customers and potential customers are using,” Goad told NMK. What about mobile? “Successful retailers will be those that support their customers across multiple channels depending on the scenario – allowing customers to add items to wish on the go, integrating location based services to provide (opt in) special offers and discounts, mobile price comparison via photo or barcode recognition,” Goad said.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global,
Europe
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Building A Brand Story Greater Than The Sum Of Its Individual Parts (New Media Knowledge)
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Posted: 01/20/2011
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Rather than providing a plethora of tactical solutions, today’s abundance of marketing channels may simply overwhelm marketers. Standard targeted marketing used to be a relatively simple game of point-and-shoot at three main channels (TV, print and direct mail) to cover all bases. Now, with the addition of social media platforms, mobile marketing, web, and email to the traditional channels, adopting a successful strategy can get confusing. Aim the same message at all the channels and the results can be downright disastrous. Multi-channel marketing offers marketers a mechanism to “pull all these conversations together and build a brand story that is greater than the sum of the individual parts” so marketers can keep their eyes on the prize: customer engagement and action. The key is to understand and respect the characteristics of each channel and then execute each according to how it works uniquely for your brand.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Peer Groups & Communities
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J.C. Penney Makes Mobile Holiday Move (Internet Retailer)
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Posted: 01/04/2011
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J.C. Penney Co. is initiating a major multichannel mobile push with holiday retail plans that include the launch of an m-commerce site, enhancements to its mobile applications, location-based app promotions and an iAd campaign. Along with the full suite of m-commerce functionality such as browsing, searching and buying—the mobile site also includes a Find Near Me button and updated applications for iPhone and Android users that lets shoppers browse the weekend sales circular; create portable shopping lists; find the nearest store to either their current GPS location or to a ZIP code or city name; and sign up for mobile coupons. Location-based services Foursquare, Brightkite and Facebook Deals also play a role, allowing shoppers to cash in for $10 off a $50 purchase when they check in at one of the retailer’s 1,100 stores. In addition to its ongoing mobile coupons program, the campaign will also include mobile display ads on Apple’s iAd network, featuring a treasure hunt through a variety of J.C. Penney gifts as shoppers search for a $10 off $50 coupon.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Retailers Dial-In To Smart Phone Shopping Trend (CRM Daily)
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Posted: 01/04/2011
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With one-third of mobile phone usage to be “smart” this holiday season (Nielsen), retailers are getting dialed-in to e-commerce. The 21 percent increase over last year indicates that retailers can no longer rely on independent strategy for their retail outfits, whether they are bricks-and-mortar stores, Web sites or mobile shopping channels. Heather J. Brunner, chief operating officer of Austin, Texas-based Bazaarvoice, said a phone is "just a mini-computer, and our challenge now is to transfer the Internet experience to a much smaller screen." For instance, outdoor brand Patagonia recently launched a new application that suggests similar items and price ranges while customers browse. In-store, the app will recommend complementary items based on the tag’s bar code. Companies like Neustar are working on types of “second-generation” bar codes for smart phones that are square rather than rectangular while Pronto, a company owned by New York-based IAC, plans to launch a mobile app for product price alerts.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer
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Shoutlet: One-Stop-Shop For Social Media Management (Ecommerce Times)
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Posted: 12/16/2010
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Shoutlet’s social media management application now features CRM functionality. The app is designed to let customers monitor and manage multiple accounts and brands with additional functionality that eases the process for companies to post and monitor responses to content. Given the number of users that use social media to complain about a service or product, or get help, one of the app’s most powerful features is its collaboration component. One such collaboration feature includes the ability to tag a prospect or commenter and then forwarded it internally for someone within the organization to take care of. "Let's say a company has several customers talking about or complaining about a certain issue," President and COO Aaron Everson said. "Shoutlet can tag all of those commenters and send them to someone for follow-up or assistance." The company intends to enhance functionality even further by increasing its reach to mass influencers and adding a mobile component.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Google Goes Fashion Forward (CRM Daily)
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Posted: 12/16/2010
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Google is going fashion forward with the debut of Boutiques.com, which offers shoppers a personalized shopping experience. The launch is as much about technology as it is e-commerce. Using computer-vision and machine-learning technology, Boutiques.com visually analyzes consumers' fashion tastes in order to match them to other styles they might be drawn to. "These days, bloggers, stylists and everyday fashionistas are expressing their sense of style online. We invited them to create boutiques so people could shop their diverse styles," Google Product Management Director Munjal Shah said. "But you have a unique and independent style, too, so Boutiques also lets you build your own personalized boutique and get recommendations of products that match your taste." The site offers a variety of search options, allowing consumers to filter results by genre, silhouette, pattern, color families, and sizes, or even view matching outfits when they search for specific items.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
Creative & Design,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Consumer
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Digital River Is Getting Social With Ecommerce (Electronic Commerce Guide)
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Posted: 12/16/2010
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Digital River, a global ecommerce service provider, recently launched SocialStream, a new social media tool. Using the tool, Digital River customers can rapidly set in motion new e-store promotions and then manage them over different Facebook and Twitter accounts. Ecommerce-Guide.com reported Jim Wehmann, senior vice president of global marketing for Digital River saying that “Social Stream lets marketers and e-store owners optimize social media campaigns with just a few clicks from within the standard Digital River interface they already know and use.” While SocialStream is certainly not the first ecommerce service offering of its kind, the package’s most significant advantage is that it provides e-store owners with access to social analytics. The ability to report critical commerce data relating to social media activities like unique clicks, conversions and revenue generated for each social campaign for each social account allows companies to validate the success of each campaign.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall: Macy’s Magic Fitting Room (CNET News)
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Posted: 12/01/2010
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Looking for an interactive dress-up experience without actually taking your clothes off? Clothes shoppers had the chance to, quite literally, tap into a 21st-century shopping experience at the new Macy's Magic Fitting Room in the retail chain's New York's Herald Square flagship store. The 72-inch multi-touch screen let shoppers select clothing items like tops, dresses, bottoms, and coats and then superimpose the pieces on their reflection. Macy's hired LBi International to create the interactive mirror, heralding in a new era the company deems as “the future of retail.” The experience becomes even more interactive and social when customers share their new looks on Facebook, or via SMS or e-mail.
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Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Retail & Products
Topic:
Creative & Design,
Experience & Interaction,
Technology Implementation
Region:
North America
Audience:
Business to Consumer,
Peer Groups & Communities
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How Big Is Big? The Rise Of The Mobile Advertising Market (Marketing Vox)
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Posted: 12/01/2010
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eMarketer recently revised its assessment of the mobile ad market, predicting it will grow 79% to over $743 million this year alone – growing to more than $1.1 billion in 2011 and more than $2.5 billion by 2014. Based on these numbers, it’s safe to say mobile has been elevated to mainstream status. The report indicates that SMS is still the largest format, with an estimated tally of $327 million for 2010. Companies like Phizzle and Skycore are further enhancing their service offerings to engage audiences and allow increased functionality to their users, including enabling mobile marketers to run applications such as movie trailers sent with tickets or sports videos sent with tickets. eMarketer predicts that display formats will increase. Apple’s iPhone remains the top choice with 82.7% of marketers, but Android’s 9% increase since last quarter indicates it is quickly gaining traction. Other services new to the market include Opera Software’s Ad Marvel, Sprint’s Sprint ID and Burstly.
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|
Industry:
Marketing, Design, & Interactive Communications,
Technology, Consulting, & Professional Services,
Telecommunications
Topic:
Business Intelligence,
Content Strategy,
E-Commerce,
Experience & Interaction,
Marketing Communications,
Technology Implementation
Region:
Global
Audience:
Business to Business,
Business to Consumer
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We cut through the clutter of the web to highlight innovation and forward-thinking. The best stories from leading publications – hand selected and organized to provide you a single point of access.
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