 | News about digital retail commerce |  |
 |  | 2008 Shop.org Annual Summit Preview | This year's Shop.org Annual Summit, Sept. 15 to 17 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, is where the digital retail community connects. The rich content, the vibrant community of engaged and accessible peers, business building opportunities, even (perhaps especially) the few days away from the desk and monitor -- all come together in a way that makes the Annual Summit the heart of Shop.org.
There are many reasons to come to Las Vegas in September. At the top of the list are the Summit's retail keynotes -- Borders President and CEO George Jones and Toby Lenk, president of Gap Direct. You also don't want to miss the "Dr. Is In," where registered attendees can spend 20 minutes with a leading authority in usability, customer experience or other areas, tasking them to solve the thorniest challenges. To learn the many other reasons for attending, Shop.org provides a list of 10 reasons why industry participants should attend this year's Summit.
In anticipation of the Summit, we are pleased to offer Shop.org SmartBrief subscribers and past Summit attendees a glimpse into how the trends and analytics that will be explored at the Summit relate to the latest news about online retail.
If you are not already a Shop.org SmartBrief subscriber and this kind of timely, relevant summary of the most important digital retail news is what you need, sign up to receive our daily Shop.org SmartBrief -- FREE. | | Multichannel and Cross-Channel Strategy |  | | | - Large retail chains set the e-commerce bar high
Big retail chains such as Sears, Wal-Mart and J.C. Penney are investing in their e-commerce sites, and smaller niche retail companies need to be smart about their investments and strategies to keep up. Wal-Mart has introduced a Find in Store feature that allows consumers to hunt for items in local stores online, and a number of retailers now offer pick-up in store options for orders placed online. Internet Retailer (8/7)  - Borders president and CEO opens 2008 Summit
 | | | George Jones, president and CEO, Borders Group. Source: Shop.org. | George Jones, president and CEO of Borders, will kick off the Summit with his keynote address, "Cross-Channel Breakthrough: How Borders is putting it all together to elevate the customer experience." Jones will address how Borders is adding its new innovation-rich Web site together with its much-loved chain of stores and coming up with a winning customer experience that makes the book, music and movie retailer a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment. The opening keynote session will be held at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16.
- Survey: Shoppers engaged both online and in stores
Many consumers are visiting a store's Web site to check out merchandise before making a purchase in a bricks-and-mortar store. "Retailers that are able to facilitate consumers' multichannel shopping behaviors will enjoy growth in market share across the enterprise," an online executive said. Best Buy and Circuit City take advantage of this by allowing consumers to make purchases online and pick up their merchandise in stores. eMarketer (7/28)  | Fry's Open Commerce PlatformTM
Fry offers a full range of e-commerce solutions on a variety of platforms, from fully customized online stores to sites built upon our own robust, quick-to-market e-commerce framework, Open Commerce PlatformTM (OCP). Our sites have helped define the industry standard for online shopping and generate billions of dollars in annual revenue for our clients. | | Emerging Retail Technologies | | | | - Fashion sites can retain upscale image
Luxury apparel retailers might not want to promote the discounted, bargain reputation that helps boost many retail Web sites. Methods for mirroring an upscale fashion image online include using 3-D images to allow customers to view merchandise from every angle and implementing special zoom and color option features. Motive Technology (7/30) - The next steps in e-commerce innovation
New e-commerce technologies could change online sales processes drastically, industry experts report. Companies will begin collaborating on smart hubs that allow customers to connect to a number of retailers, and companies will be able to use shared portals to access each others' product availability and pricing information. Smart kiosks and instant messaging also are on track to change the way online businesses work. E-Commerce Times (7/11) - An analysis of the State of Retailing Online Profitability Report
 | | | Sucharita Mulpuru, senior analyst, retail, Forrester Research. Source: Shop.org. | Sucharita Mulpuru, Senior Analyst, Retail, Forrester Research, will present her analysis of the data from the 2008 Shop.org State of Retailing Online Profitability Report to give the audience an inside view of the state of e-commerce in her session, "The State of Retailing Online."
Coupled with specific action items to improve your retail business, Mulpuru will provide in-depth information on how leading retailers are managing multichannel growth and operations and explain key performance indicators to help retailers in their planning for the upcoming year. Mulpuru's keynote address is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. - Getting the most out of a social network
 Tom Zawacki launched Lemonade, a social-commerce company that allows the proprietors to open their own e-businesses by posting recommendations or reviews of products. Macy's, Wal-Mart and Nordstrom are among 200 retailers that offer products consumers can review -- and make money off of -- on their Web sites, blogs or social-networking pages. STORES magazine (7/2008)  | Natural and Paid Search Tactics for Conversion | | | | - Keyword placement critical to search engine success
It's possible to understand search engine methodologies well enough to improve organic rankings, according to one expert. SEO efforts incorporate a site's coding, structure and presentation, and strategies include building keywords into pages strategically so that they match pages' and the site's overall intent, and fostering incoming links. Multichannel Merchant (8/1) - Breakout session to focus on tips from e-mail experts
 Austin Bliss, president, FreshAdress, and Jeanniey Mullen, EVP and CMO Zinio; EVP and CMO VIV; founder, Email Experience Council, will address "Avoiding the Dreaded Unsubscribe: Tricks and Tips from the Email Experts" on Tuesday, Sept. 16. - How to better measure the strength of a search campaign
Clicks, click-through rate and cost-per-click results are used by most companies to determine the success of their search campaigns, but these statistics can be misleading. Strong search campaigns generate a cost per acquisition, generate predictable CPA results at projected spend levels and are tracked with a back-end database or CRM system that measures ROI on a keyword-by-keyword basis, among other factors. DMNews (8/4) - How is the Internet changing the face of retail?
 | | | Don Tapscott, author of "Wikinomics." Source: Shop.org | Don Tapscott, author of "Wikinomics," will give a sneak preview of his upcoming book "GROWN UP DIGITAL: How the Net Generation is Changing the World." The new digital media, particularly the Internet, are at the heart of a new youth culture and a new generation who, in profound and fundamental ways, learn, work, play, communicate, shop and create communities very differently than their parents. For the first time in human history, children are authorities on a central innovation. This generation gap is leading to far-reaching changes in commerce and in every institution in society. As this generation enters the marketplace, they are changing many facets of retail and marketing from advertising to the brand. Tapscott argues that a new paradigm in retail is emerging "Marketing 2.0." Tapscott's keynote session will be held at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16. - Amazon.com leads retailers in natural search
Retailers have gained a strong knowledge of paid search engine marketing but have fallen behind other Web sites when it comes to natural search results. According to a study, retailers grabbed less than half of the three top spots in 20 natural search categories. Internet Retailer (8/1) - Session delves into SEO vs. branding and conversion
Join search guru Stephan Spencer and usability and conversion expert Amy Africa in this fast-paced, no-holds-barred (they'll be gentle if you're in the audience!) critique fest, where you and your colleagues' retail sites are deconstructed in front of a live audience in the Tuesday, Sept. 16 session "So You Think Your Site Can Dance? SEO vs. Branding and Conversion." Think Siskel and Roeper, but super geeky, a little bit snarky, and fully hyped up on Red Bull. - Poll: Search part of daily routine for nearly half of users
Search is now second to e-mail as a daily online activity, with 49% of users conducting a search each day, compared to 60% who check their e-mail every day, according to a survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In 2002, search was part of the daily Web activities for a third of users, while e-mail was a staple for 52%. Mediaweek (8/6) | Customer Retention | | | | - Tips for satisfying shoppers' needs
 What keeps customers coming back to retailers Web sites? Fulfilling customers' needs is vital, one marketing executive says. A Web site or online store must be easy to navigate, ensure a quick, secure payment process, and needs to monitor stock information. InternetRetailing.net (7/18) - Keynote to examine ways to enhance customer experience
 | | | Toby Lenk, president, Gap Inc. Direct. Source: Shop.org. | Gap Inc. Direct President Toby Lenk will discuss innovation in the e-commerce marketplace and Gap Inc. Direct's continued commitment to enhancing the online shopping experience. Lenk is responsible for the direction and management of the company's e-commerce Web sites: Gap Online, Banana Republic Online and Old Navy Online, as well as the online footwear retailer, Piperlime.
Lenk also will touch upon broader developments and trends in the marketplace in his session "Enhancing the Customers' Shopping Experience through Innovation." Lenk's keynote session is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. | | | 
Product announcements appearing in SmartBrief are paid advertisements and do not reflect actual Shop.org endorsements. The news reported in SmartBrief does not necessarily reflect the official position of Shop.org. | This SmartBrief was created for fashionarchive@gmail.com
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