August 29, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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Last week we saw that back-to-school spending in the U.S. is projected to decrease slightly from 2010. In an effort to boost sales and distinguish themselves from their competitors, a number of brands are using creative and innovative ways to engage with their customers. This is a smart move considering that the meteoric rise in the use of social media, smartphones, and tablets continues to drastically change the shopping process.
In a recent survey by Deloitte, 64% of smartphone users planned to use them as part of the shopping process, primarily to get price information (61%) and to ...
August 19, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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The cry of “school’s out for summer!!” was still echoing in the halls and the kids had barely started to enjoy the lazy hazy days of summer - and the stores were boldly displaying backpacks, binders, and pencils? It wasn’t your imagination; many retailers and advertisers moved up the start of their back to school campaigns in 2011. Merchants such as Staples, Target, and Toys “R” Us began advertising back to school specials the first week in July, and some retailers began promoting school supplies as early as mid-June.
The National Retail Federation reports that back to school and back to c...
August 15, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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Eager to get in on the ground floor and leverage the buzz surrounding Google+, businesses are keen to be part of this new social offering. However, Google has made it clear that the current iteration of Google+ is targeted towards individual users, not brands or business entities. Of course, Google is not going to exclude corporations for long, but there has been some confusion as to how they will implement brand pages.
Initially, Google was in the process of screening and selecting business partners to be included in the test phase of Google+ for businesses. However, the response was ...
August 9, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Google recently released new tools to track the impact of social media plugins such as tweets, likes and +1s.
Google Webmaster Tools
The +1 metrics in Google Webmaster Tools provide three reports – Search, Activity and Audience – that show you how the +1 button affects traffic to your website.
Search Report – indicates how +1 button affects your site performance through organic search results. The report shows the list of pages that have the most +1 annotated impressions and the click through rate (CTR) with or without a +1 button.
Activity Report – indicates how many times a page...
August 2, 2011
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Posted by
Caroline Zenss
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As more and more retailers are exploring and deploying mobile shopping sites, I wanted to shed light on emerging patterns in mobile user experience.
Here are 10 tips to help you define a better experience through layouts, buttons and features that are well-suited for m-commerce. 1.Search.Display it at the top of your mobile home page and make sure it’s prominent. Mobile shoppers are more inclined to search directly for what they are looking for.
2. Mobile Home Page.Keep it short and clean. A fixed width navigation at the top helps welcoming your customers into your mobile site. The main...
July 25, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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Google has released new specifications for e-commerce sites that have their products listed on Google Product Search. The updates are being implemented to make it easier for shoppers to find the information they’re looking for and to send more shoppers to Google merchants.
The following conditions are now mandatory:
• Availability: The availability status of all items must be stated• Google Product Category: Product categories will have to be defined for “Apparel & Accessories”, “Media”, and “Software”• Images: A product image must be submitted• Apparel: Variants such as “Age Group”, ...
July 14, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Koreans have a very busy lifestyle, so when Tesco grocery chain entered the Korean market they needed a way to make life easier for the busy Korean worker. The idea: “let the store come to the people”. Tesco created virtual stores in subway stations that mimic their displays in store. Using smartphones, commuters easily scan the QR code next to the product and add items to their cart. Once they complete their order, it will be delivered to their door. Tesco reports that online sales increased 130%, making them number one online and number two offline.
Tesco created the following video ...
July 7, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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In an attempt to steal some of Google’s recent thunder, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held a press conference yesterday that was billed as the introduction of “something awesome”. He announced that a Skype-based video chat feature has been added to Facebook. The existing chat service has also been changed to make it easier to use and a new feature has been added to enhance group chats. Zuckerberg also mentioned that this was just the beginning of “launching season 2011” and that more announcements would be coming.
Google’s newly released social offering, Google+, which is currently avail...
July 6, 2011
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Posted by
Antonella Pannizzo
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Consumers now have a say in fashion production and design. Some brands are now offering consumers the chance to vote on what is produced or designed. By doing this, brands are engaging the shopper and creating demand for products before they are even produced. Large brands like Burberry have recognized the importance of giving their customers the opportunity to be involved in the design process. Burberry launched the Bespoke initiative that allows customers to design their own trench coats, by selecting the pattern and material so that they can create a unique item to their style and taste....
July 5, 2011
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Posted by
Jenny Mehan
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After months of rumor and speculation, Google has unveiled their new social networking service, Google+. This new venture addresses some of the issues and shortcomings of the failed Google Wave. At the moment, it’s only available for select users, but hopefully it will be ready for the general public in the near future. Google+ is going to “make sharing online more like sharing in real life”.
Here’s a quick look at some of the features that help to distinguish Google+ from Facebook.
CirclesCircles allows you to sort friends, family and coworkers into different groupings that ...
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