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Sears.com expands online shopping store

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Who said that the economy is in a downturn? Sears is supporting this increased demand through a large-scale expansion of its online store. This month, at Sears.com, customers can find a huge selection of books, DVDs, music, software and even customizable art, nearly quadrupling the number of products available on sears.com.

The first step toward creating this expanded online inventory came in December 2007 when Sears.com partnered with Alliance Entertainment Corporation (AEC) to offer movies and music to its online shoppers. Sears.com now houses more than 250,000 titles searchable by format, genre, artist and release date. Visitors also can sample previews of the hottest music and movie titles.

In April Sears.com expanded its For the Home Online Store by partnering with ArtSelect.com. Sears’ customers now have a complete art gallery and custom frame shop at their fingertips. After finding a favorite art piece, visitors can create a custom finished product by choosing the mat and frame. The design can be viewed against a wall color, saved in a gallery, or shared with friends. Featuring more than 300,000 image options for art prints and canvas reproductions, as well as mirrors and tapestries, the frame shop fits any style of home decor.

Also in April, Sears.com partnered with Baker & Taylor to offer an online book assortment consisting of more than 600,000 products. Customers can search by title and category, as well as order books in advance of release date.

Originally posted on May 15, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

Digital River, SanDisk sign global e-commerce agreement

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Digital River, Inc., provider of global e-commerce solutions, has signed an e-commerce agreement with SanDisk Corporation, provider of flash memory products. Based on the agreement, Digital River will build, host and manage e-commerce stores to support the online sale of SanDisk’s line of flash memory data storage products in the U.S. and Canada starting in spring 2008, expanding to other countries throughout the year.

“We are pleased to be working with SanDisk to further extend its reach into online markets around the world,” said Joel Ronning, Digital River’s CEO. “Drawing upon our deep domain expertise in e-commerce and our global footprint, we can offer consumer electronics manufacturers a complete solution for building an effective online presence. We can help them take advantage of opportunities in a growing market where consumer buying habits and preferences are heavily influenced by the power of the Internet.”

Originally posted on May 11, 2008 @ 10:39 am

Consumers will return to online shopping sites that embrace Web 2.0, survey reveals

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With consumers continuing to spend briskly online, and social websites aggregating ever-larger numbers of participants, the twain–online shopping and social networking–may finally be meeting.

That’s the main finding of a new nationwide survey from Guidance, a specialized technology advisor that envisions, builds and supports web technology solutions that help businesses thrive online. In the new survey, more than 60 percent of respondents report being drawn to online retailers that employ Web 2.0 tools and techniques.

In association with Chicago market researcher Synovate, Guidance asked 1,000 online consumers, “When thinking about shopping online, what is most likely to make you return to a given shopping website?”

According to the Guidance/Synovate eNation study, conducted in March, 35 percent of total respondents said they’re most likely to return to a shopping website if it makes recommendations on products or services for sale–recommendations being among the most dominant activities in a Web 2.0 world. Another 26 percent want “a unique experience each time” they shop. Continually changing content is likewise a hallmark of Web 2.0.

Eighteen percent said they’re more likely to return “if the site solicits their feedback” on its products and services–feedback being the flipside to product and service recommendations. Sixteen percent said “a welcome when they arrive” at the site is the factor most likely to make them return, while 6 percent said they’re most likely to return “if the site makes them feel part of a community” with other shoppers/site visitors.

Originally posted on April 20, 2008 @ 10:58 am

High gas prices driving many consumers to shop online

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iCongo, Inc. released the results of a consumer survey conducted by Harris Interactive that reveals how the rising price of gasoline is reflected in American attitudes towards shopping.

One third (33 percent) of online U.S. adults indicated they are more likely to shop online rather than in-person at a store due to the high price of gasoline.

The iCongo survey also provides insight into consumer attitudes regarding the upcoming U.S. federal tax rebate. A full 45 percent of adults said they plan to make retail purchases with their rebate, if they receive one. By contrast, just 21 percent of respondents in a recent CCH survey said they intend to spend it. A survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation came close to the iCongo number with 41 percent of respondents indicating they plan to spend their rebate.

Some notable findings include:

  • 57 percent of online adults said free shipping is a reason they are more likely to shop online as opposed to in a physical store;
  • 55 percent said lower prices lead them to shop online over in a store; and
  • 61 percent cited the ability to shop at any time as a reason they are more likely to shop online instead of in a store.

    • Free or discounted shipping and online-only pricing are widely available from e-retailers and are powerful factors that drive consumer interest in online shopping.

    In a data point of interest to multi-channel marketers, the iCongo survey found that six percent of online adults would complete their purchase in store and have the merchandise shipped to them if the merchandise were out of stock at that store. This number may be considered rather large as only a small percentage of shoppers entering a store actually end up completing a purchase.

    Originally posted on April 17, 2008 @ 10:17 pm

    BOOMj partners with National Lampoon for co-branded e-commerce store

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    boomj.pngBOOMj, Inc. announced an agreement with National Lampoon to create a co-branded eCommerce platform. National Lampoon will make the store available across the many National Lampoon online platforms, reaching over six million visitors each month. The agreement will also include making National Lampoon DVDs, books, and merchandise available across the BOOMj eCommerce platforms.

    The new eCommerce store will be live at nationallampoon.com along with the many other National Lampoon owned sites, offering millions of products across a multitude of categories, including computers, books, dvds, music, electronics, housewares, wellness products and more.

    Originally posted on April 8, 2008 @ 9:28 pm