When hiring or outsourcing an individual or a firm for eCommerce website development, any retailer can agree: a subject matter expert is the candidate of choice. What is difficult to find consensus on, however, is what constitutes an SME.   In the 2008 best-seller, “The Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell inspired readers by saying that if an individual devotes 10,000 hours, boiled down to a 40-hour work week over the course of five years, they will achieve the status of expert in their...

Soon, all eyes will set their focus on Brazil as the largest South American country hosts two of the world’s biggest athletic events. Surely, the selection of Brazil as host for both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is due to its position as one of the globe’s most promising emerging nations.   As such, Brazil offers opportunities for eCommerce companies wanting to expand their reach. With a population of just over 200 million, Brazil finds itself amongst the top...

Leading up to Black Friday, some industry experts had tepid anticipation for what the holiday shopping day would bring to retailers across the nation. With ongoing online promotions overshadowing Black Friday, they wondered if it still carried the same weight as it had in years past.   For ShopperTrak, the leading global provider of shopper insights and analytics, overall retail spending for November and December was seen as a mixed bag. The group forecasted that 10 percent fewer shoppers would visit...

Historically, consumers have held off on big electronics purchases during the early part of the year, saving them for Black Friday’s door-buster deals. This year, however, the verdict is still out as to whether the biggest shopping day of the year still holds the same level of anticipation. Regardless, anyone in retail can agree: Black Friday and Cyber Monday have taken up a big chunk of the daily workload over the past few months – and then some.   So although...

There once was a time when manufacturing websites were nothing more than a few flat, static pages. And that was OK. As long as the product specs were available and the contact info was up to date, website visitors were content.   Today, however, those same website visitors have higher expectations. They want what B2C websites have, like the bells and whistles that they experience on B2C’s UI/UX-enhanced sites. And they want those features today.   Despite the ever-growing cases of...

When the in-laws make a last-minute announcement that they’ll be rolling into town, there is undoubtedly a bit of scrambling to do. At the very least, the guest bedroom might need a quick makeover. [Insert favorite home goods store] to the rescue!   For simplicity’s sake, let’s say that favorite home goods store is Target. For this frazzled daughter- and son-in-law, Target usually has the hypoallergenic pillows and sheet sets that they like. But the last thing they’ll want to do...

Let’s face it. Almost every eCommerce organization that internalizes its WebSphere Commerce duties has difficulty finding qualified resources. And that’s because there are simply not enough administrators and developers trained on WebSphere Commerce to recruit and fill the demand. Therefore, the solution to this persistent problem is to outsource that work. By shifting ongoing eCommerce development and support tasks off-site to highly specialized firms, merchants won’t have to worry about finding, training or retaining these skills themselves. Unsurprisingly, the best firms...

The debate over imposing Internet sales taxes has been a fairly ongoing one since the U.S. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act back in May 2013. And yet again, the legislation, which grants states the authority to require retailers to collect sales tax for online transactions, is in the spotlight.   One of the major reasons that the Marketplace Fairness Act has been contested is the potential blow that it could impose on small business owners. The complexities of drawing sales...

With the 2013 holiday shopping season almost in full swing, retail business leaders around the nation are relieved to hear that U.S. consumer spending rose more than expected in October. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that their minds will be at ease during the busiest shopping season of the year. As one would expect, their thoughts will be wrought with economic uncertainty, increased competition and the challenges surrounding omni-channel retailing – a multi-faceted (and often difficult) push toward creating a seamless...

As online competition increases, eCommerce site owners fervently work to blur the lines between online and in-store shopping. If a customer can get the same level of experience on a website as they can at a brick-and-mortar location, the chances for repeat visits and purchases is heightened by leaps and bounds.   The methods to achieve a unified cross-channel experience – also known as omni-channel retailing – are vast and include everything from allowing consumers to buy online and return in-store...