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...

As the USPS announcement to partner with Amazon to offer Sunday deliveries made headlines, two additional news items flew below the general public’s radar. The first was in regard to major revenue losses for the 2013 fiscal year – the seventh year running.   “The U.S. Postal Service ended the 2013 fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2012 – Sept. 30, 2013) with a net loss of $5 billion,” explained a press release found on the USPS newsroom website. “This marks the 7th...

Some might say that an eCommerce website is only as good as the added functionality it delivers to online shoppers. While consumers can be enticed by a modern, clean layout with pithy tag lines and professional photography, it’s the functionality that they’ll truly fall in love with.   So whether value-added features come into play before an overall site is designed or if they’re included incrementally, the key is to consider the options and the benefits that they bring to the...

When you visit Tealium’s About Us page, you’ll quickly discover that the company is no stranger to receiving accolades. In addition to being honored by Red Herring as one of the top 100 technology companies in North America for 2013, it was also named the market leader in enterprise tag management by Econsultancy, a U.K.-based research firm. Proof in the pudding comes in the form of record sales announced just last month.   “During the third quarter ending Sept. 30, Tealium...

Since it was founded in 2001, Newegg.com has been heading on a growth path. Based on its nearly $1 billion in sales in 2004, Newegg found itself on the Internet Retailer magazine’s list of the Internet’s Top 10 retailers in 2005. And just four short years later, it was listed as No. 234 on America’s Largest Private Companies list, published by Forbes. In 2012, it reported more than $2.7 billion in revenue – a substantial jump from its debut appearance on...