Every time someone purchases an iPhone, it seems like a newer, more powerful version is released just moments afterward. Over the past six years, eight versions of the iPhone have been introduced to the market, leaving so many smartphone users with new-version envy.   The question circling the minds of these not-so-outdated smartphone users then is: Is it worth it to upgrade? Often times, however, the answer is no – especially if the phone is still relatively new. According to NBC...

The countdown to Black Friday is in full effect. With less than one month before the year’s biggest shopping day, retailers are calling for all hands on deck to ensure that the day is a huge sales success. But despite the full-blown focus that some businesses place on Black Friday, many might not know how it got its start – or if it’s still as powerful for sales as it once was.   According to BlackFriday.com, the term Black Friday was...

Manufacturing in the United States is, to some degree, still the backbone of our nation. Countries around the world aspire to achieve our level of quality and innovation. The rub, however, is that some U.S. manufacturers have been slow to embrace the benefits that come from developing equally innovative eCommerce websites.   When it comes to online interactions with customers and clients, manufacturers are much the same as other retail entities. Their products need to be showcased in the best light...

Working off of consumer-wide shopping statistics and customer-engagement best practices is a sound method for launching an eCommerce marketing campaign. But as most businesses owners know, no two companies or industries are alike. What might work for a clothing retailer, might not find traction for a lawn care provider. Therefore, businesses will have to look within to discover how their own customers are attracted and retained.   And as far as best practices are concerned, IBM reminded business owners in a...

Whether you’re taking public transportation, at a family gathering, or shopping at a mall, there will, undoubtedly, be individuals who are buried in their mobile devices. Distracted from the world around them, smartphones and tablets are a growing outlet for consumers to get quick answers to their daily, hourly or by-the-minute queries.   And as mobile platforms gain in sophistication and ease of use, those same consumers will lean on those devices even further to buy goods. But for most, this...

With a population of 142.5 million, the eCommerce opportunities in Russia are vast and for the majority, are fairly untapped. According to the CIA World FactBook, the country has experienced major changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, “moving from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more market-based and globally-integrated economy.”   Furthermore, because the cost of living is quite low in Russia, expendable income for the middle and upper class is somewhat larger than those in many other markets....

Open-source software or OSS represents a community approach to developing software where anyone can copy, modify and redistribute the source code without paying royalties or fees. This is opposed to commercial software vendors whose source code is not distributed, is treated as intellectual property and whose customers pay licensing and maintenance fees for the use of that software.   To get a better understanding of how freedom and flexibility can be achieved through OSS, the team here at NetSphere Strategies put...

In a recent study conducted by Forrester, IBM was chosen as the top B2B eCommerce vendor when compared to other major providers. The report, titled “The Forrester Wave: B2B Commerce Suites, Q4 2013,” is the first of its kind, evaluating 66 criteria, such as community features, 24x7x365 ordering, real-time customer service, expedited shipping, mobile, integration with back-office systems, fulfillment workflows and inventory management.   “For B2B commerce, IBM comes to market with three core products: Websphere Commerce, Sterling CPQ, and Sterling...

With earnings season in full swing, investors are anxious to see positive report cards from U.S. companies – partially for the potential those reports can have in wiping away the bad vibes that the government shutdown created. For anyone in the retail or eCommerce industries, that desire couldn’t be more palpable, considering the ripple effect that the government stalemate caused on consumer confidence and therefore, consumer spending.   eBay: On Oct. 17, eBay reported earnings, which are down more than 5%....

If content is king, then Google is emperor. And that’s because the world’s biggest search engine is able to dictate what’s acceptable when ranking pages and what’s not. But before anyone starts questioning the emperor’s authority, it’s important to understand that Google’s law of the online land isn’t necessarily a bad thing.   After all, Google is the long-time leader in search engines because it is constantly looking out for all parties’ best interests – websites and website visitors alike. With...