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...

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....

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%....

Every month, typically on the second Friday, the U.S. Census Bureau releases its advanced retail sales report. Except for this month, of course. This month, if you try to retrieve the report, you’ll receive the following message: “Due to the lapse in government funding, census.gov sites, services, and all online survey collection requests will be unavailable until further notice.” As of today, the shutdown has gone on for 11 days, sidelining the government reporting that helps to track and define the...

For anyone who’s visited China, one of the first things a traveler notices is the grandeur of its growing infrastructure. Upon closer inspection, however, things might not be as they seemed from afar. Whether it’s the more than 1 billion people who cause substantial wear and tear or the sometimes bizarre design, the façades can, at times, be deceiving. The same can be said for some eCommerce websites that on the offset are attractive and inviting, but in reality, are hampered...

At the IBM Smarter Commerce workshop, held on Sept. 18-19 in Chicago, presenters showcased the enterprise marketing management (EMM) solutions developed by IBM to drive relationship marketing within the eCommerce arena. The topic was kicked-off with explanations as to how the tools within the platform address the needs of specific users.   For marketing leaders and planners: Maximizing ROI is one of the No. 1 goals of CMOs and marketing managers. Modeling and assessing the mix of marketing efforts is covered within...

Open an issue of Real Simple magazine and it’s easy to see who their target audience is: successful women, working moms, fashion-conscious ladies and don’t forget, aspiring domestic goddesses. The content found within is all geared at making the modern woman even savvier than she already is, and that was definitely the case with a recent issue.   “Web shopping is ultra-convenient,” penned the Real Simple editors, “but getting it when you want it (how much for two-day shipping?) and how...

In this week’s three-part blog series, the team at NetSphere Strategies laid out the pros and cons of various options related to launching a new eCommerce website. In part one, we weighed the benefits of hosting a site, and in part two, we looked at the pluses and minuses behind buying a commercial eCommerce solution.   For our third installment, we investigated why a business owner should or shouldn’t choose to build his or her own site using open source software....

Decisions, decisions. Life is wrought with them. And that’s especially true for new players in the eCommerce game. Retailers wishing to establish or enhance their online presence have the choice to either buy or build their own website. On top of that, they also need to decide whether to host their website off-site or in-house.   To address the factors that play into these decisions, we here at NetSphere Strategies will publish a three-part series that lays out the pros and...

Take a screen grab of any random inbox and it’s sure to contain a smattering of promotional e-mails offering potential customers everything from good deals on hotels to discounts on clothing. Regardless of the product du jour, consumers are constantly being wooed to try and buy new goods and services. And that’s a good thing. It means that marketers are taking advantage of the tools and data that have been made available to them.   But marketers often live in a...