Crutchfield Does mComm 2.0

Crutchfield is one of the few multichannel merchants who have already revamped the first generation of their mCommerce site, according to an article in Internet Retailer.

Vers. 1.0 employed transcoding from Crutchfield's eComm site, and was not truly optimized for Smartphone use.  The new version was programmed in-house using HTML5, which the company is also using to redo its eCommerce platform. HTML5 allows Crutchfield to offer an mComm shipping calculator that uses the GPS technology built into smartphones to identify the customer's location and determine shipping costs as well as estimated time for delivery.

Click HERE for the full article.

hybris Acquires iCongo

hybris, a leading multichannel commerce software vendor, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire iCongo, Inc., a Montreal, Canada-based company with complementary multichannel commerce software and services.  This transaction will reinforce hybris’s position, with over 350 B2C and B2B customers across the globe and a presence in 11 countries. The Company’s global operations will continue to be headquartered in Munich, Germany.  The senior management team from hybris will remain in place, and will be joined by senior management personnel from iCongo.

The combined companies hope for immediate and significant benefits for current and future customers, providing complete and modular multichannel commerce solutions through a single, agile, open platform powered by the highly successful hybris technology stack.

Existing customers of both companies will be able to benefit from this combined platform and the integration of order and warehouse management systems and other rich commerce functionality from the combined solution, which includes:

• enhanced offerings for B2B and B2C commerce
• mission-critical capabilities for integrating multichannel commerce across

        - eCommerce
        - mobile commerce
        - order management
        - warehouse management
        - product content management
        - marketing
        - point of sale

hybris will immediately offer a comprehensive managed services and cloud-based offering for customers and partners in addition to the on premise deployment option, and remains committed to a partner-centric delivery model, making the new, complete, multi-channel commerce solution accessible to its customers via more than 90 system integration partners.

“With this move hybris will further enhance its position as the one-stop shop for any company across the globe looking for a commerce solution that delivers a modern customer experience and efficient inventory management, which together result in increased customer retention, revenues and margins,” said Ariel Lüdi, CEO of hybris. “This is a terrific opportunity for our joint customer base and our partner channel to benefit from a broader footprint, both in terms of products and geographic presence. In addition, we will be able to jump start a managed services offering to provide customers with increased flexibility and choice.”

Steven Kramer, Co-Founder and President of iCongo, said; “The combined hybris and iCongo solution provides current and future customers with the fully-integrated, end-to-end, multi-channel commerce infrastructure required to capitalize on expectations for a seamless customer experience.  Channel-optimized touch points, central management of commerce logic, product and customer data, powerful cross-channel, distributed order management, and warehouse management are just a few highlights of the joint solutions capabilities.”

Cookies, Supercookies and Ubercookies

Here's an interesting summary on "Cookies, Supercookies and Ubercookies: Stealing the Identity of Web Visitors" from 33Bits of Entropy.

Consumer Confidence In eCommerce Security Drops

According to a study of consumer sentiment toward online shopping and security released today by McAfee (a security system firm wholly owned by Intel)  and conducted by Harris Interactive, only about a third of online consumers believe that most Websites are safe for shopping, an 11 percent decrease since McAfee conducted the survey in 2009. 

The majority of online consumers, 84 percent, continue to have some level of concern when providing personal information online.

“While consumers are faced with more options than ever for shopping online, it’s clear that one of their biggest concerns – security – remains,” said Steve Petracca, senior vice president of global consumer marketing at McAfee. “It is important for online retailers to recognize, understand and assuage these concerns in order to increase sales and earn trust from their customers.”

Persistent Concerns

The research showed that online consumers are more concerned about online shopping security than they were in 2009, despite advances in technology and in the popularity of online shopping. In fact, only six percent say they do not worry about security on the Internet.

The survey found that many online consumers would override their concerns about risks if they felt that they were receiving a substantial price discount. Despite their security concerns, four in 10 consumers admitted to having purchased from sites where they were unsure about the security of their personal information. In those cases, a discount in the 11-30 percent range is what drove them to make a purchase.

Increased Confidence in Trustmarks

At the same time that overall confidence is falling, consumer confidence in trustmarks is growing, especially for consumers shopping on small independent sites. According to security experts, SSL and a trustmark indicating a full privacy and data protection policy are the leading indicators that a site is trustworthy: 

• Seventy-five percent of consumers indicate they would choose a site with a trustmark over a site without one; 
• About one third of consumers would choose a small independent site with a trustmark over a larger well-known site when making a purchase;
• Nearly four in 10 consumers indicate they might spend more money online if they had a guarantee of security;
• About one-third of consumers indicate that they might even spend an additional 25 percent or more.

The Consumer Online Shopping survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of McAfee, between May 19 and May 31, among 605 adults, ages 18+, who shop online at least occasionally. McAfee was not identified as the sponsor of the research. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

McAfee SECURE Service

To address security concerns, survey sponsor McAfee developed the McAfee SECURE^™ trustmark for sale to Web site owners. Sites that display a McAfee SECURE trustmark must pass rigorous daily tests for vulnerabilities that pose a threat to sensitive customer information. McAfee also conducts daily network perimeter scanning, testing for more than 40,000 network and Web application vulnerabilities, security testing to ensure protection against malware, and business practice reviews for Web site owners and online retailers. With the McAfee SECURE service, e-commerce merchants can also demonstrate PCI DSS compliance, the standard for the payment card industry.

The McAfee SECURE trustmark is displayed on more than 80,000 etailer Websites and also in search results enhanced by McAfee^® SiteAdvisor^® software, allowing merchants to be viewed prominently in those results. A/B testing performed by McAfee in 2009 found that on average sites displaying the McAfee SECURE trustmark saw a 12 percent increase in online sales conversions as compared to those sites that did not.

Pricing is based on the number of IP addresses and page views. For more information, see: www.mcafeesecure.com.

Fight Fraud on a Global Scale

Carl Clump, chief executive of Retail Decisions, a payment fraud prevention provider, has a very insightful and useful article in Direct Commerce magazine on Fighting Fraud On a Global Scale. It's brief, concise, and actionable!

Netprospex Ranks Most Social Companies

Netprospex has produced an interesting graphic ranking the top companies leveraging social media in business.

Here's a sneak peak -

PCI SSC Issues Tokeninzation Guidelines

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council has issued guidelines for tokenization of credit card data in card-not-present transaction processing which confirm that a retailer can be "out of scope" if tokens are implemented properly.

To keep the merchant out of scope, the tokenization process must not be "reversed" for any reason, such as processing chargebacks or refunds, updating a credit card expiration date, or for marketing or analysis purposes, loyalty program management, and so on.

Data Tokenization Flowchart

The report summarizes characteristics of a tokenization system that meets PCI DSS requirements as follows:

1. The tokenization system does not provide PAN [Primary Account Number] in any response to any application, system, network, or user outside of the merchant’s defined CDE [Card Data Environment]. All tokenization components are located on secure internal networks that are isolated from any untrusted and out-of-scope networks.
3. Only trusted communications are permitted in and out of the tokenization system environment.
4. The tokenization solution enforces strong cryptography and security protocols to safeguard cardholder data when stored and during transmission over open, public networks.
5. The tokenization solution implements strong access controls and authentication measures in accordance with PCI DSS Requirements 7 and 8.
6. The tokenization system components are designed to strict configuration standards and are protected from vulnerabilities.
7. The tokenization solution supports a mechanism for secure deletion of cardholder data as required by a data-retention policy.
8. The tokenization solution implements logging, monitoring, and alerting as appropriate to identify any suspicious activity and initiate response procedures.

The document also details how to work with a TSP [Tokenization Service Provider].

The Council points out that "An important consideration when evaluating a tokenization solution is whether the token itself can be used in lieu of cardholder data to perform a transaction. Tokens that can be used as payment instruments (sometimes called "high-value tokens") could potentially be monetized or used to generate fraudulent transactions, and may therefore have the same value to an attacker as the data they are intended to replace. Tokenization solutions which support these types of tokens should have additional controls in place to detect and prevent attempted fraudulent activities. Additionally, tokens that can be used to initiate a transaction might be in scope for PCI DSS, even if they cannot directly be used to retrieve PAN or other cardholder data; merchants should therefore consult with their acquirer and/or the Payment Brands directly to determine specific requirements for tokens that can be used as payment instruments."

Click here for the full report.

VISA to Waive PCI Testing With Chip&Pin Terminals

Network World - VISA today announced plans that will let qualifying merchants in the US eliminate annual validation of their PCI compliance if they are using point-of-sale (POS) terminals that support the chip-based EMV payment-processing technology (instead of magnetic-stripe cards) as well as support the wireless standard called Near Field Communication (NFC) for mobile payments.

VISA says its incentive program will help prepare the nation's payment infrastructure for the arrival of NFC-based mobile payments by building the necessary infrastructure to accept and process chip transactions that support a PIN at point of sale.

For more information, see VISA's Information Bulletin.

Transair Implements Elucid

Sanderson, a publicly-owned supplier of multi-channel retail software solutions, has recently implemented their Elucid solution at Transair, the largest and most respected supplier of pilot flight equipment and aviation accessories in Europe.

Transair manages a successful mailorder operation, a rapidly expanding eCommerce channel, a wholesale distribution division, and four retail stores at Shoreham Airport, Gloucestershire Airport, Wycombe Air Park and Cambridge Street, London.

Following a review of their IT infrastructure, Transair recognized the need to replace their existing system and began searching for an IT solution to support their expanding and complex organization. The Elucid multi-channel retail solution from Sanderson was chosen for its functionality and flexibility to support multiple sales channels, underpinned by an integrated back-office system.

The first phase of the project focused on implementation of Elucid back-office at the Transair head office and warehouse facilities, closely followed by the roll-out of EPOS at their four stores. The final phase of the implementation was the launch of the new Trainsair eCommerce site, ensuring a seamless multichannel operation.

Transair is experiencing a number of company-wide benefits since implementing the Sanderson single integrated system – increased visibility across sales channels, more accurate stock levels, better customer information, and improved communication across the company. Elucid provides detailed customer profiling and analysis to drive marketing campaigns and equips Transair with essential management information for monitoring performance in key areas such as warehousing, procurement and finance.

Webtrends Acquires Reinvigorate

Webtrends, a global leader in unified mobile, social and Web analytics and engagement, has acquired real-time analytics company Reinvigorate from Media Temple Ventures to round out its analytics portfolio and become the first analytics company to offer real-time, deep historical analytics for mobile, social and Web channels. Reinvigorate’s solution also brings new data visualization technologies (heat maps, link maps and visitor path analysis) to Webtrends’s portfolio, enhancing their analytics solution.

Lands' End Using Demandware for European eComm Site

Demandware, Inc., a leader in on-demand eCommerce, has announced that global multichannel clothing merchant Lands’ End has selected the Demandware Commerce platform to support its multi-country business model in Austria, Germany, France, UK and Sweden.

“We needed an eCommerce partner who would be able to support our immediate business needs and long-term goals,” said Steve Cretney, CIO, Lands’ End.

Proof of Concept
Lands’ End tested the capabilities of Demandware’s on-demand commerce platform by building a proof-of-concept site for the Sweden launch before committing to a global expansion. During the pilot project, Lands’ End evaluated how effective Demandware was in meeting the following criteria:

• Response time
• Ability to launch by deadline
• Site compatibility with Lands’ End integrations
• Overall user experience

The pilot implementation began in July of last year and went live three months later in October 2010.

Reports Cretney, “The launch of our Swedish site proved that the Demandware Commerce platform and the cloud-based model would support and allow for the quick deployments we were looking for to support our business goals. With Demandware, our team is able to easily launch multiple sites.”

Digby & Usablenet Powering mCommerce Sites

Two mCommerce updates:

1) Cabela’s, the world’s largest direct marketer of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise, has used Digby as their strategic partner for an mCommerce site. The mobile optimized Website features such key elements as large rich product images, detailed product descriptions, complete site search, shop by category, store locator, access to Cabela’s CLUB visa and their full ecommerce site, an FAQ, and ratings and reviews. Click here for more information.

2) Aeropostale Inc., a mall-based, specialty retailer of casual apparel and accessories targeting 14 to 17 year-olds, has launched an Android app developed by Usablenet that lets consumers shop their favorite looks no matter where they are across multiple channels, including mobile phones, mobile applications, tablets, Facebook, in-store kiosks, and other platforms. Consumers can shop by category, browse in-store coupons, track orders, find the nearest location and see what’s currently in their cart. Shoppers can also use the search function to look for a specific item. The mobile site uses HTML5 as part of the Usablenet Mobile 2.0 platform.