Advertising Age reports that Digital publisher Dirxion is working on digital catalogs for the iPad, to be launched next month. Brad Gorman, mobile and iPad manager, said the company has numerous retailers who are "begging to be in the beta test."
"The internet allows for great shopping tools to find the best prices or get reviews, but it's missing the pizzazz -- the reason why we want something in the first place," Brad Spirrison, managing editor of Appolicious told AdAge. "With the iPad, now you can have great content combined with a great pathway to e-commerce all on one device. That's a game-changer."
It's the move closer to the sale that is especially appealing to retailers and brands. Says econsultancy.com editor Graham Charlton, "Anything that reduces the friction between a product being seen and acting on it will increase sales."
Numbers booster
Gilt Groupe, an online high-end fashion brand, launched its iPad app at the same time as the device and has seen that come true. The number of user visits increased; the times of the day they visit have diversified; and Gilt has tracked a 25%-plus increase in revenue per user connected directly to its iPad app.
"Our iPhone app helped people transact quickly at noon when they needed to, but the iPad app is different, it's more about sitting and browsing and researching," said Carl Sparks, president and CMO at Gilt. "It was liberating to build something completely new -- throw out the mouse and throw out the keyboard and start over with the way users want to interact with products and images."
Gap, along with agency AKQA, created the Gap 1969 Stream app, a "shopping experience built just for iPad," for Gap's 1969 denim line. It has celebrities, designer tips, music, videos and mix-and-match modeling, all touch and swipe -- and all tagged for one-tap buying.
Brands interested in commerce on the iPad should be willing to design and optimize for the device. "Don't half-ass it out of the gate and give the customer a terrible experience," warned Mr. Grady.
Pottery Barn, for instance, has been criticized by reviewers online and in the app store for its catalog app that doesn't live up visually to its real-world catalog, needing an account to log in to read it, and the inability to buy through the app. notes Ad Adge.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Friday, July 09, 2010
The Coming Analytics Boom
Philip Howard, Research Director for Data Management, Bloor Research, writes in IT Analysis that "Demand for analytics is exploding. Not surprisingly, there is a surge of new products and technologies designed to support that interest. Some of these new products or technologies are at the platform level and others are more in the way of development tools while some have elements of both."
He concludes: "I... expect an explosion of new analytic applications coming onto the market, based on in-database analytics running on a plethora of data warehousing platforms. Just as data warehousing was boring a few years ago before Netezza and its followers came into the market, but has become interesting since, so I expect the market for analytic applications to blossom. SAS has been dominant in this space for a long time. I expect it to remain so but I also expect it to get a lot more competition.
He concludes: "I... expect an explosion of new analytic applications coming onto the market, based on in-database analytics running on a plethora of data warehousing platforms. Just as data warehousing was boring a few years ago before Netezza and its followers came into the market, but has become interesting since, so I expect the market for analytic applications to blossom. SAS has been dominant in this space for a long time. I expect it to remain so but I also expect it to get a lot more competition.
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Twitter To Profit From Deal Promotion Program
According to DM News: "As it searches for ways to cash in on its popularity, Twitter is set to become the next e-commerce vehicle.
"The microblogging site has launched @earlybird Exclusive Offers, a program in which Twitter and select advertisers will partner to promote time- and supply-sensitive deals on products and events, such as concert tickets. Twitter users who subscribe to @earlybird will see the offers in their timelines. After a couple of clicks, they could find themselves making a purchase.
"Twitter will earn money through the sales. The move is the latest attempt by Twitter, which until late 2009 appeared to lack a business model, to generate revenue. Other recent attempts have included promoted tweets and trending topics.
“'It seems like a fairly modest early entry,' said Augie Ray, senior analyst at Forrester Research. 'In fact, I'm not even sure I'd call it e-commerce at this point. It seems to be much more positioned as a bit of an advertising play, to be honest. It's a different strategy for them because they haven't been content producers'
"It is unclear when the first deal will be posted. As of July 7, the @earlybird page, which had more than 15,000 followers, included only a link to frequently asked questions about the program.
“'What @earlybird on Twitter does is it gives brands an extra opportunity to reach more eyes, and certainly this @earlybird account will draw plenty of eyes,' Ray said.
"While Twitter says it plans 'to choose exciting deals,' retailers will determine the prices of items and how many will be available.
"The microblogging site has launched @earlybird Exclusive Offers, a program in which Twitter and select advertisers will partner to promote time- and supply-sensitive deals on products and events, such as concert tickets. Twitter users who subscribe to @earlybird will see the offers in their timelines. After a couple of clicks, they could find themselves making a purchase.
"Twitter will earn money through the sales. The move is the latest attempt by Twitter, which until late 2009 appeared to lack a business model, to generate revenue. Other recent attempts have included promoted tweets and trending topics.
“'It seems like a fairly modest early entry,' said Augie Ray, senior analyst at Forrester Research. 'In fact, I'm not even sure I'd call it e-commerce at this point. It seems to be much more positioned as a bit of an advertising play, to be honest. It's a different strategy for them because they haven't been content producers'
"It is unclear when the first deal will be posted. As of July 7, the @earlybird page, which had more than 15,000 followers, included only a link to frequently asked questions about the program.
“'What @earlybird on Twitter does is it gives brands an extra opportunity to reach more eyes, and certainly this @earlybird account will draw plenty of eyes,' Ray said.
"While Twitter says it plans 'to choose exciting deals,' retailers will determine the prices of items and how many will be available.
BoKodes - The Future of Barcoding?
MIT says that their Media Lab has created a new barcoding technology called Bokodes.
The tiny labels are just 3 millimeters across — about the size of the @ symbol on a typical computer keyboard. Yet they can contain far more information than an ordinary barcode: thousands of bits. Currently they require a lens and a built-in LED light source, but future versions could be made reflective, similar to the holographic images now frequently found on credit cards, which would be much cheaper and more unobtrusive.
“We’re trying to make it nearly invisible, but at the same time easy to read with a standard camera, even a mobile phone camera” say the lead author of the paper from Media Lab, postdoc Ankit Mohan. The co-authors, besides Raskar, are graduate student Grace Woo, Shinsaku Hiura (a visiting professor from Osaka University), and postdoc Quinn Smithwick.
Check it out and be sure to watch the video (a bit technical, but worth the effort).
And here's a round-up of what's available today (from the Global Executive Retail Council):
The tiny labels are just 3 millimeters across — about the size of the @ symbol on a typical computer keyboard. Yet they can contain far more information than an ordinary barcode: thousands of bits. Currently they require a lens and a built-in LED light source, but future versions could be made reflective, similar to the holographic images now frequently found on credit cards, which would be much cheaper and more unobtrusive.
“We’re trying to make it nearly invisible, but at the same time easy to read with a standard camera, even a mobile phone camera” say the lead author of the paper from Media Lab, postdoc Ankit Mohan. The co-authors, besides Raskar, are graduate student Grace Woo, Shinsaku Hiura (a visiting professor from Osaka University), and postdoc Quinn Smithwick.
Check it out and be sure to watch the video (a bit technical, but worth the effort).
And here's a round-up of what's available today (from the Global Executive Retail Council):
Here's a relevant story on eBay's RedLaser bar code scanning app.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Only 11% of UK Companies PCI Compliant
Market research by Redshift Research on behalf of Tripwire has found that only 11% of UK companies are currently audited and certified as PCI-DSS compliant.
The survey, which sampled 100 retail, financial services, and hospitality businesses, also found that 35% of respondents don't fully understand PCI requirements, and nearly a third don't know if they will be compliant by the Sept. 2010 deadline.
Another key finding was that only 26% of respondents have a dedicated PCI DSS Project Manager. Indeed, 78% say that PCI compliance falls within the remit of IT Security within their organization which adds to an already busy workload for IT security professionals.
Furthermore, only 24% of respondents were completely satisfied with their organization’s ability to alert personnel to unauthorized modification of critical files and maintain file integrity on systems within the scope of PCI; only 44% of respondents were completely satisfied with their organization’s ability to ensure critical systems are properly configured and have the right software patches installed; and only 30% were completely satisfied with their ability to log and track user activities critical to preventing, detecting or minimizing the impact of data compromise.
Small Businesses Lagging
The research study also highlights that smaller businesses are lagging behind larger organizations in terms of PCI readiness. 56% of Level 4 merchants and 36% of Level 3 merchants do not fully understand PCI requirements ; in contrast, only 14% of Level 2 merchants do not fully understand the requirements, while all Level 1 merchants said that they fully understand the requirements. When asked whether they were confident about meeting the September 2010 deadline, 21% of Level 3 merchants said they would not be compliant in time, and a further 25% of Level 3 merchants did not know if they would be compliant in time; 7% of Level 4 merchants said they would not be compliant, and a further 31% said they did not know if they would be compliant. Only 11% of Level 2 merchants were unsure about achieving compliance, while all Level 1 merchants were confident about meeting the deadline.
Comparing the results by industry sector, 57% of retailers admitted that they still do not fully understand PCI requirements [an amazingly high number!], compared to 27% of finance companies and 27% of leisure companies. Twenty percent of finance companies said they would not be compliant by the September 2010 deadline, and a further 20% of finance respondents did not know if they would meet the deadline. Furthermore, 25% of retailers did not know if they would be compliant, while only 9% of leisure companies were unsure about hitting the deadline.
Guy Washer, managing director of Redshift Research, said that 40 per cent of survey requests were refused as he believed that a lot of them were not talking as they were not addressing the issues.
An On-Going Process
Adds Rob Warmack, senior director of international marketing for Tripwire, "One-off PCI DSS certification is not enough. Simple system changes after an audit not only jeopardize PCI compliance but can also create potentially significant security vulnerabilities. We are seeing clear evidence in the marketplace that companies face an ongoing struggle to collage volumes of change and event information across those systems charged with protecting cardholder data and then still maintain compliance between audits. Without automation through continuous monitoring and reporting, the process s both resource-intensive and potentially valueless: why spend months achieving PCI DSS compliance only to slip out of compliance due to a system change within weeks?"
The survey, which sampled 100 retail, financial services, and hospitality businesses, also found that 35% of respondents don't fully understand PCI requirements, and nearly a third don't know if they will be compliant by the Sept. 2010 deadline.
Another key finding was that only 26% of respondents have a dedicated PCI DSS Project Manager. Indeed, 78% say that PCI compliance falls within the remit of IT Security within their organization which adds to an already busy workload for IT security professionals.
Furthermore, only 24% of respondents were completely satisfied with their organization’s ability to alert personnel to unauthorized modification of critical files and maintain file integrity on systems within the scope of PCI; only 44% of respondents were completely satisfied with their organization’s ability to ensure critical systems are properly configured and have the right software patches installed; and only 30% were completely satisfied with their ability to log and track user activities critical to preventing, detecting or minimizing the impact of data compromise.
Small Businesses Lagging
The research study also highlights that smaller businesses are lagging behind larger organizations in terms of PCI readiness. 56% of Level 4 merchants and 36% of Level 3 merchants do not fully understand PCI requirements ; in contrast, only 14% of Level 2 merchants do not fully understand the requirements, while all Level 1 merchants said that they fully understand the requirements. When asked whether they were confident about meeting the September 2010 deadline, 21% of Level 3 merchants said they would not be compliant in time, and a further 25% of Level 3 merchants did not know if they would be compliant in time; 7% of Level 4 merchants said they would not be compliant, and a further 31% said they did not know if they would be compliant. Only 11% of Level 2 merchants were unsure about achieving compliance, while all Level 1 merchants were confident about meeting the deadline.
Comparing the results by industry sector, 57% of retailers admitted that they still do not fully understand PCI requirements [an amazingly high number!], compared to 27% of finance companies and 27% of leisure companies. Twenty percent of finance companies said they would not be compliant by the September 2010 deadline, and a further 20% of finance respondents did not know if they would meet the deadline. Furthermore, 25% of retailers did not know if they would be compliant, while only 9% of leisure companies were unsure about hitting the deadline.
Guy Washer, managing director of Redshift Research, said that 40 per cent of survey requests were refused as he believed that a lot of them were not talking as they were not addressing the issues.
An On-Going Process
Adds Rob Warmack, senior director of international marketing for Tripwire, "One-off PCI DSS certification is not enough. Simple system changes after an audit not only jeopardize PCI compliance but can also create potentially significant security vulnerabilities. We are seeing clear evidence in the marketplace that companies face an ongoing struggle to collage volumes of change and event information across those systems charged with protecting cardholder data and then still maintain compliance between audits. Without automation through continuous monitoring and reporting, the process s both resource-intensive and potentially valueless: why spend months achieving PCI DSS compliance only to slip out of compliance due to a system change within weeks?"
Friday, July 02, 2010
Mobile Commerce Tsunami Is Coming!
Morgan Stanley analysts Mary Meeker, Scott Devitt, and Liang Wu have prepared a very comprehensive and intensive overview (with lots of stats and comparative data) covering the growth of the Internet and the projected growth of Mobile Commerce, concluding that the "rapid ramp" of mobile Internet usage will be a boon to consumers and some nimble companies who will likely win big (potentially very big) while many others will wonder what just happened!
It's definitely worth a look. On a related topic: IKEA takes its product catalog mobile with augmented reality app. The video on IKEA's new app is below:
Here's still more on the subject:
"Adapting to the Rise of the Mobile Shopper" from Global Retail Executive Council on Vimeo.
See also Merchants are Answering Mobile's Call (Multichannel Merchant) and Google Offers Mobile Payment with Chrome Checkout Extension. ("The primary benefit of this approach is that it doesn't have the same security concerns that have delayed the launch of mobile credit card based payment system Square. The actual act of payment, with Google's solution, does not require the swiping of a credit card and keeps the act of payment solely in the hands of the customer.")
And then there's this: UK customers unhappy with mobile commerce (survey)
See also Smartphone ads: Hitting you where you shop
Plus: Survey Says Few Merchants are Mobile-Savvy (Multichannel Merchant) and
Largest E-Commerce Sites Still Mobile Weak, But Getting Better
But wait! There's more! The National Retail Federation (NRF) has a Mobile Retail Initiative
(and if you want you can download a PDF of the entire 177-page report...or just read the executive summary.
See also The Mobile Choices at Macy's, Best Buy (Storefront Backtalk)
and Largest E-Commerce Sites Still Mobile Weak, But Getting Better
Here's a relevant story on eBay's RedLaser bar code scanning app.
So is this: Study Finds E-tailers Putting Money Into Mobile
7/19/10 - more mobile news: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Reid Hoffman is betting on consumers continuing their love affair with their mobile phones. Hoffman leads a $15 million investment round in Shopkick, an app developer that is creating tools that will allow retailers to offer mobile coupons when customers check in at their stores. The enhancement "of the retail experience through your mobile phone is guaranteed to be part of the future," said Hoffman, a former PayPal executive. (via Shop.org)
7/19/10 - Mobile speeds up e-commerce capabilities
Mobile capacity, social networks and real-time analytics -- which can help retailers deliver the exact items customers want right now rather than the products they pined for three weeks ago -- will become sought-after tools for fueling the growth of e-commerce, according to experts at a recent Wharton Retail Conference. This piece takes an in-depth look at the factors shaping the future of online retail.
7/29/10 - Amazon’s M-Commerce Sales Top $1 Billion, mCommerce: What You Can Learn From Amazon, and Mobile may be the key to eBay's comeback
8/4/10 - Strategy and Consistency with Mobile Marketing Pays Off
8/9/10 - Six reasons retailers need to go mobile (SAS)
8/17/10: Mobile retail’s major challenges: NRF Tech
It's definitely worth a look. On a related topic: IKEA takes its product catalog mobile with augmented reality app. The video on IKEA's new app is below:
Here's still more on the subject:
"Adapting to the Rise of the Mobile Shopper" from Global Retail Executive Council on Vimeo.
See also Merchants are Answering Mobile's Call (Multichannel Merchant) and Google Offers Mobile Payment with Chrome Checkout Extension. ("The primary benefit of this approach is that it doesn't have the same security concerns that have delayed the launch of mobile credit card based payment system Square. The actual act of payment, with Google's solution, does not require the swiping of a credit card and keeps the act of payment solely in the hands of the customer.")
And then there's this: UK customers unhappy with mobile commerce (survey)
See also Smartphone ads: Hitting you where you shop
Plus: Survey Says Few Merchants are Mobile-Savvy (Multichannel Merchant) and
Largest E-Commerce Sites Still Mobile Weak, But Getting Better
But wait! There's more! The National Retail Federation (NRF) has a Mobile Retail Initiative
See also The Mobile Choices at Macy's, Best Buy (Storefront Backtalk)
and Largest E-Commerce Sites Still Mobile Weak, But Getting Better
Here's a relevant story on eBay's RedLaser bar code scanning app.
So is this: Study Finds E-tailers Putting Money Into Mobile
7/19/10 - more mobile news: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Reid Hoffman is betting on consumers continuing their love affair with their mobile phones. Hoffman leads a $15 million investment round in Shopkick, an app developer that is creating tools that will allow retailers to offer mobile coupons when customers check in at their stores. The enhancement "of the retail experience through your mobile phone is guaranteed to be part of the future," said Hoffman, a former PayPal executive. (via Shop.org)
7/19/10 - Mobile speeds up e-commerce capabilities
Mobile capacity, social networks and real-time analytics -- which can help retailers deliver the exact items customers want right now rather than the products they pined for three weeks ago -- will become sought-after tools for fueling the growth of e-commerce, according to experts at a recent Wharton Retail Conference. This piece takes an in-depth look at the factors shaping the future of online retail.
7/29/10 - Amazon’s M-Commerce Sales Top $1 Billion, mCommerce: What You Can Learn From Amazon, and Mobile may be the key to eBay's comeback
8/4/10 - Strategy and Consistency with Mobile Marketing Pays Off
8/9/10 - Six reasons retailers need to go mobile (SAS)
8/17/10: Mobile retail’s major challenges: NRF Tech
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Amazon Acquires Woot.com
ZippyCart reports that Amazon.com will acquire popular daily discount deal site Woot.com. "Woot has had a loyal underground following, as people flock to the site every morning to see a new deal. As an example, the deal for today at Woot is an Apple iPod Nano 8GB, 5th Generation (Latest Version) for only $99.99 with $5 in shipping.
"Woot is based out of Carrollton, Texas, and founder and CEO Matt Rutledge says that operations will continue as normal from their headquarters. Therefore Woot will be managed completely independent from Amazon.com, but now will have the support of a multi-billion dollar online retail juggernaut.
"In addition to the core Woot.com site, there are also a variety of other online retail sites that Woot operates. The additional Woot online retail properties include deals.woot.com, shirt.woot.com, wine.woot.com, and kids.woot.com. All sites operate on the same business model, and have a great deal on a particular item each day."
Concludes ZippyCart, "Amazon has been making smart acquisitions over the last couple years, most recently buying Zappos.com for $847 million, and in January 2008 purchasing Audible.com for $300 million. Sites like Woot and the entire social shopping niche are getting bigger everyday, as new sites jump into the mix and old sites improve their strategy. The acquisition of Woot.com makes a lot of sense for Amazon, who offers something similar each day via their gold box and lighting deals. However it is still unclear if Woot will get any coverage within the gold box or lighting deals section of Amazon. So far it sounds like this acquisition was just a smart way for Amazon to diversify their online portfolio of properties, with a company who knows how to operate profitably."
The CEO of Woot.com has a very funny take on the acquisition....
"Woot is based out of Carrollton, Texas, and founder and CEO Matt Rutledge says that operations will continue as normal from their headquarters. Therefore Woot will be managed completely independent from Amazon.com, but now will have the support of a multi-billion dollar online retail juggernaut.
"In addition to the core Woot.com site, there are also a variety of other online retail sites that Woot operates. The additional Woot online retail properties include deals.woot.com, shirt.woot.com, wine.woot.com, and kids.woot.com. All sites operate on the same business model, and have a great deal on a particular item each day."
Concludes ZippyCart, "Amazon has been making smart acquisitions over the last couple years, most recently buying Zappos.com for $847 million, and in January 2008 purchasing Audible.com for $300 million. Sites like Woot and the entire social shopping niche are getting bigger everyday, as new sites jump into the mix and old sites improve their strategy. The acquisition of Woot.com makes a lot of sense for Amazon, who offers something similar each day via their gold box and lighting deals. However it is still unclear if Woot will get any coverage within the gold box or lighting deals section of Amazon. So far it sounds like this acquisition was just a smart way for Amazon to diversify their online portfolio of properties, with a company who knows how to operate profitably."
The CEO of Woot.com has a very funny take on the acquisition....
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