Strategies to Restore Your Customer’s Trust in E-Commerce
Phishing, hacking, spamming, hijacking
News
L.L. Bean Sales Up 9%
Freeport, ME-based L.L. Bean reported a 9% rise in annual net sales, to a record $1.4 billion for fiscal 2004. The outdoor gear and apparel merchant also reported acquiring a record number of new customers.
Having His Say: Online vs. On-Demand Marketing Databases
No matter how you maintain your customer history, you certainly should have faster and smarter access to it.
Reports that once took six months to develop are routinely delivered in a month or less these days. As a result, marketing strategies have changed considerably as well. Marketers are much more targeted with their offers and the timing of them.
Today we use terms such as
Don’t Lose Profit to Online Requesters
Because it is so easy to request catalogs on the Web, catalog requesters are yielding lower conversion rates and declining in value, says Jim Coogan, president of Sante Fe, NM-based Catalog Marketing Economics. For that reason, he suggests segmenting those who requested via the Web from your other requesters.
Polish Your Data Dictionary
As the saying goes, Cleanliness is next to godliness. And in direct marketing, data cleanliness leads to improved profitability. But because data hygiene is about as exciting as, well, dental hygiene, too many marketers give it only cursory attention.
And that, says Brent Bissell, president of Minneapolis-based consultancy Direct Target One, is a costly oversight. Poor hygiene results in an inconsistent data dictionary
February Sales Roundup
Several of the multichannel merchants tracked by CATALOG AGE boasted of double-digit February sales growth.
Overstock.com Offers $500,000 for Eziba Assets
Online discounter Overstock.com has offered global goods merchant Eziba $500,000 for all of its assets. But a sale of the all-but-defunct company may not occur until Eziba declares bankruptcy.
Financial Reports: Schein, Sportsman’s Guide
Henry Schein feels the effects of the flu vaccine shortage, while Sportsman’s Guide ends the year a winner
Broadband is First Step in Complex Online Shopping Experience
Two recent studies of online shopping behavior provide evidence of the growing complexity evolving around the multi-channel retail experience. The new Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Online Retail service, which tracks online consumer retail activity and purchasing behavior, reveals that broadband consumers make two-thirds of online purchases — and spend a third more than narrowband-connected consumers in doing so. And a joint study from Fry Inc. and comScore Networks shows that consumers vary widely in their online and offline behavior depending on the product.