| News about digital retail commerce |  |
- Improved logistics let online retailers cut it closer
Retail customers of eBay-owned GSI Commerce, which ships products for a group of 70 brands that includes Aéropostale and Godiva, will let customers place holiday orders up until 11 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 22. That's eight hours later than Amazon's deadline for Christmas Eve deliveries and an hour later than GSI's cutoff last year. The Wall Street Journal
(12/19)     
 | Retailers see 10x response rate of email with MMS
The white paper, "Achieving Tangible ROI with Multimedia Text Message Marketing" shows how retailers are using MMS text message marketing to drive more sales and higher customer retention. Reach your customers through the device they use most - their mobile.
Download Mogreet's white paper today |
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| Online Retail Trends |  |  |
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- Retailers get serious with holiday e-mails
With online sales growing three times as fast as overall retail according to NRF, and 45% of consumers expected to shop online this season, e-mail has become one of retailers' most important marketing tools. That said, as e-mail boxes fill up with offers, merchants must find a way to stand out, starting with the subject line. The Wall Street Journal
(12/18)
- How e-commerce may revive old EU warehouses
Throughout Europe's cities, owners of warehouses that have seen better days have hopes of revival amid the rush to provide online shoppers with faster and same-day delivery, commercial real estate experts say. "Your industrial estate (near heavily populated areas) is the high street of the future," said Jonathan Holland, senior manager of Legal & General Property's industrial fund. Yahoo/Reuters
(12/18)
| New Media & Technology | | |
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- Ibotta's model of couponing catching on with consumers
The mobile shopping savings application Ibotta is steadily gaining traction with consumers, in spite of its low profile due to little marketing. The appeal may lie in its relationships with a number of brands that allow Ibotta to offer more savings than competitors for consumers who scan their receipts at major grocery chains and big-box retailers and perform a specified brand interaction, writes Sarah Perez. TechCrunch
(12/18)
- Will kids help Amazon sell more Kindle Fires?
Amazon launched Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, a content service for children, because parents say their kids have quickly caught on to their Kindle Fire tablet, Kindle Vice President Peter Larsen says. While other companies are making tablets geared toward children, parents are more likely to spend on gadgets everyone can use, he says. Bloomberg Businessweek
(12/18)
| Companies in the News | | |
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- Staples creates e-commerce lab
Staples has launched Velocity Lab, a facility in Cambridge, Mass., created to develop plans for mobile and online retail, the company said. The office-supply retailer's restructuring plan released earlier this year includes developing e-commerce and downsizing brick-and-mortar store space. Internet Retailer
(12/18)
- Kindle becomes available in Brazil
Brazilian consumers can buy Kindle e-readers from Livraria da Vila bookstores and online electronics retailer Pontofrio.com.br. Amazon recently announced that it will launch a Kindle Store to sell e-books in Brazil, but the retailer hasn't set up a website to sell physical goods. TechCrunch
(12/18)
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| Legislative & Regulatory | | |
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- Netflix social-sharing bill passes House without e-mail provision
The House has passed a bill backed by Netflix that would allow Facebook users to share video-viewing habits, but privacy advocates are unhappy that a revision to e-mail laws wasn't approved as part of the House's legislation. A provision passed in the Senate version of the bill required law-enforcement authorities to obtain a search warrant before reading e-mails older than 180 days, but that was stripped out in a House committee and is unlikely to be revisited in this session of Congress. "We shouldn't do privacy reform piecemeal. We can't give priority to special interests," says ACLU counsel Chris Calabrese. Bloomberg
(12/18)
| Shop.org Spotlight | | |
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- NRF honors Amazon, Crocs, lululemon and Kohl's with retail awards
Setting examples of experience, innovation and leadership, executives from these pioneering brands will be recognized with NRF's prestigious annual awards next month at Retail's BIG Show in New York. Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos was chosen to receive the Gold Medal Award, and Crocs President and CEO John McCarvel will be recognized with the Retail Innovator of the Year Award. Lululemon athletica CEO Christine Day will receive the International Retailer of the Year Award, and Kohl's Senior Executive Vice President of Logistics Ken Bonning has been tapped for the Silver Plaque for his outstanding contributions to the retail industry. Read more.
- Shop.org kicks off free regional dinners next month in New York
Sign up now to enjoy dinner on us and network with multichannel retailers interested in talking all things e-commerce. Shop.org's regional dinner series for 2013 begins in New York on Jan. 14 during Retail's BIG Show, with several more scheduled across the country throughout the year. Space is limited for this popular series so reserve your seat at the table today. Register or learn more.
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More than 60% of U.S. adults reported that personalized retail websites were "useful," and 15% admitted having purchased a recommended product. Source: 
