National E-Commerce Extension Initiative

November 2007, No. 20

Welcome to the Latest Issue of eNews:

With the end of the year upon us, the SRDC would like to thank you again for your interest in eNews. With this final issue of 2007, we send you best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and an incredibly happy new year. See you in 2008!

Bo Beaulieu, Director
Alicia Barnes, Editorial Assistant

News and Research:

Report: Cheery Outlook for Holiday E-Shopping Season
By Erika Morphy, E-Commerce Times
Online retail sales for this holiday season are expected to increase by 20 percent over sales from the 2006 season, surpassing $39 billion, according to JupiterResearch’s U.S. Online Retail Holiday Forecast for 2007. This growth will be driven not only by veteran online shoppers – who are projected to increase their holiday spending by 13 percent to an average of $314 per person – but also by first-timers. As a category, new online buyers are expected to increase more than 6 percent this year, compared with the number of e-commerce newbies in 2006. See the story in its entirety at
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59964.html

Alternative Payment Methods: Increasing the Consumer's Willingness
By Alex Rampell, E-Commerce Times
When you truly increase a consumer's willingness to pay, the revenue possibilities are significant simply because the vast majority of your visitors probably never engage in a transaction on your site. An intelligent and thorough implementation of relevant alternative payment options can slowly but surely chip away at a consumer's reluctance to pay you and make a lasting effect on your business. Read the full story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60321.html

Papa John's Pizza Takes M-Commerce Route
By Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press
Papa John's this week rolled out its text message ordering option at its 2,700 U.S. restaurants. It's a progression from the pizza maker's online ordering, which began in 2001. "The high-technology ways of reaching customers probably appeal to younger people, who live with their text messaging and their BlackBerry," said Bear Stearns restaurant analyst Joe Buckley. Read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60325.html

Strong Q3 Growth Indicates E-Tail Market Still Immature
By John P. Mello Jr., E-Commerce Times
Online retail sales in the United States jumped 23 percent, to $28.4 billion, during the third quarter of this year compared with the same July-September period in 2006. The retail surge was led by sales of video games, consoles and accessories, which showed a year-to-year increase of 199 percent, according to the Internet analysis firm comScore of Reston, Va. See the story in its entirety at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/60070.html

Creating Synergy With Online and Offline Marketing
By Amber Frensley, E-Commerce Times
Integrating online marketing and traditional media creates synergy. Using multiple media in a campaign has a greater impact than an individual medium by itself. The more interactions you can engage a consumer in, the greater the likelihood of winning them over to your brand and/or making a purchase. Read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59991.html

Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 1
By Andrew K. Burger, CRM Buyer
Designing effective marketing campaigns and finding the right marketing mix are primary concerns for any online retailer. They are especially important for start-ups and small to medium-sized businesses, or SMBs, competing with larger and better established e-tailers, as well as the rapidly growing number of their SMB peers. See the full story at http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/59990.html

Marketing Automation Solutions for Startups, Part 2
By Andrew K. Burger, CRM Buyer
While e-tail technology and support continues to get cheaper and become more ubiquitous, the barriers to commercial success are also growing. Larger and more established retailers continue to invest their resources and get better at using the online channel, while the ranks of new and small and medium-sized business (SMB) market entrants swell. These factors are several reasons why e-tail startups are learning from the experiences of others and tapping as many avenues of support and advice as they can, particularly when it comes to e-marketing and automating the marketing function to the greatest degree possible. Read more at http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/60007.html

A Plethora of One-Stop Shops for Small Biz Tech
By Keith Regan, TechNewsWorld
One by one, major technology vendors are rolling out programs meant to offer small businesses the chance to source all of their tech needs, from desktop and mobile PCs to printers, servers and software to support it all. See the entire story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59966.html

Digital River's Jim Wehmann: Building a Better E-Commerce Site
By John P. Mello Jr., E-Commerce Times
Many e-commerce sites are terrible, but they don't have to be that way, according to Jim Wehmann. Wehmann is vice president for strategic marketing services for Minneapolis-based Digital River. The company, founded in 1994, is well known around the world for building and managing online businesses for more than 40,000 companies. Read more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59838.html

Rules for E-Commerce Startups to Live By, Part One: How to Increase Sales
By Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times
Customer reviews and ratings can be very powerful influences in a user's buying decision. While the potential buyer expects the company to provide biased information, the reviews and ratings of other consumers are seen as much more informative, and they weigh heavier in a purchase decision. Read the full story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59644.html

Rules for E-Commerce Startups to Live By, Part Two: What Not to Do
By Paul Korzeniowski, E-Commerce Times
While many companies are focused on their business online, they tend to put up sites that turn off rather than turn on potential customers. Because there are so many potential options, a business needs to be careful about how it designs its e-commerce site. Part One of this two-part series features tips from e-commerce experts on how to entice consumers to purchase products online. What follows is a handful of suggestions on what a company should avoid doing if it wants a visitor to purchase an item rather than navigate away from its e-commerce site. See more at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/59803.html

E-Commerce Successes:

eBay
By Matthew Beale, E-Commerce Times
eBay’s Kevin Pursglove answers questions about the company’s rise to success. Read the full story at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/2127.htm

E-Library Focus:

University of North Carolina http://www.lib.unc.edu/reference/busecon/ecommerce.html

Helpful Tools and Resources:

Basic Guide to E-Commerce http://www.managementhelp.org/infomgnt/e_cmmrce/e_cmmrce.htm

Online E-Commerce Courses and Degrees http://www.worldwidelearn.com/business-course/ecommerce-course.htm

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