What Do You Think?†

Companies are learning to make the most out of customers' online reviews of their products

Wall Street Journal, October 12, 2009 — Online, everyone has an opinion. For e-commerce businesses, the hard part is making the most of them.

Amazon.com Inc. began posting customer ratings and reviews of its products online in 1995, with an anonymous five-star write-up of Dr. Seuss's "The Butter Battle Book." Since then, most online businesses have found that allowing customers to post reviews—including negative ones—can boost sales and help merchants quickly identify problems with their products.

Now, makers of review software are adding features that allow businesses to get more out of consumers' input online.

Can Amazon Be Wal-Mart of the Web?

Amazon is expected to soon sell more general merchandise than media products like books and DVDs.

New York Times, September 20, 2009 — THE hum of 102 rooftop air conditioners and a chorus of beeping electric carts provide the acoustic backdrop in Amazon.com’s 605,000-square-foot distribution facility on this city’s west side. But the center’s employees can almost always hear Terry Jones.

On a recent summer afternoon, Mr. Jones, an “inbound support associate” making $12 an hour, steered a hand-pushed cart through the packed aisles and shouted his location to everyone in earshot: “Cart coming through. Yup! Watch yourself, please!” Mr. Jones explained that he was just making his time at Amazon “joyful and fun” while complying with the company’s rigorous safety rules.

But his cries might double as a warning to the retail world: Amazon, the Web’s largest retailer,... continue reading

Online Retailers Try New Approaches†

Study Shows Increasing Acceptance of Social Nets and Video

Advertising Age, April 8, 2008 — For online retailers, search and e-mail marketing continue to be the most popular tactics, though they are becoming increasingly interested in social networks and video, a new study indicates. That shift in tactics could be a risky endeavor, however, caution executives involved with the study.

According to a Shop.org survey of 125 online retailers conducted by Forrester Research, 90% of them participate in paid search and 92% rely on e-mail marketing. By comparison, just 26% use social networks or micro-sites, while only 21% employ online videos. The coming year could see a shift to new advertising tactics.

Threadless: From Clicks to Bricks

The T-shirt e-tailer thinks its snarky style will work offline, too

BusinessWeek, November 26, 2007 — On a busy strip of commerce on Chicago's North Side, the new Threadless T-shirt store is crowded with sporty young women in yoga pants and flip-flops, laughing as they take in the snarky slogans. The most popular shirt right now is a clever number in brown cotton that reads: "Haikus are easy/But sometimes they don't make sense/Refrigerator."

Reaching More Customers With a Simple Text Message

When it comes to advertising on the mobile Web, online retailers are treading carefully. But some say they have found enticing success from early marketing efforts

New York Times, July 16, 2007 — ONLINE retailers were, for all the obvious reasons, the pioneers of Web advertising. When it comes to advertising on the mobile Web, though, they are treading carefully.

On the one hand, executives and analysts said, online retailers are right to be cautious. After all, few consumers are buying items through their mobile devices. But at least some online retailers say they have found enticing success from early marketing efforts, as long as those initiatives are aimed at simply keeping themselves on the radar of customers as opposed to trying to prompt an immediate purchase or a visit to the company’s Web site.

Readers Are Key Ingredient as Virtual Kitchen Heats Up

Recipe searches are among the most popular online endeavors for women, and major advertisers want to be there to greet them

New York Times, June 25, 2007 — Food and recipe sites have ratcheted up their competition in recent months, with publishers like Epicurious, Martha Stewart, Time Warner and others introducing new features and redoubling offline promotional efforts to attract visitors.

EBay Moves to Recharge Its Auctions

In making upgrades intended to make its site more friendly, eBay may endure criticism from more than 700,000 sellers who rely on it for their livelihoods.

New York Times, June 18, 2007 — At eBay, subtle change is about to become a thing of the past. Under pressure from analysts and investors to jump-start growth in its core auctions business, eBay is making a series of upgrades intended to make the site more friendly to buyers

Online Sales Lose Steam

Online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth, but now that growth has slowed sharply in a trend analysts call a turning point

New York Times, June 17, 2007 — Since the inception of the Web, online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth, with annual sales increasing more than 25 percent over all, and far more rapidly in many categories. But in the last year, growth has slowed sharply in major sectors like books, tickets and office supplies.