Category: Retail & eCommerce

eCommerce, Online Retail & Retail News

Chevron Readies Apple Pay At The Pump

One day in the not too distant future, you may be able to pay for gas at Chevron stations with your iPhone right at the pump. Chevron recently tweeted this (via MacRumors):

@SingAsana We are working alongside Apple to develop solutions to integrate with Apple Pay at the pump by early 2015.

— Chevron (@Chevron) December 29, 2014

Chevron was actually one of the launch partners for Apple Pay listed when Apple first announced its payment product, and already offers its customers the ability to pay with Apple Pay inside some of its stores. A pay-at-the-pump feature would be new, however, and could lead other gas stations to follow suit. Texaco stations also currently accept Apple Pay in-store.

MacRumors reports in an update:

Chevron has clarified that a potential timeline for the rollout of Apple Pay at the pump remains unclear, with no official early 2015 launch planned. The company also plans to continue to roll out in-store Apple Pay support to 3,000 stores in 2015.

In fact, it’s not news that Chevron has had plans to integrate Apple Pay at the pump. SFGate quoted a company spokesperson as far back as October:

“Initially, Apple Pay payments will be made in the store, but we are working along with Apple Pay on developing the technology out at the fuel dispensers as well,” said Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall.

The tweet, however, would seem to suggest that the feature is getting closer.

December 30, 2014
eBay Reminds Sellers Of New Shipping Rates

eBay is reminding sellers of new shipping rates that will soon go into effect for FedEx and UPS. This will obviously affect eBay sellers as well as sellers on sites across the Internet.

The new UPS rates go into effect today, while the FedEx changes will go into effect in a week on January 5.

UPS announced its changes back in June, saying that in the United States, dimensional weight will be utilized to calculate the billable weight of a shipment on all UPS Ground services and UPS Standard to Canada packages. This was already applied to UPS air services (domestic and international), UPS Standard to Mexico ground services, and UPS Ground packages and UPS Standard to Canada for packages measuring 3 cubic feet in size or larger. More details here.

“UPS has been researching the potential expansion of dimensional-weight pricing for a number of years because it enables us to more appropriately align rates with costs which are influenced by both the size and weight of packages,” said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS executive vice president and chief commercial officer.

For FedEx, Express rates will increase as will FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx SmartPost, and FedEx Freight rates. FedEx Retail and One Rate pricing will also change. More details on these changes here.

eBay notes that its shipping calculator, eBay labels, and PayPal labels will all be updated to reflect the changes, and that sellers should make sure the shipping costs in their listings also reflect the new rates.

“In order for eBay customers to obtain accurate estimates on shipping rates, it’s important that sellers include not only correct shipping weights but also correct package dimensions when listing items or purchasing a label,” the company says.

eBay recently announced the addition to printable labels from its mobile apps.

Image via eBay

December 29, 2014
Amazon: Prime And Free Shipping Saved People Over $2 Billion Over The Holidays

This has been Amazon’s 20th holiday shopping season, if you can believe that. The company announced that it also saw record growth for Amazon Prime memberships. Over 10 million new members tried Prime for the first time, and Amazon’s Prime and Free Shipping offerings saved customers over $2 billion in shipping fees this holiday season, according to the company.

“We are excited to welcome more than ten million new members to Amazon Prime this holiday season, who benefited from unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on their holiday gifts. Prime members can also borrow more than 700,000 books, listen to one million songs and hundreds of playlists, save unlimited photos and watch tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes including the Golden Globe nominated show from Amazon Studios, Transparent,” said CEO Jeff Bezos. “We are working hard to make Prime even better and expanding the recently launched Prime Now to additional cities in 2015.”

In case you missed it, Prime Now is a new delivery service, which the company launched in New York, enabling customers to get one-hour delivery. In terms of making Prime better, Amazon has certainly been focused on that a lot over the past year, frequently adding various perks.

“Customers continue to save money shopping on Amazon,” said Jeff Wilke, Senior Vice President, Amazon.com. “This holiday season, Amazon shoppers saved billions through free shipping, and even more through our low prices. We are especially excited that 10 million new customers tried Amazon Prime for the first time.”

Amazon shipped to 185 countries this holiday season. About 60% of customers used a mobile device, with more turning to mobile the closer to the holidays it got.

Image via Amazon

December 29, 2014
Google Partners Gets Google Shopping Certification

Google recently announced the addition of a Google Shopping exam and certification to Google Partners. This is only available in the U.S. for now.

Google said in a Google+ post:

If you are an agency specializing in Merchant Center and Shopping campaign management, you can now get certified in AdWords by completing both the Shopping and AdWords Fundamentals exams. A certification shows to potential business partners that Google recognizes you as an online advertising professional that can successfully manage Shopping campaigns.

The Shopping exam will test your proficiency in Merchant Center account creation, product data, Shopping campaigns management and optimization best practices. To take the test, start by creating a profile [http://goo.gl/Tzodw7] on Google Partners today. All exams will be listed under the “Certifications” section.

There’s a study guide for the exam here. There’s also a refresher course here.

Image via Google

December 23, 2014
Groupon Updates Us On Ideeli Growth

Back in January, Groupon acquired fashion retailer ideeli for $43 million in cash to extend its presence in fashion and apparel. Such offers had already been popular on Groupon, and the company pointed to research estimating the off-price fashion market to be around $40 billion.

“By adding ideeli to our family, we’re better suited to grab a bigger slice of this market as we continue to position Groupon as the place you start when you want to do or buy just about anything, anytime, anywhere,” a spokesperson for Groupon told us at the time.

“Groupon’s brand, reach and vision as an ecommerce destination make it a tremendous place to continue to grow our company,” said ideeli CEO Stefan Pepe.

Groupon just provided an update on that growth. According to the company, the site has become one of the fastest growing flash sale apparel sites in North America. Since the end of Q1, billings and active customers have each grown more than 15 percent. The number of branded sales, curated events, campaigns and products has increased more than 400 percent.

“In 2014, we’ve seen a great response from customers as we’ve significantly expanded our offers to deliver even more world-class brands at an incredible value,” said Lisa Kennedy, president of ideel. “As a result, we’re seeing more and more shoppers inspired by our curated selection of the latest trends in fashion coming to us through our website and mobile app to score huge savings.”

Since being acquired by Groupon, ideel has been expanding its offerings in women’s and men’s apparel, shoes and home decor.The leading categories of growth for ideel include: women’s ready-to-wear items such as dresses (both day and evening), sweaters, active and intimate apparel, accessories like designer handbags, sunglasses, watches and jewelry, shoes (especially boots) and men’s shirts and sweaters.

Image via ideeli

December 22, 2014
Amazon Prime Now Brings One-Hour Delivery To NY

Amazon announced the launch of a new delivery service called Prime Now. It’s launching in New York City (specifically select areas of Manhattan) for now, and offers one-hour delivery on items through a mobile app.

Actually, Prime members will still have to pay $7.99 for one-hour (or less) delivery, but it also offers two-hour delivery for free. The Prime Now options are only available between the hours of 6AM and midnight (seven days a week). The app lets you track the courier’s location.

We recently learned that Amazon was using bike messengers for package delivery. Well, that was for this:

Prime Now is yet another perk for Amazon Prime members (these seem to be increasing by the week), and can be used on “tens of thousands” of items including things like paper towels, shampoo, books, toys and batteries.

“There are times when you can’t make it to the store and other times when you simply don’t want to go. There are so many reasons to skip the trip and now Prime members in Manhattan can get the items they need delivered in an hour or less,” said Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations. “We’ve long felt that Amazon Prime is the best deal in the history of shopping and now it has gotten even better. Prime members in Manhattan are going to love this service and we cannot wait to roll out Prime Now to additional cities in 2015.”

Amazon is using its new Manhattan building as a hub for Prime Now orders, though only part of the building is being used for this.

The Prime Now app is available on iOS and Android to Prime members. Users will be notified when the service becomes available in their area.

In California, Amazon has also been testing taxi delivery, but it’s unclear if that’s directly related to Prime Now.

Image via Amazon

December 18, 2014
Facebook Groups May Let You ‘Sell Something’

Facebook is reportedly testing a new “sell something” feature in Groups. This appears as an option alongside “Write Post” and “Ask a question” when you go to post in a Facebook Group.

TheNextWeb shares a screenshot of what it looks like:

Facebook is testing a 'Sell Something' button in Groups http://t.co/5z6EZg2LwB pic.twitter.com/iXnCVMUydn

— The Next Web (@TheNextWeb) December 17, 2014

If you select the option, it prompts you to tell what you’re selling. It lets you enter a price, and select whether or not that price is negotiable. It then asks you to describe the item. Sellers also have the option of providing shipping and delivery items.

It’s unclear how many users have access to the feature. Facebook hasn’t announced it, and not everyone can see it.

This would appear to be Facebook’s latest attempt to create more financial transactions within its network. It’s also testing a buy button, and has plans to add transactional features in Messenger.

Facebook recently launched a standalone Groups app. It’s unclear if this feature is appearing in that for any users, though if it becomes a full-fledged feature, it presumably will.

Facebook Groups are already popular for trading, buying, and selling goods, particularly in niche markets. This feature has probably been a long time coming.

Image via Twitter

December 17, 2014
AMC Theatres Now Offering Movie-a-Day Subscription Plan

In a move to get people out of their houses and watching movies at the theater as much as they’re watching them from their couches, AMC Theatres is partnering with MoviePass to bring a subscription model to the theatergoer.

AMC will let customers pay a monthly fee to gain virtually unlimited access to screenings (it’s not quite unlimited, but at one movie per day it’s pretty close).

The subscription will be offered in connection with MoviePass, the country’s largest movie theater subscription facilitator. Film fans can pay $35 per month to have access to one standard (2D) movie per day. And for $45 per month, they’ll have access to one movie a day in any format.

“This is the first time a premium level subscription service has been launched in the U.S. and marks a significant step forward by offering passionate movie lovers the premium sight and sound experiences available in movie theatres,” said Stacy Spikes, CEO and Co-Founder of MoviePass. “We believe this premium tier subscription, combined with a new online ticketing feature, will appeal to our largest demographic, 18-34-year-old movie goers. Our goal is to keep people coming out to the movies again and again.”

Theater visits have been on the decline with the advent of on-demand, Netflix, and other streaming options. By tapping into the current obsession with “subscription” services, AMC is looking to get more people through the doors.

“AMC Theatres leads the way in the movie exhibition industry in offering innovations that ‘wow’ our customers,” said Christina Sternberg, senior vice president of Corporate Strategy and Communications. “This pilot will provide more convenience for our guests, and responds to the preference of many consumers for monthly entertainment subscriptions such as music and magazines, which we believe will increase the frequency of movie going.”

This will run as a small test program at first in only two cities – Denver and Boston. But if it’s successful, you’d imagine that AMC will offer it in more markets as soon as they can.

Image via AMC Theatres, Facebook

December 17, 2014
eBay Labels Now Available On Mobile

eBay announced that it is now offering sellers labels from its mobile apps. While you could access and print labels from the desktop before, the functionality has been expanded to make it more convenient.

The company announced in a short blog post:

You already know that eBay labels are a great way to save both time and money. But did you know you can print them from your mobile device? Well, it’s true. iPhone and Android users now have a super convenient way to print shipping labels right from their mobile phone. As long as you have the Android eBay app 2.8 or later, or iPhone eBay app 3.5 or later, you’re good to go.

The labels have to be purchased through the app, and printed via a Wi-Fi enabled printer or by emailing the purchased label to your email id. You also have to have used eBay labels on the desktop in the past.

In other eBay news, the company is expanding its local efforts, despite recently pulling the plug on its eBay Now apps. It’s reportedly offering in-store pick-up and same-day delivery in Brooklyn.

Image via eBay

December 16, 2014
Google Wallet For iOS Lets You Split Bills

Google Wallet for iOS will now let you split up bills with your friends, adding a helpful function to an app Google is still hoping will truly take off.

Google announced the news in a brief Google+ post:

The days of arguing about how to split the dinner bill are over. With the latest version of Google Wallet on iOS you can pick any charge, add the people you want to split it with, choose how you want to divide it up, and they’ll receive a request for their share of the total.

The app has been updated with a few other features as well. For one, it now supports Apple’s Touch ID, so users can use their fingerprint to unlock it.

It also got a general redesign, taking advantage of Material Design, which the company is slowly rolling out to most of its apps.

Google has been trying to generate more interest from iOS developers, and that will likely extend to Google Wallet, particularly as rival Apple Pay continues to gain support.

Image via Google+

December 16, 2014
Software Glitch Causes Major Problems On Amazon

Over the weekend, a lot of Amazon sellers got screwed by a software glitch, according to multiple reports. The glitch was in Amazon repricing software RepricerExpress, which reduced the price of millions of items from various sellers to just a penny.

According to a report from Business Insider, as many as 75 million items were affected.

As a result, customers bought up what they saw as amazing deals, and sellers were left scratching their heads, with some reportedly wondering if they’d be able to stay in business.

The Guardian reports: “Amazon is working to cancel orders that have not been dispatched, but sellers complained that the cancellations were ruining their seller ratings on the site.”

It also quotes a seller: “He said Amazon appeared to be having huge problems trying to stop items being dispatched from its warehouses. ‘You can imagine what it’s like, once the computer has set everything in motion it’s very hard to put a human being into the process and get it stopped.’”

And this comes as Amazon begins to implement a more robotic approach to its warehouses. Does this foreshadow bigger problems to come?

RepricerExpress CEO Brendan Doherty said:

Firstly, I’d like to apologise again for the disruption this has caused. I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused our customers. We experienced a problem with RepricerExpress yesterday at about 19:00GMT and worked to fix the original issue by 20:00GMT. We continued to work over the following few hours in conjunction with Amazon to revert any incorrect prices to their original prices. We have received communication that Amazon will not penalise sellers for this error. We are continuing to work to identify how this problem occurred and to put measures in place to ensure that it does not happen again. We’ve been in business for over 10 years and we’ve always taken pride in the levels of service we provide- so everyone here is devastated and disappointed that you have experienced this problem. We understand that you are angry and upset and we will endeavour to work to make good on this issue and to work to restore your confidence in our product and service.

From the sound of it, there is a pretty huge mess to be cleaned up here, and it remains to be seen if things are put right for all parties involved, if that’s even possible.

Amazon did say the majority of orders placed on affected items were stopped immediately and that no costs or fees will be incurred by sellers for cancelled orders.

Image via Amazon

December 15, 2014
Amazon Names Best-Selling Books Of The Year

Amazon has become such a giant in online retail that it’s easy to forget sometimes that it used to be all about books. Even its line of hardware started with the Kindle, which was simply a new way to read books.

While Amazon has a whole lot more going for it these days, book sales are still a major component, and the company just announced its list of the top 20 best-selling titles of the year.

“This year’s best seller lists include a lot of familiar authors and characters—over half of the books on the lists are part of a series,” said Sara Nelson, Editorial Director of Books and Kindle. “It’s also exciting to see our January Best Books of the Month pick—and Oprah Book Club pick—The Invention of Wings take the top spot overall. We hope all of these lists will help our customers explore great books this holiday season, whether it’s a gift for a loved one or a treat for themselves.”

Here are the top 20 best-selling books on Amazon in 2014:

1. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

2. Gray Mountain by John Grisham

3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

4. Twenty Seconds Ago (Jack Reacher, #19) by Lee Child

5. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

6. The Target (Will Robie Series) by David Baldacci

7. The Fixed Trilogy by Laurelin Paige

8. The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

9. Top Secret Twenty-One (Stephanie Plum) by Janet Evanovich

10. Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly

11. Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

12. Edge of Eternity: Book Three of The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett

13. Shadow Spell (Cousins O’Dwyer) by Nora Roberts

14. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

15. Blood Magick (Cousins O’Dwyer) by Nora Roberts

16. Field of Prey by John Sandford

17. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander) by Diana Gabaldon

18. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

19. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

20. Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

Amazon also shared the top 20 best-selling kids and teens books:

1. The Heroes of Olympus Book Five: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney

3. City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare

4. Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh

5. The One (The Selection) by Kiera Cass

6. Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth

7. The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak

8. Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children) by Ransom Riggs

9. Rush Revere and the American Revolution: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans by Rush Limbaugh

10. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

11. Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club) by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

12. A Day in the Sun (Disney Frozen) by Frank Berrios

13. The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan

14. The Finisher by David Baldacci

15. The Revenge of Seven (Lorien Legacies) by Pittacus Lore

16. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

17. Minecraft: Construction Handbook: An Official Mojang Book by Scholastic

18. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles) by Marissa Meyer

19. The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story by R. J. Palacio

20. Silver Shadows: A Bloodlines Novel by Richelle Mead

Amazon has a landing page available here, which lets you browse through collections of the “best of” the year. This includes their top 100 editors’ picks.

December 12, 2014
eBay Redesign Doesn’t Go Over Very Well

This week, eBay launched a redesign for its iPad app, and it doesn’t seem to be going over very well. The company appears to be trying to make its experience less like Amazon and more like Pinterest. The problem is that people apparently don’t want their eBay experience to be like Pinterest.

Do you think eBay should me gravitating to more of a Pinterest-like experience? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Here are a few screenshots.

Earlier in the week, Jason Del Rey at Re/code shared some words from Chief Product Officer RJ Pittman, the guy responsible for the new design:

“I’m happy to openly use the Pinterest model as an example. We want this to be as much a source of inspiration as a shopping destination.”

Right. Because people go to eBay for inspiration. In fact, that “inspiration” concept comes up in the product description on iTunes as well. There, it says:

Inspiration is just a swipe away with full access to eBay’s millions of items on your iPad. Our trend spotters and style mavens highlight new unique items daily alongside special limited-time shopping events, trending collections, and remarkable deals that save you money. Whether you’re checking out what’s hot today, or digging deep for that one-of-a-kind find, a world of new and vintage merchandise from eBay’s sellers is waiting for you…Version 3.4 of eBay for iPad improves on all the buying and selling functionality you’d expect, while providing great new opportunities to be inspired.

It doesn’t seem that users agree that the new version is an improvement. They certainly don’t seem very inspired. The current version has a rating of one and a half out of five stars. That’s out of 2234 ratings and compared to four and a half for all versions of the app. In other words, eBay has historically been highly rated, but this new version is a huge bomb. This is further evidenced by a glance over to the actual reviews. Here are the top ones at the moment:

Del Rey shares some additional complaints, and notes that both buyers and sellers are complaining, which can’t be good.

It’s certainly interesting that eBay is going out of its way to separate itself from Amazon, as Amazon just launched a new feature that puts it in even more direct competition with eBay. Earlier this week, the online retail giant launched the “Make an Offer” feature, enabling users to haggle with sellers, and try to get better prices.

eBay also recently started pulling back on a feature that would directly compete with Amazon when it shut down the eBay Now app.

What do you think of the new eBay iPad experience? Do you see it as an improvement? Let us know in the comments.

Images via iTunes

December 12, 2014
Amazon Launches ‘Pickup Points’ At Canada Post Locations

Amazon announced the launch of Amazon Pickup Points in Canada. This is a new delivery option for Canadians where they can pick up orders at Canada Post retail locations throughout the country.

“We’re continuously working to introduce new programs and shipping options that make our customers’ lives easier,” said Alexandre Gagnon, country manager for Amazon.ca. “We know the holidays get busy, so we’re excited to introduce Amazon Pickup Points which give customers who are always on the go a convenient and secure alternative to receive Amazon.ca packages.”

“Canadians want delivery options that suit their busy lifestyles,” said Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra. “By providing access to our 6,200 locations across the country, Amazon.ca is adding unparalleled convenience for its customers.”

Here in the U.S., Amazon has a similar service called Amazon Locker, which consists of lockers at various retail locations, where customers can pick up their orders. Meanwhile, the company continues to experiment with numerous ways of delivering goods and services to customers.

The company has been testing taxis for package delivery as well as bike messengers. As you probably also know, it wants to get its Prime Air drone program off the ground (so to speak), though that faces some significant regulatory hurdles.

For customers to use Pickup Points, packages must have a length of no more than 2 meters or a length + girth of no more than 3 meters, and have a shipping weight of no more than 30 kilos.

Image via Amazon

December 12, 2014
The First Apps From The Big Apple IBM Partnership Are Here

Back in July, Apple and IBM announced a partnership to bring the latter’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad with over 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions. These would include native apps for both devices, IBM cloud services specifically optimized for iOS (device management, security, analytics, mobile integration), a new AppleCare service, a support offering for the enterprise, and new packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management.

Apple just announced the availability of the first apps from the partnership. IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available to enterprise customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines. Citi, Air Canada, Sprint and Banorte are already announcing support.

“What we’re delivering aims directly at the new quest of business—smart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of IBM Global Business Services. “Our collaboration combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.”

“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organizations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”

Apple runs down the new apps (more of which are coming) by industry:

Plan Flight (Travel and Transportation) addresses the major expense of all airlines—fuel—permitting pilots to view flight schedules, flight plans, and crew manifests ahead of time, report issues in-flight to ground crews, and make more informed decisions about discretionary fuel.

Passenger+ (Travel and Transportation) empowers flight crews to offer an unmatched level of personalized services to passengers in-flight—including special offers, re-booking, and baggage information.

Advise & Grow (Banking and Financial Markets) puts bankers on premise with their small business clients, with secure authorization to access client profiles and competitive analyses, gather analytics-driven insights to make personalized recommendations, and complete secure transactions.

Trusted Advice (Banking and Financial Markets) allows advisors to access and manage client portfolios, gain insight from powerful predictive analytics—in the client’s kitchen or at the local coffee shop, rather than the advisor’s office—with full ability to test recommendations with sophisticated modeling tools all the way to complete, secure transactions.

Retention (Insurance) empowers agents with access to customers’ profiles and history, including an analytics-driven retention risk score as well as smart alerts, reminders, and recommendations on next best steps and facilitation of key transactions like collection of e-signatures and premiums.

Case Advice (Government) addresses the issue of workload and support among caseworkers who are making critical decisions, one family or situation at a time, on the go. The solution adjusts case priorities based on real-time analytics-driven insights, and assesses risk based on predictive analysis.

Incident Aware (Government) converts an iPhone into a vital crime prevention asset, presenting law enforcement officers with real-time access to maps and video-feeds of incident locations; information about victim status, escalation risk, and crime history; and improved ability to call for back-up and supporting services.
Sales Assist (Retail) enables associates to connect with customer profiles, make suggestions based on previous purchases and current selections, check inventory, locate items in-store, and ship out-of-store items.

Pick & Pack (Retail) combines proximity-based technology with back-end inventory systems for transformed order fulfillment.

Expert Tech (Telecommunications) taps into native iOS capabilities including FaceTime® for easy access to expertise and location services for route optimization to deliver superior on-site service, more effective issue resolution and productivity as well as improved customer satisfaction.

Let’s not forget how remarkable it actually is to see this big partnership between the two companies. Apple and IBM have famously had a long rivalry. Bloomberg even has a list of Steve Jobs “disses” of IBM, one of which includes this photo of Jobs flipping off the company’s logo.

How the times have changed.

“iPhone and iPad are the best mobile devices in the world and have transformed the way people work with over 98 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 92 percent of the Global 500 using iOS devices in their business today,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook when the partnership was announced. “For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.”

More on MobileFirst for iOS here.

December 10, 2014
Etsy Launches New Local Feature In Pilot

Etsy announced that it’s launching a pilot program that will alert shoppers on their mobile device that an Etsy seller they like is selling at a local event.

“Etsy Local push notifications are a new way for Etsy sellers and buyers to connect locally and in-person,” a spokesperson for Etsy said in an email. “It connects sellers participating in fairs and markets to shoppers in their area; shoppers can meet and buy from sellers in-person, supporting both the Etsy community and their own local economies.”

Sellers can add the events and markets they’ll be participating in via Etsy.com/Local. Shoppers who are within 5 miles (based on their shipping zip code), and have favorited their shop, favorited an item, or purchased from that Etsy seller, will receive a notification about a day in advance.

Notifications will be sent to a select group of shoppers through the newest version of the Etsy app on Android and iOS during the pilot phase.

“Etsy Local is another way that Etsy is helping sellers grow in all aspects of their businesses, both in the online and offline worlds,” the spokesperson said. “This August, our new wholesale platform launched out of beta, offering sellers a convenient way to sell directly to retailers and have their designs carried in brick-and-mortar stores, such as independent boutiques. In October, Etsy launched the Sell on Etsy card reader as a way to help sellers manage their multi-channel businesses in a way that integrates seamlessly with their online shops.”

35% of US-based Etsy sellers sell at craft fairs, according to the company, so the new feature should prove to be a valuable one.

Image via Etsy

December 9, 2014
Is Amazon’s New Feature A Game-Changer?

Amazon has a new feature that it’s calling a game-changer, and could really make selling Amazon all the more attractive to people looking to unload items. This could have an effect sellers listing on eBay and other auction sites. It’s not an auction feature, but it enables price negotiation, and that means consumers can get lower prices, and sellers can make more sales.

Amazon announced the launch of a new “Make an Offer” feature, which is pretty self-explanatory. The feature is starting out with 150,000 items across the Sports and Entertainment Collectibles, Collectible Coins and Fine Art categories, but will be expanded to hundreds of thousands of items from sellers next year.

Will this negotiation feature spawn significantly more sales on Amazon? Let us know what you think.

Sellers can enable the feature, and when the customer selects “Make an Offer” on an item’s product detail page, they can enter and submit a new price of their choosing. The seller will receive the customer’s offer through email, and can accept, reject, or counter it. The negotiation by email can continue until it’s complete. When the seller accepts an offer, the customer is notified, and can put the item in their shopping cart.

Enabling the feature also adds a visibility element to items. Users can browse eligible items at the Make an Offer landing page.

The feature is likely to increase sales for a lot of sellers.

“The new ‘Make an Offer’ experience is a game-changer for Amazon customers looking for great prices on one-of-a-kind items, and for sellers looking to communicate and negotiate directly with customers in an online marketplace environment just like they do normally in their own physical store or gallery,” said Peter Faricy, VP for Amazon Marketplace. “In a recent survey of our sellers, nearly half of the respondents told us that the ability to negotiate prices with customers would be important to drive more sales on Amazon. ‘Make an Offer’ delivers that functionality and makes customers feel confident they are getting an item they want at the lowest price possible.”

“The ‘Make an Offer’ experience gives customers more control and better deals than they may have received prior to this program,” said Steven Costello, Executive Vice President of Steiner Sports Memorabilia. “The negotiation experience will hopefully get more communication between us and our customers to help us better gauge the price for certain items. We love the ‘Make and Offer’ program, and it is only going to get bigger. Once customers know this is an available feature more offers will come, leading to more sales.”

“The ‘Make an Offer’ experience is unique as it provides a new and engaging way for Amazon customers to negotiate lower prices. I think it will broaden my customer base,” said Spencer Eggers, owner of Coast to Coast Collectibles. “This new shopping experience could also increase customer loyalty because it will give serious buyers the opportunity to have direct communication with the seller to determine a fair, agreed upon price. It will be like a Black Friday sale 365 days a year.”

Amazon is careful to note that the “Make an Offer” feature is not an auction format, and that.all negotiations are one on one and private. You won’t always get that at local sales.

Amazon also notes that the intention of the feature is to lower prices, and a customer negotiating with a seller will never pay more than the listed price.

The feature could indeed be a game-changer. As Consumerist notes , while haggling over prices at garage sales is very common, most people wouldn’t dream of going to large national retailer and just trying to negotiate a price on an item. Amazon is obviously a huge retailer, and is now enabling customers to do just that. Sure, the items come from third-party sellers, but as far as consumers are concerned, they’re just going to Amazon and buying something.

Still, as the publication points out, the process could prove to be slow and burdensome. Sellers have three days to respond to an offer made, which means if you’re shopping for holiday gifts at this point, you might be cutting it close. It’s also unclear if the seller can entertain more than one offer at a time.”

These are legitimate concerns, but don’t put too much of a damper on a feature that could genuinely help people sell more and get better deals.

What do you think? Game-changer? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image via Amazon

December 9, 2014
Amazon Tries Bicycle Messengers For Package Delivery

This probably doesn’t surprise anyone, but Amazon is now trying out bicycle messengers for package delivery, because why wouldn’t it? MarketWatch reports:

In its latest attempt to take on brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon.com Inc. is testing plans to offer deliveries within an hour in New York City by using bike messengers.

The new service is being referred to as Amazon Prime Now and mimics the immediacy of in-store shopping by bringing some merchandise to customers in Manhattan within one hour or two, according to a person familiar with the test.

According to the report, bicyclists were seen at the Manhattan building where Amazon recently signed a seventeen-year lease.

This follows another recent report that has Amazon testing same-day deliver by taxi.

Amazon is up to quite a bit of different things in the realm of delivery. Last week brought news of a new restaurant delivery service and its own brand of diapers for Prime members.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

December 8, 2014
Mobile Shoppers Most Active On Sundays [Report]

A new report out from Opera looks at mobile shopping habits, and has determined that Sunday is the best day of the week when it comes to sales from mobile shoppers.

“Unlike desktop traffic to e-commerce sites, which tends to peak on Mondays and remains stronger during weekdays than on weekends, mobile shopping traffic is highly concentrated on Sundays,” Opera says. “One possible explanation is that many consumers use their mobile devices to browse products over the weekend, then revisit and purchase when they return to their desks on Monday. The day with the lowest mobile shopping traffic is Friday.”

The report also looks at monthly trends by geography:

“Online shopping has become a major force in global markets. And, with the holiday shopping season upon us in the United States, we see mobile’s share of that market accelerating,” says Larry Moores, Vice President for Consumer Mobile Reporting and Analytics at Opera.

As you might expect, Amazon and eBay dominate mobile shopping traffic with Amazon leading at a 36.3% market share in the U.S. That’s compared to 16% for eBay and 11.5% for Craigslist.

For big-box retailers that offer mobile shopping, Walmart saw the highest volume, followed by Target and Sears. Walgreens, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble, Kmart and Nike saw notable increases.

The full report is available here.

Image via Opera

December 8, 2014
Is Social Media Very Good For Ecommerce Conversions?

Social media might not be all that great for ecommerce. At least not yet. Sure, it’s wonderful for branding and general marketing, but as far as getting actual conversions, the channel is severely lacking, according to some sources.

Do you see significant conversions from social media referrals? How does it stack up to other channels like search and email? Let us know in the comments.

Bounce Exchange conducted a survey, and found that 83% of online marketers believe social media marketing is important for their businesses, but after analyzing over $1 billion U.S. ecommerce transactions, it found that social media marketing efforts only account for about 1.2% of total site conversions.

Among its other findings:
53% of social media marketers do not measure the success of their investments in social
Social conversion rates are 51% lower than sites’ overall average rates
Followers are often engaging in content that is not directly related to the ultimate product
Click rates on follow and share buttons are very low and often distract shoppers which cause shopping cart abandonment

Bounce Exchange also brings up the fact that Facebook has all but killed the organic reach of Page post (but you already know all about that), though according to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook “still overall a very good, organic and free way to reach and communicate with your customers.”

He didn’t actually say it was a very good way to “sell to customers”.

While the success of ecommerce conversions through social media channels will obviously vary greatly by business, it could trend towards the more positive in the months and years to come. This is starting to become an actual focus of social platforms.

As you may know, Facebook and Twitter are both testing buy buttons, which enable brands to give customers direct calls to action in their News Feeds and timelines. See something cool that you really want to own as you’re doing your daily browsing (which let’s be honest, occurs multiple times throughout the day)? Just click buy and get it without jumping through extra hoops. Both buttons should be significant in improving conversions from mobile devices.

In fact, we had a pretty good conversation about that with ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo a while back. Facebook’s in particular could be just what mobile commerce is looking for. This is the kind of thing you’re inevitably going to start seeing more of in your News Feed:

Here’s an example of a tweet with the button.

Even Tumblr has launched its own buy button and other similar call to action buttons that it is showing for content from a few select sites:

It’s early days for the social media buy button, so it’s hard to say just how successful it’ll be (and even that could vary by platform), but the major players seem to agree that there’s some real potential with it. Even if it means paid social media marketing, buttons like Twitter’s and Facebook’s (and maybe Tumblr’s eventually as it expands) could help in the social ROI department. It’s going to be very interesting to watch how consumers interact with them.

It could be that while these features will help social conversions, they could end up doing little to help social compete with other channels overall. People aren’t typically looking to shop when they hop on Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. They’re looking for content to consume. It’s not like search where they’re seeking products out.

Do you consider social media to be a good channel for ecommerce conversions today? Do you think these buy buttons will make for significant improvements? Share your thoughts in the comments.

December 4, 2014