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NYTimes: To Raise Shopper Satisfaction, Web Merchants Turn to Videos

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reports on how e-commerce retailers are using video to increase customer satisfaction. Some highlights:
Gordon Magee, head of Internet marketing for Drs. Foster & Smith, based in a Rhinelander, Wis., said a transition to video “will be seamless for us.” The company, Mr. Magee said, has in recent [...]

E-Commerce 101 for Manufacturers

AllBusiness has published a short, simple guide called E-commerce 101 for Manufacturers (distributed by the SF Chronicle). It’s a very basic primer, but useful for manufacturers thinking about starting their own e-commerce site. Some highlights:
For a manufacturer, e-commerce is a way for you to experiment with the world of retail… With an e-commerce [...]

Best practices for Internet Retail and E-Commerce in 2007

FutureNow’s “2007 Retail Customer Experience Study” surveyed 300 online retailers to find out the state of the industry. Their key findings:

74% offered estimated delivery times
58% correctly answered an e-mail question within 24 hours
52% of retailers had physical stores; only 10% of all retailers offered in-store pickup of orders
43% offered free shipping
42% provided shipping costs [...]

US Retail E-Commerce Sales to grow to $245 billion by 2011

Here’s some more interesting data from eMarketer: online retail sales are expected to grow to $245 billion by 2011, from about $131 billion in 2007. That’s a 17% annual growth rate from 2007 to 2011.