Amazon Is Poised to Re-Enter Web Art Market

The selling of expensive contemporary art online has had a rocky history. Sotheby’s and the art-information company Artnet both tried and failed as pioneers in the late 1990s, giving up after deciding buyers were not yet ready to pay five or six figures for works they had not seen in person. The VIP Art Fair had slightly better luck when it began in 2011, though it was plagued by technical problems that showed how tricky it was to transplant the experience of bricks-and-mortar selling into a virtual environment.

But the landscape is shifting rapidly, and it is about to be tilted by the entry of a heavyweight: Amazon is in discussions with dozens of smaller established galleries to begin offering contemporary and other fine art, moving well beyond the posters and inexpensive prints it now offers.

The expected decision would represent Amazon’s re-entry into the art world, after it also made an early unsuccessful try, as partner to Sotheby’s, in 1999. It would join several well-established players in the online market, like Artsy, a high-end seller that uses a Pandora-like algorithm search feature; Paddle8, an online auction site; Artnet, which is back in the business with auctions; and Artspace, which has partnerships with dozens of prestigious galleries and museums offering works from $100 prints to a $2.5 million Cy Twombly painting.

A spokesman for Amazon said in an e-mail that the company had no comment about plans for an art venture, first reported by The Art Newspaper. But several of the galleries in discussion with the company have said that the sales might begin this month and several told The Wall Street Journal that Amazon would charge the seller a commission of 5 percent to 20 percent.

It is unclear whether the company will focus on lower-end sales of prints and photographs or also try to move into the market for higher priced one-of-a-kind works like paintings and sculpture. The growth of online sales has been fueled primarily by three factors: a broadening base of art collectors around the world; a much greater willingness by those people, both veteran collectors and newcomers, to trust online transactions and buy works after seeing only pictures of them; and a huge amount of inventory in the storehouses of galleries, as a growing number of art fairs and other exhibitions leads to more artists making ever more work.

A survey of more than 200 collectors by the international insurance company Hiscox, released in April, found that almost two-thirds had bought art online, without first seeing it in person, and that one-quarter of the collectors surveyed had spent $75,000 or more on works from online sellers or those they had seen only in JPEGs sent by galleries.

“We’ve seen that the price point people are willing to pay is rising,” said Catherine Levene, a co-founder and the chief executive of Artspace, which began selling art online in 2011. The company does not disclose overall sales figures but says that more than 200,000 people are now registered as members. Artworks pushing past the $100,000 mark have been showing up increasingly on the site, which charges a commission from galleries like 303 and Luhring Augustine in New York and Sadie Coles in London. Artspace has sold pieces like an engraved granite bench by Jenny Holzer for $125,000.

“That doesn’t happen every day, but for sure it’s happening more and more,” said Ms. Levene, who added that she believes the share of the overall contemporary market moving to online sales will increase steadily in the next few years. She added, “I think that Amazon getting into the business just makes that more clear.”

source:- http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/arts/design/amazon-is-poised-to-re-enter-web-art-market.html?_r=0

The Surprisingly Small Size of E-Commerce

For all the ink spilled over the rise of e-commerce, it may be surprising to learn that new data show web retailers to be, in fact, not all that big. According to new figures from the National Retail Federation, online-only retailers are almost nowhere to be found among the largest retailers in the U.S. However, that may be due in part to a subjective definition of what a "retailer" is.

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The federation released its list of the 100 largest U.S. retailers this week. Among the 100 largest retailers in the U.S., only two are online-only: Amazon.com (No. 11), with $34.4 million in U.S. retail sales last year, and Dell (No. 83), at nearly $4.4 million.

Below are the 10 largest retailers in the U.S., as measured by their 2012 U.S. retail sales.

Rank	Company	2012 U.S. Retail Sales	Sales Growth (2011 to 2012)
1	Wal-Mart	$328,704,000	4.0%
2	Kroger	$92,165,000	6.6
3	Target	$71,960,000	5.1
4	Costco	$71,042,000	10.6
5	The Home Depot	$66,022,000	6.4
6	Walgreen	$65,014,000	-1.2
7	CVS Caremark	$63,688,000	6.7
8	Lowe's	$49,366,000	0.2
9	Safeway	$37,532,000	1.6
10	McDonald's	$35,593,000	4.2

The NRF's STORES Magazine pointed out the lack of web-only stores' representation among the top 100 inits latest issue. However, that's not to say that e-commerce is failing, by any means: Online sales are expected to grow at a nearly 15 percent pace this year.

Rather, the figures indicate that despite the occasional predictions that e-commerce will push out brick-and-mortar retailers, it isn't going to happen anytime soon. According to market research firm eMarketer, e-commerce accounted for only 6 percent of all retail sales last year. Long-established brick-and-mortar retailers dominate the retail industry in part because they sell their own goods online in addition to in their stores.

[READ: Barnes & Nobles Ditching Tablets, Closing More Stores]

It's not just big-box behemoths like Wal-Mart and Target that have crowded out web-only retailers; specialty stores, like high-end home goods store Williams-Sonoma (No. 91), craft supply chain Michaels Stores (No. 88), and agricultural supply retailer Tractor Supply Company (No. 79), are also among the top 100.

While more online retailers could easily crack the top 100 in coming years, they may be hindered by the fact that they cannot show their wares in person.

"There's still a customer that wants to touch and feel," says Susan Reda, editor at STORES Media. Because many customers want to be able to try on their clothes and flip through books before buying, she says, "store-based retailing is never going to go away."

[ALSO: The Exploding Growth of Bikesharing]

Still, online-only retailers may be also be held back in the rankings by what the definition of "retail" does and does not include. An NRF spokesperson says that Groupon, for example, is not considered a "retailer" and is not included on the list. That company took in over $600 million in revenue globally in its most recent quarter.Likewise, some of the retail categories are areas where online-only retailers simply cannot compete.

A lot of the companies that are listed in the [National Retail Foundation] figures are in categories that are not particularly online-friendly, says Clark Fredricksen, Vice President at eMarketer. "McDonald's, Starbucks, these are companies that have some online presence, but not a big one."

Indeed, the data includes some large restaurant chains. Likewise, grocery stores are also well represented among the top 100, and very few people buy groceries online. Even retail giant Amazon is only beginning its push into that market.

So while the data indicate that online retailers may be lagging, a company may have to perfect the art of selling fast food online before the tide shifts dramatically.

source:- http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/07/02/maybe-e-commerce-isnt-all-that-big?page=2

Sneak peak at the new Apple iPhone 5S

Apple is expected to hold an important event that will soon unveil its new iPhone 5S on September 10. Japan's Nikkei said sales of the device will begin September 20 in that country.

Then Chinese newspapers chimed in with a release date there of late November, due to China's verification process.

Here's what we've heard about prominent specs. First for the camera, probably the most important feature for the consumer is a better lens system for the camera.

The latest speculation on the camera claims it will get a larger f/2.0 aperture that would match the HTC One with dual LED flash.

If accurate, that aperture would be significantly larger than the iPhone 5 that way it is now. That means more light gets through, improving image quality and low-light performance.

Then there's the fingerprint scanner/reader in the home button. That technology is likely coming from AuthenTec, a fingerprint sensor technology company that Apple acquired last year.

The larger point is that the iPhone 5S' mainstream biometric technology, improving electronic payments and making it easier to get music and sensitive data from the Cloud.

Then, a 128 GB flash storage option is the freshest speculation. That seems like an overkill for most consumers but then again 16 GB seemed like a lot when the iPhone 3G came out, remember?

An updated A7 processor is also expected. If you recall, the iPhone 4S got the new A5 processor when it was released in October 2011.

The new iPhone 5S is also expected to feature new 3G/4G standard support. Versions of the 5S (and the 5C) may support China's 4G TDD-LTE standard.

That could mean a huge boost in market penetration in China and global market share for Apple. That support may also include China's TD-SCDMA at this point in time.

It's almost needless to say that there may be a gold iPhone 5S along with the standard black and white versions. The important point to remember is that it most likely won't be a garish gold but a more subtle champagne color.

Of course, we're speculating a lot here, but then again, there's been so many rumors whirling around of the iPhone 5S that it's getting harder and harder to separate hype from reality until the device is officially launched to the world.

In other mobile news

Google just scooped up a whole slew of patents from Hon Hai Precision Industry, the Taiwanese electronic contract manufacturer otherwise known as Foxconn.

The decision is designed most likely to bolster Google's Glass headsets against potential competitors. In a statement obtained by The Wall Street Journal, Hon Hai described the patents sold as "Head Mounted Technology" that can create virtual images "superimposed on a real-world view."

No further details were revealed, and the price of the sale wasn't disclosed either. Hon Hai said that it doesn't know whether Google plans to use the patents for Glass, adding that the patents are "commonly used in aviation and tactical/ground displays, engineering and scientific design applications, gaming and video devices as well as training and simulation tools."

If protecting Glass is the goal and it seems likely, this wouldn't be the first time Google has tried to shore up its portfolio of wearable-computing technology.

Just last month, the company acquired a 6.3 percent stake in Taiwanese chip designer Himax Display, which produces components for Sergey Brin's high-tech headsets.

Similarly, Foxconn is widely believed to be the frontrunner to build Glass for Google – possibly in a new, stateside facility in Santa Clara, California – but Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou has dismissed such reports as "speculative."

Google buying up Foxconn's patents could strengthen the relationship between the two companies, but it could also make it easier for Google to take Glass to any number of other manufacturing partners without being stung by intellectual property issues.

But most importantly, the patents could also be used to swat away would-be Glass competitors. Chinese search firm Baidu is reportedly planning to horn in on Google's action, as is Meta, a startup founded by Columbia University neuroscience researchers that has recruited Canadian wearable-computing guru Steve Mann to help develop a commercial augmented-reality headset.

Or the move could be purely defensive. Glass is currently only available in a limited "Explorer Edition" intended for developers and wearable-computing enthusiasts, but Google is expected to release a version for the general public sometime next year.

By building its wearable-computing patent war chest now, Google may be hoping to avoid the seemingly never-ending patent battles that have plagued its Android business. Google didn't immediately respond to our request for comment.

In other mobile news

It's reported today that ZTE and Huawei have scooped up about 50 percent of the $3.2 billion worth of the infrastructure contracts to build China Mobile's TD-LTE network.

Ericsson and Nokia Siemens each landed about an 11 percent share of the project, while Alcatel-Lucent secured a 13 percent share of the project.

Datang Mobile Communications was also awarded a contract that accounted for about 10 percent of the total value of the project. The remaining 10 percent was split between three Chinese companies-- FiberHouse Technologies, Nanjing Putian Telecommunications, and New Postcom Equipment.

In all, China Mobile hopes to deploy a little over 200,000 base stations in 2013. Infrastructure vendors have been awaiting China Mobile's new contracts, as spending on networking equipment has slowed recently due to the fact that projects in the U.S., Japan and Britain have largely been settled.

News of the contracts comes as China Mobile and Apple are reportedly nearing a deal for the wireless carrier to offer its customers a new iPhone. Up until now, Apple hasn't supported TD-LTE technology in its phones, but it looks like that's about to change soon.

China Mobile's approximate 740.1 million subcribers make it the largest wireless carrier in the world and represents a considerable growth opportunity for Apple, as well as the infrastructure providers and equipment vendors.

In other mobile news

AT&T is flying high these days, with a new partnership with Delta Air Lines, and it's taking Nokia's new Lumia smartphones along for the trip to 42,000 feet up in the air. And things should look good for both companies, it is hoped.

Delta Air Lines has signed a multi-year agreement with AT&T for custom mobility services, devices and support for Delta’s new, in-flight, mobile point-of-sale (POS) application, according to a press release.

Under the specific terms of the agreement, AT&T will equip more than 19,000 Delta flight attendants with Nokia Lumia devices powered by Microsoft Dynamics mobile POS platform on Windows Phone 8, with a Delta-specific customer experience developed by Avanade to operate over Wi-Fi and AT&T’s 4G LTE Network.

Sounds too good to be true? We'll have to wait and see. Avanade will provide Delta with ongoing support, maintenance, and application enhancements until mid-2016.

The devices will allow Delta flight attendants to sell food, drinks and other items to air passengers, as well as seat upgrades and other goods.

AT&T said it will be equipping Delta Air Lines' flight attendants with Nokia Lumia 820 devices, but the company says the agreement will see the airline's crew expanding to the newest Nokia devices over the next three years.

In other mobile news

It is said that London's Oxford street has Europe's largest concentration of Wi-Fi hot-spots. Almost 24 percent of them are openly accessible to the public.

That's according to a new report that also places Britain behind the United States in terms of free wireless connectivity.

Across the U.S., about 32 percent of Wi-Fi access points offer free web browsing to anyone who wants it, compared to only 16 percent of those in Europe.

Britain falls between the two countries at 24 percent, but the trend towards giving away free internet access risks undermining attempts to make users pay for it.

The numbers come from Devicescape, which has been busy war-walking European cities as a prelude to launching an international version of its Wi-Fi leaching technology.

Devices with the Devicescape software installed automatically connect to any free Wi-Fi point offering decent speed, bypassing the pesky landing page to provide instant access, but only if such access points exist in the first place.

Free Wi-Fi connectivity is spreading rapidly in Britain, even if some users are billed for it. For example, AT&T customers are grateful to be able to roam onto The Cloud in the U.K., totally unaware that almost all The Cloud's hotspots are free to use these days and thus fall into Devicescape's database.

Devicescape makes much of its crowd-sourcing connections result in a point being dropped from its database, which is built automatically when a user finds a decent free connection, though it needs seeding first which is why the company has been war-walking around Europe.

Mobile operators are keen to use Wi-Fi, but anyone who's tried to get a BT Openzone connection working with Vodafone credentials will know how cumbersome the process can be.

The instant-connection standard Passpoint should make that much easier, but access points aren't expected until next year even if Apple's iOS 7 supports it now, and even then it's unlikely small retailers will get involved.

Passpoint will let one roam seamless into a Wi-Fi network, but it will also let one's operator bill the user for Wi-Fi usage (presumably at a discounted rate) and thus financially reward the hotspot owner.

Wi-Fi providers will be keen, but Devicescape reckons Passpoint will only appeal to the big chains while its network links up every coffee shop and corner store-- eleven million of them in the U.S. alone.

Passpoint also identifies the user, so the wireless operator can provide value-added services such as additional content without having to resort to a cellular connection, but that's of unknown value for the moment at least.

Devicescape will be announcing the successful seduction of a U.K. operator in the next week or two, providing a launch platform, while Passpoint is at least a year away from wide-scale deployment.

Technically speaking, the solutions can happily co-exist, but with such divergent business models, it's difficult to see users embracing both.

source:- http://www.wirelessindustrynews.org/news-aug-2013/3513-08252013-win-news.html

Google Seeks Home-Field Advantage in UK Privacy Suit

A group of UK-based Safari users have filed suit against Google, claiming that it undermined Apple's browser settings to secretly track their online usage. Google, however, refused to receive notice of the suit in the UK. "This matches their attitude to consumer privacy," said plaintiff Judith Vidal-Hall. "They don't respect it and they don't consider themselves to be answerable to our laws on it."

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Google is contesting the right of UK Safari users to bring a case against it in the UK, according to a statement from the plaintiffs' law firm.

To emphasize its stance, in fact, the search engine did not accept notice of the lawsuit in the UK but forced the plaintiffs to file in California instead -- a jurisdiction in which their case, which alleges privacy violations, is much weaker.
The plaintiffs filed suit in January seeking damages for Google's alleged bypass of Safari's security settings. This allowed Google to track their usage online, the plaintiffs claim.
"Google's position on the law is the same as its position on tax: they will only play or pay on their home turf," said Judith Vidal-Hall, one of the claimants. "What are they suggesting -- that they will force Apple users whose privacy was violated to pay to travel to California to take action when they offer a service in this country on a .co.uk site?
"This matches their attitude to consumer privacy," Vidal-Hall added. "They don't respect it and they don't consider themselves to be answerable to our laws on it."
Google declined to comment for this story.

One Research Study, Lots of Trouble

The issue at hand first surfaced for Google in February 2012, when Stanford Universitygraduate student researcher Jonathan Mayer found that Google had circumvented privacy settings on iPhones and iPads and was tracking users of these devices -- contrary to what it said in its privacy policy.
That same month, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office announced that it was investigating whether or not Google had broken UK law -- namely, the Data Protection Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
The Federal Trade Commission also investigated the issue, which resulted in a settlement for a whopping US$22.5 million -- the largest ever levied by the agency.
The suit was filed by UK law firm Olswang LLP at the beginning of the year on behalf of 12 claimants. The case is becoming a Group Action, which similar to class action in the U.S., according to the law firm's website.

A Deaf Ear

This suit is still in its early days, but Google's approach to date suggests the search engine is tone deaf when it comes to the rising protests in Europe against its attitude toward privacy.

"Basically, Google has been thumbing its nose at the EU about its privacy policy from the very beginning," Scott Cleland, president of Precursor LLC, told the E-Commerce Times.
Precursor has several Google competitors for clients.

In general, Google's approach to global litigation is very aggressive, Cleland said: "They don't question their own actions or try to compromise. Their MO is to take no quarter and push their own agenda relentlessly."

Not that Olswang and the claimants are rolling over on this issue. According to the law firm's website, the firm intends to push for a hearing to discuss the jurisdictional issues, "and the outcome of that hearing will determine whether or not the case moves forward." 

source:- http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/78771.html

Guidelines for enhancing ecommerce site conversions

The main aim of any ecommerce site is to convert visitors to customers. For an enhanced conversion rate, the site should offer its customers a pleasant user experience. Therefore, before designing your ecommerce site, take time to consider the needs of your prospects. This way, you will be able to build a site which is customer-friendly, thus improving your conversion ratio.

The following are some guidelines which will help you enhance conversions on your ecommerce site:

1. Display high quality product images
   
   When it comes to ecommerce sites, product images are very important. Be sure to use high quality images which show the products in a crisp way. It would be advisable to display several shots of the product taken from different angles. A zoom feature would also be very useful for helping customers have a better idea of what they are getting. 
   
2. Understand your audience
   
   Online shoppers usually make a decision to buy based on various variables. Some are influenced by the product descriptions, while others are more influenced by visuals. Therefore, understanding your target audience will play a key role in the success of your ecommerce site. What are their shopping habits? What elements in your site can influence a buying decision? Once you have answers to such questions, you can give your customers exactly what they are looking for.
   
3. Post elaborate product info
   
   Besides displaying high resolution product images, it is also important to have detailed information about the product. This can be a very effective way of improving conversions. The information should not only be relevant, but also engaging and comprehensive. Don't just mention the features of the product; explain how customers can benefit from it. Before publishing the product copy, take time to check for spelling and grammatical errors. 
   
4. Use product videos
   
   Adding product videos is one of the best ways of making your site interactive. Since customers cannot touch the product, videos give you the opportunity of demonstrating how a product works and its benefits. This makes it easier for the customer to make a buying decision, thus enhancing your conversion rate. 
   
5. Offer a free trial period
   
   Prospects are usually wary about spending their money on a product they are unsure about. This is why offering potential customers a free trial version is very important. Once they have tried out the product and experienced its benefits, they are likely to pay for it. MotoCMS website templates is a good example of an online store which offers a 30-day free trial period for its products. 
   
6. Offer free shipping
   
   Most customers would prefer free shipping rather than get a discount on products. Therefore, offering free shipping is a sure way of boosting your conversion rates. However, if you decide to go for this option, you cannot afford to charge very low prices for your products. Take time to work out a price which will allow you to make a profit while offering free shipping. 
   
7. Display featured products on your homepage
   
   Many people will not have a clue where to start when they visit your ecommerce site. It is therefore advisable to display specific products on your homepage. This will give visitors a good idea of what they could buy. You can enhance your conversion rate further by offering discounts on these products.
   
8. Offer advanced search
   
   A search bar is a very vital element for the success of any ecommerce site. Having an advanced search feature will make it much easier for visitors to find products in your store. When the shopping experience is simplified, customers are more likely to make a buying a decision.

source:- http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/87/98941.html

Seminar on Success in eCommerce

HONG KONG, Aug. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The jewellery trade platform JewelleryNetAsia will offer a new edition of its successful briefings "Success in Jewellery eCommerce" during the September Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair 2013. Based on the overwhelming success of the recent run during the June Fair, the seminar's speakers will be experienced professionals right from the jewellery business.

(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2010/04/19/20100419602891.jpg )
(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2010/06/15/20100615135013.jpg )

"The last seminar on eCommerce was met with overwhelming interest -- the room was bursting at its seams. For many attendees the key issues are how to attract and retain online buyers and also how to tie in with social media properly. With the leaders behind Leibish & Co and Pearlparadise we have again two outstanding speakers. Also we are very lucky to have an opening presentation by Mark Smelzer, who is publishing JCKOnline," said Jerome Hainz, manager of eBusiness at UBM Asia.

Jeremy Shepherd is the founder of the jewellery retail website Pearlparadise.com, turning over USD 20m on the internet. The business was launched as an online business right from the beginning.

Itzik Polnauer, eCommerce Director of Leibish & Co, the company behind Fancydiamonds.net will be talking about the transition from a traditional diamond business to one integrating online and offline channels .

The sessions will be moderated by Jerome Hainz, Manager of eBusiness in charge of AsiaFJA.com and JewelleryNetAsia.com.

The seminar will take place in Room S226 of the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Center. Seating will be limited and online pre-registration (https://www.ubmonlinereg.com/Registration/default.aspx?fid=208&lang=en) is recommended using the links at JewelleryNetAsia (http://www.jewellerynetasia.com).  A fee of US$20 (US$15 for pre-registered) will be charged at door. The seminar will run from 9:15 a.m. to 10:30 on September 16^, 2013.

For further information contact marketing@jewellerynetasia.com or call +852-2516-2173.

SOURCE UBM Asia Ltd

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1433193#ixzz2d8ozXuE5

Helpful e-commerce app Slice snags $23M from Rakuten, Lightspeed, and others

We’ve all been there before. It’s the moment when you realize a package is probably sitting on your doorstep right now, and you’re not there to pick it up before someone else does. It’s unsettling.

The designers behind the ecommerce-focused app Slice set out in 2011 to not only make sure that scenario doesn’t happen again but also to help consumers make better sense of their spending habits. Now the Slice team has closed a sizable $23 million funding round to help it continue its mission of inventing new ways to help consumers with their purchases.

One of Slice’s most popular features is giving people push notifications when their packages are out for delivery or have been delivered. Another is the capability to look over all the receipts in your e-mail box and show you your spending history. Slice has parsed more than 90 million items since its launch, helping explain more than $3 billion worth of transaction.

“Users have had all of this info in their e-mail boxes,” Slice CEO Scott Brady told VentureBeat. “Now we’re making that information more compelling and useful. It’s all in a single location, and we’ve built experiences around that.”

On top of the main Slice app, the company also recently launched a “social book network” called Bookshelf. That app supposedly helps you find and share books with friends.

Today’s funding round was led by Rakuten, the largest e-commerce company in Japan. Others participants include new investors Russia Partners and NPD Group and existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, DCM, and Innovation Endeavors. Including the new round, Slice has raised $32.4 million to date.

This new cash will help increase Slice’s marketing budget and help it find ways to monetize the app. Brady said the company will soon be partnering with some “big names” that will pay to use Slice’s API, which generate much more revenue than it currently is. He believes the API will be attractive to e-commerce players, financial service companies, and “broader Internet companies.”

“We want to invest in the Slice product,” Brady said. “There are many opportunities to use this technology, and we can’t do it all.”

Brady also opened the door for a new version of the Slice app that targets small businesses. Ideally, Slice could be a small business-focused solution that would help track spending, package deliveries, and more.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based Slice launched its flagship app in 2011 and the company now has 50 employees. Check out the video below for more.

Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/08/23/slice-23m-funding/

Understanding the Multi-Channel Shopper

Consumers are making more of their purchasing decisions on mobile devices – whether on a smartphone or tablet – in addition to making it one of their primary channels to research products.

A recent survey by Telemetrics and xAd showed that 50 percent used their mobile devices to start the discovery process and 46 percent used mobile exclusively when performing research online. Even Google noted last year that 65 percent of online searches began on a smartphone.

This emerging multi-screen reality has led to CMOs worldwide to begin their own research – how do we capture and convert multi-channel shoppers? Good question.

The mobile shopper can act much differently than one browsing off of a PC. They're at restaurants, on buses, or even in stores – often with only seconds to check out (and not necessarily "checkout") a product out before moving on to the next task.

Tolerance for irrelevant content and slow/bad site-search functionality is much lower for mobile shoppers. Couple that with the fact that they move between devices, and you have a recipe for significant losses because even one bad experience at one of the points of discovery or conversion can lead lost customers.

However, before you even begin to execute any strategy of customer segmentation, you have to understand the different profiles of multi-channel shoppers and consider the right tactics to monetize each profile.

What follows are five distinct profiles of multi-channel shoppers, as well as some methods to convert them to customers. Please note that each profile isn't mutually exclusive – many shoppers can exhibit behavior of multiple profiles, which is why gathering data across devices, channels and sessions is imperative to predicting what will be the most relevant content to present at this moment.

1. Need-It-Now Profile

This shopper has discovered the specific product they want and is ready to make a purchase; however, they'll almost certainly want to find a physical retailer that has that product in stock or that can get it shipped very quickly, like Amazon's same-day delivery service.

Having fresh web pages with the most up-to-date information is imperative.

For example – if a consumer is presented with a mobile search result for a "red strapless dress" that is on sale for $50, you better have location-specific data that this is, in fact, true. This means that your inventory information should be as close to real-time as possible.

Also, these users have very specific long-tail searches, making predictive-search capabilities extremely important. If available, know their browsing history and ultimately have their query available in a drop-down menu within a few taps. Typically, this is the profile of someone who shops on Amazon.

2. Bargain-Hunter Profile

This shopper uses their smartphone to compare prices either before or while they are in your store. Commonly referred to as "showroomers," they are extremely price-sensitive and have very little brand loyalty.

It's important to offer as much incentive information as possible. So, they should be provided with any warranty information or in-store special promotions.

Anonymously identifying and matching IP addresses of store Wi-Fi to see if they are in a store while accessing your mobile site is a good way to track these types of shoppers. Capture the data and track the behavior of other shoppers who visited your site while in store to gain invaluable insight.

3. Right-For-Me Profile

These shoppers visit your site at home on a desktop or laptop, on their smartphones and while in-store, and express very specific and consistent intent signals. They often search for and purchase certain sizes or brands/designers at specific price points.

It's important to piece together individual experiences and present them with the most relevant content based off of their habits. You can compare the behavior of your authenticated users on mobile and web to learn about their preferences, and then try to apply it to their content.

Offering "More like this" widgets that take into account all of the previous expressions of intent can help keep that customer converting.

4. Time-to-Kill Profile

These shoppers are most likely your exploratory buyers, with a little extra time, where easy navigation and visual design elements that create a "fun" experience are important.

Using social-network data from Pinterest or Facebook, consider creating landing pages of popular or emerging products that can turn a browser into a customer. They're going to explore more pages and provide you with a lot more data about what products could be linked.

By tracking bounce rates and time-on-page metrics, you can learn what products make better sense to present together.

5. Most-Valued Customer

These shoppers are the ones that engage with you the most across multiple channels or devices. They click through emails and discover a lot of your content, and should be the most important.

These customers shouldn't be treated like any other customer – you should understand their intent and present them with the right offers at the right time. What time of year do they normally buy gifts, are they tied to a holiday, and are they only selecting sale items? While this may sound like something very simple, actually tracking this data at a granular level to scale for potentially thousands of people while knowing which product is right based on their previous history across devices – all accurately – is a tremendous task.

Summary

Understanding, processing and acting on all of this available data is a problem well beyond the scope of humans – it's an issue for big data science. Amazon is doing a great job to capture the shoppers frustrated with experiences on other retailer's mobile sites.

As consumers rapidly shift to mobile shopping on smartphones, Amazon is capturing an unbelievable 59.36 percent of mobile department store visits. And, they are investing a greater percentage of their revenue in technology and content – 7.9 percent up from 6.5 percent – because they realize that high-quality content that is relevant to each shopper is a problem that only a machine can address at scale.

In the last decade, search marketers have been faced with a gargantuan amount of online data and web analytics, and technologies that have helped process the information have barely allowed them to keep pace. Mobile data – and the different channels that it opens up – ups the ante exponentially. At the same time, consumers expect a seamless and relevant experience no matter their platform of choice.

The most successful companies will embrace a multi-channel initiative. Those that don't will only face a bigger digital divide between themselves and consumers – ultimately losing them to the likes of Amazon.

source:- http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2266909/Understanding-the-Multi-Channel-Shopper

Google Commerce Search 3.0 Brings Big Brains to Smaller Shops

Google announced Commerce Search 3.0 yesterday. In essence, this is a massive update to their search solution for e-commerce sites. The key features of this update are:

Instant Search: Every keypress starts streaming product results and search suggestions directly within the search bar.

Realtime Inventory Search: Users can see if an item is in stock in a nearby store. Again, streamed directly within the search toolbar results.

On-site Complimentary Product Promotions: Merchandisers can create banner ads for product offers related to the search query, which when clicked, land on a query-based landing page - essentially a search results page.

User Engagement Based Product Recommendations: Essentially a Google Labs experiment for a "users who viewed/bought this product also viewed/bought" type web app as is commonly found on many high end e-commerce sites.

The Good
The great thing about Google Commerce Search 3.0 is that it enables small companies and niche retailers to enjoy high-end e-commerce features as can be found on hugely successful online shopping companies such as Amazon and Zappos - without having to make the same kind of investment in a development team. The annual license cost for Google Commerce Search is just $25,000 - equivalent to an entry level salary of a new employee.

The HealthWarehouse case study details how the installation of Google Commerce Search took only three weeks and that a "machine learning" aspect of the service was able to recognize synonyms more quickly than they could be manually added. Put simply, every search improves the accuracy of the engine.

The BabyAge case study details how they were able to implement the service in just six days as they already had a feed created for Google Product Search.

The entire engine is hosted "in the cloud" which should significantly reduce maintenance costs. All the case studies listed above and also the Woodcraft Supply case study focussed heavily on the operational savings made form using a cloud based solution.

But besides the operational improvements, the functionality improvements really show the benefits of having Google's development expertise, as the features are particularly up to date with current online shopping trends.

Yes, social shopping is on the rise and most of us will be familiar with Amazon's recommendation engine, but a few of the trends identified in last years thanksgiving season (the one that saw record sales) were have been capitalized upon in this latest update:

A) Display ads and paid search ads combined tended to increase conversion and brand recognition - which is now something even small retailers and merchandizers can make use of with the built in complimentary product promotion feature.

B) Real-time stock checking was launched by Google last year alongside award winning startups like Goodzer. Not only is real-time stock checking a way to drive footfall traffic to physical locations but also a nifty way for offline retailers to compete on price with each other and also larger online retailers. However, the real secret sauce is the future of real-time inventory checking, which Goodzer are banking on being in the augmented reality and mobile comparison shopping space. Users will snap a photo of a product they like and compare prices with shops nearby and online, whilst in the store. With Google making huge leaps and bounds in the augmented reality area with Google Goggles, it's not far-fetched to think that the risk of relying on Google Commerce Search 3.0 now, could pay-off in the imminent m-commerce (shopping via mobile or smartphome) future many retailers have yet to face.
The Bad
It's really only a little gripe but - whilst the "all the action is happening in the search box" approach seems to be fashionable right now, is visually appealing and provides a strong amount of 'scent' or 'signal' to the user - I found the interface to be more awkward to use than I expected it to be.

It wasn't enough to truly deter me, because the toolbar type search box clearly showed that the retailer stocked the similar products and did also help me to discover a range of products simply by guessing names, I found it awkward that search suggestions appeared and could be scrolled through using the keyboard but to actually select stuff I then had to switch to the mouse. As I said, it's a minor gripe and probably something easily fixed but it did cause a moment of confusion with the ever shifting results.

babyage.png

The Results
All the results listed below are detailed in the case studies linked to above, but here are some interesting data points on how user behavior changed with the overall 'instant' approach of Google Commerce Search 3.0:

BabyAge said "Shoppers spent 21% less time searching, yet there were 58% more product searches."

HealthWarehouse said search volumes doubled and conversions increased by 19%.

Woodcraft Supply increased online conversions by 27.7% and increased search revenues 34%.

source:- http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2049814/Google-Commerce-Search-3.0-Brings-Big-Brains-to-Smaller-Shops

Shoppers Research Deals via Mobile and Online Ahead of 2011 Black Friday Sales

Black Friday online shopping spend in the U.S. market jumped 26 percent this year over last, to $816 million, says comScore. Retailers fared better on Thanksgiving this year, as well, with $479 million spent online, up 18 percent over the holiday in 2010.

Whether the sales increase holds through the season remains to be seen, but as with last year, shoppers are hitting online stores at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving night ahead of Black Friday sales on the high street.

Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Apple topped the list of most visited online retailer sites for Black Friday. To date, 2011 holiday season spending totals over $12.7 billion, marking a 15 percent increase over this period last year.

IBM found more shoppers taking to their mobiles to find the best deals, with Black Friday mobile traffic at 14.3 percent, a huge increase over the 5.6 percent of shoppers who used mobile devices to research products before buying on Black Friday in 2010. Actual sales on mobile devices, at just 3.2 percent last year, rose to 9.8 percent.

Econsultancy reported a 160 percent YoY increase in Thanksgiving Day mobile traffic, as shared by mobile platform company Usablenet. They actually showed heavier traffic on Thanksgiving Day than Black Friday, demonstrating that consumers are searching earlier for deals before hitting the stores on the biggest shopping day of the year.

Aaron Goldman of Kenshoo told Search Engine Watch they’re seeing the same trending in their data.

“Indeed, it looks like shopping started earlier with a 25 percent bump in sales revenue from paid search year-over-year across our US retail index during the week leading up to Black Friday,” Goldman said.

In their analysis of over 12 billion search advertising impressions, Kenshoo saw a 40 percent YoY increase in Thanksgiving Day retail revenue driven by paid search ads.

Performics reports a 120 percent increase in Black Friday paid search spend, with clicks up 65 percent over 2010. Apparently recognizing the potential of Thanksgiving Day as a big shopping/research day this year, retailers spent more than ever on paid search - 128 percent more than last year. Thanksgiving Day clicks rose 87 percent YoY.

holiday-retailer-paid-search-metrics-2010-vs-2011-performics

Experian’s Price Grabber shed some light on the types of products consumers sought on Black Friday, finding plasma & LCD TVs and cameras the most often visited categories in technology-related products; consoles & accessories and educational toys topped the list in non-tech categories. Consumers visiting the mobile website and using apps were most often looking for plasma & LCD TVs, cameras, and tablets/e-readers.

Price Grabber reported a massive surge in online traffic on Thanksgiving Day between 6 and 11 p.m. PST as shoppers geared up for Black Friday shopping.

While paid search spend stats impress, social traffic faltered; a paltry 0.53 percent of online shopping traffic was referred from social networks, though social chatter about Black Friday was up 110 percent over the same day a year prior, according to IBM. daily-us-visits-to-top-500-retail-sites-thanksgiving-black-friday

Hitwise Intelligence analyst Heather Dougherty looked at traffic to the top 500 retail websites in the week leading up to Black Friday. She concluded that “While Black Friday has been the top day for online retail traffic over the past two years, warm weather and early store openings encouraged shoppers to go online sooner this season.”

Last year, Cyber Monday set records with more than $1 billion in online spending; retailers will know shortly if that upward trend continued this holiday season, or if the exponential YoY growth of Black Friday in comparison to Cyber Monday will become the new norm.

source:- http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2128289/Shoppers-Research-Deals-via-Mobile-and-Online-Ahead-of-2011-Black-Friday-Sales

Google PLA Ads: 6 Ways to Crush It

PLAs are hot!

We’ve been hearing that consistently since Google Shopping switched to a fully paid marketplace in October. This channel is suddenly akin to the early days of paid search where you could likely generate positive ROI just by turning it on.

Despite the good ROI seen today, as more competition flows into the channel we will certainly see CPCs rise and quality score become a stronger arbiter of positioning.

In order to compete and drive strong ROI, you will have to run your PLA campaigns much like you run your SEM campaigns today. If you take an active optimization role, there’s an opportunity to have PLAs be one of, if not the best, revenue driver site-wide.

Even though it might seem like a convenient strategy today, beware the feeds provider that tells you they are qualified to manage your PLA campaigns because they do it for Shopzilla and PriceGrabber.

The techniques below are most familiar to expert SEM practitioners and can drive significant improvement over baseline PLA performance.

Isolating Top SKUs

Most retailers have a core set of products that represent a significant percentage of their revenue, and help the brand stand out from the competition.

On their website, on their shelves, and in their advertising and promotions, these products are handled separately due to their importance to the business. This should be no different in PLAs and these products should have their own bid strategies, keyword targets, and promotional text so that profitability on these SKUs is maximized.

This is simple to execute on within the AdWords interface, just create Product Targets for each individual SKU that you'd like to merchandise separately from the others. Once you have that Product Target created, you can bid that product on its own as well as create negatives to ensure that it doesn't get clicks on irrelevant queries.

Semantic Organization of Products

For a retailer with thousands or tens of thousands of products, it would be challenging to manage each of these SKUs individually, especially since many of them would not get enough volume to make an accurate bid.

However, the relationships between the products in a portfolio are incredibly important, in that they will behave similarly in a dynamic marketplace. Some examples of this would be products of the same brand, of the same attribute value (the color blue), or the same margin profile. Grouping these products together into product targets makes a lot of sense and allows for more effective control over the performance of the entire portfolio.

One example of this would be to group your products by category and brand. We know that JBrand Jeans and Levi's Jean Shorts have wildly different price points, customers, and margin contributions. They should live in their own groups, not under the broad heading of Denim.

Aligning Your Feed Content to User Intent

PLA is a paid search channel and not a CSE (comparison shopping engine) channel. Products are displayed based on keyword level intent signals, however most retailers’ product feeds are designed for online/offline merchandising techniques, which don’t take searcher behavior into account. The content of those feeds are consistently misaligned with how users search for products on Google and therefore a lot of potential volume is left on the table.

There are ways to gently manipulate your product feed such that information light merchandising titles like Canon EOS Rebel T4i 18MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm EF-S Lens - Black can be converted to Canon EOS Rebel 18MP SLR. This much better reflects how someone might search for this product on Google.

Negative Management

One truth in the paid search world, and similarly in PLA, is that the more control marketers have over the traffic they receive from AdWords, the better they will ultimately perform.

Google makes money through creating liquid marketplaces for each search, and they seek ways to intelligently increase coverage for their advertiser network. Many times this works to the advertiser’s benefit but often it does not, making it critical to include negatives in PLA at the product target level in order to ensure relevant traffic and to not compromise ROI.

If you have a Product Target for Red Sneakers, it would make sense to have negatives for the other primary colors as well as the other types of shoes that you are merchandising through your other product targets.

Image & Title Testing

Google doesn't support ad testing for PLAs, but that doesn't mean that marketers shouldn't explore ad testing in order to drive performance. The most visible areas to test ads in PLA would be the product title and the product image.

There are a number of different ways to do this through testing different strategies either week over week for the same traffic, or at the same time for similar traffic.

For example, if you have two different styles of images on your site, one with the clothing on a model and one with it off the model, you could test all your products one week with the model shot and then rotate to the non-model shot for the next week. You should get a good sense of how clickable the different images are in Google's marketplace from this test.

Keep Tabs on Your Margins and Competition

Much like in SEM, you don't want to spend your precious ad dollars trying to compete for placement when you're margin constrained or not price competitive. There are a lot of intelligent tools in the marketplace today that can help you understand your pricing relative to the competition.

If you aren't competitive, it doesn't make sense to bid high for position against a certain product or product type. On the flip side, if you are the price/volume leader on a specific product, you should bid very aggressively and continue to establish your leadership position.

Summary

As this channel continues to grow, it will become increasingly important to actively optimize your PLA campaigns. Once your PLAs are live in AdWords, you should start adopting these techniques to continue to stay ahead of the competition.

source:- http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2250250/Google-PLA-Ads-6-Ways-to-Crush-It

Small Business - E-Commerce

Ashley White started her company, the Polkadot Alley, to supplement her full-time income as a high school teacher. By 2009, she had a modest profit and a new baby, which led her to quit her teaching job in Lubbock, Tex. After she got pregnant again in 2011, Ms. White found herself constantly on Facebook searching for vendors that sold baby clothes, and that’s when she got the idea to turn her e-commerce Web site, which sells women’s clothing and accessories, into a Facebook store.

Last year, when it generated $400,000 in revenue, Ms. White’s company switched its main customer interface to F-commerce, as it has become known. And this year, Ms. White said, the Polkadot Alley, which has eight employees and a 1,500-square-foot warehouse, is on pace to produce $1.5 million in revenue — 95 percent of it coming from people who purchase goods through the comments section of the company’s Facebook fan page.

For an e-commerce site, moving to Facebook is not without risks. “It only works for a very narrow particular niche of children’s apparel or women’s clothing with an engaged fan base,” said Zak Stambor, managing editor of the Internet Retailer. “It’s such an inferior way to purchase online compared to using a Web site.”

Among other things, higher-end e-commerce sites offer better images along with the ability to read product details and customer reviews and even to see a video of the product on a model. “There’s just a whole host of tools that selling via Facebook doesn’t offer,” Mr. Stambor said.

Of course, the biggest challenge is taking payment. Initially, Ms. White would post pictures of merchandise on her Facebook page and in order to purchase an item, customers would leave a comment under the picture that said something like, “Sold, XL.” They would also leave their e-mail address so they could be invoiced. In the beginning, Ms. White processed all of her sales by hand.

She continued to plug away to build her fan base, and then on July 11, 2012, things changed. “I sold this sports dress and my fans went wild,” she said. “I ended up selling over 400 dresses in three hours and generated over $11,000 in sales in one night.”

In the days after the sale, though, she was completely overwhelmed trying to fill orders. She even called a few of her former students and asked them to come help process the orders. “It’s so much work to manage inventory yourself and invoice each customer individually,” Ms. White said. “It would take hours every sale night, and sometimes I would lose customers because it took me up to 36 hours sometimes to invoice people.”

Because the system required buyers to post their e-mail addresses on her Facebook page, she also had to worry about competitors poaching her customers. After that big night in July 2012, she started searching for an application to help with payment processing and found Soldsie, a mobile-friendly app that issues invoices directly to people who leave comments on a Facebook post. Commenters receive an invoice by e-mail that can be paid with PayPal or a debit or credit card on file. Soldsie takes 3 percent of all sales, a fee that is billed at the end of every month. (There are other payment applications that work on Facebook, including Ecwid, Ribbon and Gumroad.)

Ms. White said she decided to start selling directly on Facebook because she wanted to build an intimate relationship with her customers. “With my Web site, people had to go and find me, and I was in a sea of millions,” she said. “With Facebook, if my sister or best friend comments on my page, that draws in their friends to see what we’re doing. It’s just so much faster.”

There are some drawbacks, she said. “Your competitors can see everything you are doing,” she said. “And I have no control over Facebook, so if they sell tomorrow, I would need to figure out something else to do with my business.”

Facebook declined to share statistics on the number of vendors operating on the site, but Chris Bennett, founder of Soldsie, offered his results as proof that Facebook commerce is growing. “We just passed 1,000 stores on Facebook and are moving $1 million a month through our app.” Ninety percent of his business owners are women, he said, many of them stay-at-home moms based in Southern states, including Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.

In my next post, I will talk further about the mechanics of running a store one Facebook

source:- http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/an-e-commerce-company-learns-to-sell-directly-on-facebook/

Top 4 challenges in monetizing data

The wealth of data being pushed to businesses around the globe on a daily basis is staggering, but much of that data continues to be either ignored or used in a way that isn't beneficial to the brand.

I recently had the chance to chat with NovoPayment's CEO Anabel Perez. The NovoPayment platform is a leading tech-payment service in Latin America, helping businesses better capitalize on the data offered every day.

"As the buzz around big data turns to increased action in our region, some eminent and long-term challenges will have to be addressed," said Perez.

Challenges including how 'talent' - data analyzers, for instance - are trained so that data collection, storage and analysis consistently grow. More people log on to the Internet every day, giving brands access to more engagement data. As people change how they engage, data analysis must also change.
Another challenge: digital payments.

"If our formal economies are flowing rivers of data, our informal economies are like vast, opaque lakes. We've heard for many years about the war on cash, but this initiative is going to be increasingly relevant to broaden our digital world and break down its current edges," said Perez.

And don't forget security - along with more legitimate consumers come botnet farms, fraudulent advertising and other online issues. Perez cautions that security will always be at the forefront of the challenges in collecting and monetizing data. As will be collaboration.

"Good data is like good ingredients. Some combinations can be extremely appetizing and even sustaining. Will our companies learn to share data or will our strong culture of competition and suspicion keep us from great things? Can we imagine a "First Bank of Data" for sharing this information or is it some utilitarian dream?" said Perez.

You can read part one of my talk with Anabel and NovoPayment, including how to better monetize data, here.

source:- http://www.bizreport.com/2013/08/top-4-challenges-in-monetizing-data.html

Ecommerce trends that may help brands connect

Back to school shoppers are expected to push more than $70 billion retail dollars into the US economy this month. That is a drop in the retail bucket, especially when we take holiday shopping forecasts into account. According to one forecast holiday shoppers could spend more than $600 billion. Our experts weigh in on ecommerce trends that may help brands connect.

Kristina: The back to school rush upon us in the US, and the holiday season will be here shortly. What trends are you seeing in the ecommerce space?

Kelly Ford, Vice President of Marketing, SundaySky: Online retailers will continue with last year's omnichannel initiatives, such as offering digital coupons that can be redeemed via any channel, as well as continued support for making purchases online and picking up in-store. This is especially key as consumers browse for the best prices on mobile devices before making an in-store purchase, as back-to-school shopping is heavily driven by promotions and bargains, and less by brand loyalty.

Our ecommerce customers with retargeted video ad programs will begin to move up the acquisition funnel this season. Based on their success with retargeted video ads, they will begin to target look-alike prospects based on lifestyle and demographic data to determine similar online patterns of a target demographic from their retargeted programs lower in the funnel. I anticipate we will see this emerging trend continue into the holiday season, as well.

Billy Nava, Vice President of Retail Solutions, TransPerfect: There has been an increase in the use of grid pages with multi-category and cross-channel items. Since the back-to-school shopping season isn't just about clothes, or accessories, or technology, but incorporates all of the above, retailers are finding ways to offer that full package. Instead of logging onto a retail site and only seeing clothes, now you'll see full outfits, with backpacks and notebooks included in the picture. Brands are tying in other products, channels and companies in the interest of mixing categories to make it easier for the consumer. The customer doesn't even realize this affiliate channel marketing is happening on the back-end - they just receive the goods they ordered - but this sort of multichannel partner experience is helping to facilitate a more convenient and all-inclusive shopping experience.

Jeff Zwelling , Convertro CEO: Consumers are looking for fast, economical and efficient ways to purchase back-to-school necessities both in-store and online. Based on the data we've collected from our customers, we know the majority of consumers browse products online, but then make the final sale in store. The main trend, given the customers' age group, seems to be mobile e-shopping, even in the form of mobile browsing followed by a later purchase on the home desktop or in-store. Therefore, it is essential that e-commerce retailers have the ability to track their consumers cross-device and cross-channel, as well as focus on personalized advertising and targeted discounts. The last minute shoppers in this instance are not the primary market, so e-commerce retailers need to start thinking about their back-to-school campaigns months in advance.

Kristina: How can retailers increase ecommerce engagement and conversions?

Kelly: Recommendation and personalization tactics can be enhanced by leveraging the most captivating online medium out there - video. Hearing your first name narrated in a video greeting is significantly more engaging than reading it within a static email.

Likewise, brands should consider "flipping the funnel" to approach prospects and customers in a more personal way, rather than starting at the top with generic mass awareness tactics. We see time and time again, from ecommerce to retail banking to travel brands, that more personalized, individual connections with customers translate to better engagement, higher profitability and deeper loyalty.
Billy: Brands can definitely benefit from leveraging social media to increase consumer engagement and ultimately drive more conversions. Promotion-based banners and emails have proven to be effective, and the use of Twitter and Facebook commerce is now a necessity. All of this helps brands create more cohesive retargeting based on past purchases.

Jeff: Audiences can easily tune out ads if they're not relevant. Personalization and good timing are key factors in efficiently increasing conversions.

You can read part of my chats with the ecommerce experts here.

source:- http://www.bizreport.com/2013/08/ecommerce-trends-that-may-help-brands-connect.html

Alibaba Seen Buying U.S. E-Commerce Stake

As Alibaba prepares for a hotly anticipated initial public offering, the Chinese e-commerce giant is still busy striking deals. But its latest may raise some eyebrows.

Alibaba has agreed to pay about $75 million for a minority stake in ShopRunner, a retail shipping service run by Scott Thompson, who briefly, and controversially, served as Yahoo’s chief executive, a person briefed on the matter said on Saturday.

The investment is one of several that the Chinese giant is making to both expand its operations worldwide and to gather new ideas for its home market.

Both will likely help Alibaba as it prepares for its planned I.P.O., which has already drawn interest from swarms of potential investors and bankers hoping for a piece of a giant global transaction. Though the company hasn’t committed to a time frame, an stock sale could take kick off by year end, people briefed on the process have said.

ShopRunner, which provides free two-day shipping services for retailers similar to Amazon.com‘s Prime service, could eventually yield new insights for core Alibaba businesses like Taobao.

Since last summer, ShopRunner has been run by Mr. Thompson, a former senior PayPal executive who left Yahoo amid a storm of controversy. Picked as the Web pioneer’s chief executive in January 2012, he quickly became a target of the activist investor Daniel S. Loeb, who uncovered embellishments in Mr. Thompson’s academic credentials.

The board eventually removed Mr. Thompson as chief executive in May of that year, roughly five months into his tenure.

He surfaced as the chief executive of ShopRunner two months later, returning to his roots in e-commerce.

Despite the controversy, he had maintained a bond with Alibaba executives. It was Mr. Thompson who had led many of the start-and-stop talks that led to Yahoo’s deal to sell half of its stake in Alibaba back to the Chinese company, yielding a multibillion-dollar windfall that has underpinned much of the American Internet company’s resurgence.

News of Alibaba’s investment was reported earlier by The Financial Times.

source:- http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/08/17/alibaba-seen-buying-u-s-e-commerce-stake/?_r=0