1. It’s summer; Santa is getting near  by Paul Demery, Internet Retailer , 06-01-2008 . Describes how various larger online retailers are getting ready for the holiday season. Some quick fixes include: product comparison tools, store locaters, ratings and reviews, gift finders, gift cards, testing, accurate inventory, etc.
2. Raising the Stakes: Attracting Existing Customers  by Don Davis, Internet Retailer , 05-01-2008 . As the ranks of consumers who have not shopped online thins, etailers must work to increase sales from existing customers. To draw them back the author suggests social elements such as reviews and product ratings, online video, customer created content, blogs, teen hangouts, larger type options, and selling outside the US.
3. The Internet star rises in a down economy  by Kurt Peters, Internet Retailer , 04-01-2008 . Many retailers are looking to web sales to salvage what could be a tough year for retail sales. Looks at larger e-tail strategies in the light of a recessionary economy.
4. 2008 Predictions for Internet Retail  by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim , 01-07-2008 . Predictions for 2008 online retail: (1) Death of the little guy. (2) Retailers will depend less on SEO. (3) Social marketing explosions. (4) Online fraud will increase. (5) Manufacturer action ton control pricing. (6) Online retail will grow less than 20%
5. 12 Ways to Increase Sales on Your Site  by Eileen Shulock, Search Engine for Marketers , 12-03-2007 . Was to increase e-commerce sales: (1) position products carefully for best pricing, (2) offer optimization, (3) identify the opinion leaders in your blogosphere, (4) set goals and meet or beat them, (5) focus, (6) build loyalty through customer service reps, (7) target and speak to specific customer segments, (8) update constantly, (9) customize your navigation, (10) take advantage of "pause points," (11) highlight exclusives, and (12) figure out what your best at and focus on that.
6. A tweak here and a tweak there boosted holiday sales for online merchants , Internet Retailer , 12-27-2007 . Miscellaneous tips from retailers who tried various promotions: PayPal promotion, personalization offers, Google AdWords, e-mail coupons and offers to previous customers.
7. The Internet Retailer Hot 100 Retail Web Sites  by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer , 12-01-2007 . Various insights from the top 100 online retailers.
8. Ten More Great Ecommerce Ideas  by Practical eCommerce Staff, Practical Ecommerce , 11-26-2007 . Quick ideas from online selling experts with a range of backgrounds, such as buying high-quality, semi-abandoned content sites to drive traffic, sending hand-written thank-you's to customers, and adding affiliate products to your store mix.
9. Six Reasons NOT to try to be an online retailer  by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim , 08-24-2007 . Negatives: (1) Startup costs for online retail now exceed those of traditional retail. (2) It takes much knowledge these days. (3) SEO is becoming out of reach for small companies. (4) No paid ad options are lucrative for small companies. (5) Inventory costs are climbing. (6) Trends indicate that startup conditions will get worse not better. Also notes that total e-commerce growth is slowing to 20%.
10. A six-step plan to be profitable in internet retail  by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim , 08-27-2007 . Important tips for a successful e-commerce retail site: (1) Build a content-rich site. (2) Have a long-term strategy. (3) Invest in getting quality inbound links. (4) Develop your own brand. (5) Don't skimp on design. (6) Track metrics and focus on improving them. Notes that selling online costs more than it used to.
11. The MarketLive Performance Index: Key Benchmarks and the Tactics that Drive Results , MarketLive , 06-01-2007 . To increase retailing results: (1) convey action and activity with "new items," "most view items," etc., (2) use a contrasting color for the "add to cart" button, (3) used enhanced imagery options, (4) incorporate customer reviews, and (5) make the checkout process easier.
12. State of the Industry: Digging deeper  by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer , 07-01-2007 . Overview and history of the Internet retailing industry.
13. Six Surefire Ways To Boost Sales  by Jim Edwards, Practical Ecommerce , 07-02-2007 . A grab-bag of useful techniques for improving your webstore's performance, including testing alternative headline copy, guarantees and audio instructions for shoppers, offering extended payment plans, starting a blog, and following up with customers.
14. The Death of the Small Guy  by Greg Howlett, Marketing Pilgrim , 05-25-2007 . Back in the late 1990s the Internet wasn't "normalized," and it was easier for the "small guy" to make money. Now it's difficult and expensive. But start now, because it'll be more difficult in the future.
15. E-commerce: The shape of things to come  by Paul Demery, Internet Retailer , 05-01-2007 . A look at the future of Internet retailing includes (1) tighter integration of customer service information across the web, store, and call center, (2) more online video and move toward web TV, (3) mcommerce, (4) social retailing, (5) new web applications.
16. Stand Still!  by Mary Wagner, Internet Retailer , 04-01-2007 . The lightning pace of e-commerce business developments forces retailers to hit moving targets at budget time. Discusses how retailers react with speed to changes in the marketplace.
17. “The Sky is Falling” on eCommerce Spending  by Jordan McCollum, Marketing Pilgrim , 02-07-2007 . Overview of predictions of the growth of e-commerce spending. Notes that the rate of growth will slow, but not necessarily the same amount of growth. JupiterResearch suggests a 10-15% plateau range. By 2011 the Internet will influence or dive almost half of all offline sales through online research or advertising.
18. Find Your Niche for Fun and Profits  by Michelle Megna, ECommerce-Guide , 02-22-2007 . Newcomers to e-tailing are well advised to develop an online shop around a narrowly-focused product category. A case-study look at how this has worked for three startups, selling ball bearings, a Beerbelly beverage container, and "Back to the Future" memorabilia.
19. Errors Made By Ecommerce Site Owners  by Mitch Bettis, Practical Ecommerce , 02-28-2007 . Succinct tips and advice from a dozen small-business e-tailers based on their own experiences getting their online stores up and running. Most focus on understanding the conversion process better, or on choosing a hosting and e-commerce platform that is flexible and scalable.
20. Errors Made By Ecommerce Site Owners  by Mitch Bettis, Practical Ecommerce , 03-01-2007 . Short quotes from various small e-commerce sites explain mistakes they made and learned from. Learnings included the importance of site design, conversion factors, images, cart software, hosting services, etc.
21. Holiday season starts earlier and ends later online, OneUpWeb study finds , Internet Retailer , 01-11-2007 . A study by OneUpWeb based on traffic generated by paid campaigns and transactions from more than a million customers found an overall upward trend beginning the week of Oct 9-15 and continuing through the week of Dec 4-10 before dropping off. Halloween is a more appropriate marker of the holiday season launch date. Though the week of Dec 18-24 shows a major drop-off, conversion and sales were still higher than the base week for the study. Biggest sales days were Dec 4, 11, and 13, with Dec 13 the highe
22. Managing E-Commerce  by Mary Wagner, Internet Retailer , 02-01-2007 . Discusses various approaches to managing a multi-channel retailer's internet function. Examples from Roots Canada, Bare Necessities, J&R Electronics, Jewelry Television,
23. Understanding the Consumers behind the $300 Billion e-Commerce Market , ATG Insight Online Newsletter , 01-31-2007 . Future growth will come from buyers who have a less-positive attitude toward technology as current buyers. Thus they're more hesitant to trust online shopping, and will gravitate towards brands they know and trust. Online shopping is price-driven. It is the preferred channel for research. Retailers should look for new, secure payment methods as well as new ways to build loyalty and drive sales through content, experience, and reinforced branding messages.
24. Shop, shop, shop around the clock is coming , Internet Retailer , 12-15-2006 . According to CyberSource, consumers like to shop from work, but a subtle shift to near-24-hour shopping is taking place. The difference between the highest and the lowest volume hours is diminishing, especially during holiday periods. Growing broadband availability is credited with the changes.
25. The Internet Retailer Best of the Web Top 50 Retail Sites  by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer , 12-01-2006 . The best e-retailers of 2006 have leapt forward, soaring ahead of myriad other retail sites by adding the latest features and functions that are starting to help differentiate successful e-commerce sites from middling ones. Lists the top 50 e-retailers by category.
26. The Views from the Top  by Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer , 10-01-2006 . Retail CEOs foresee a shift in 2007 to a focus on customer service, site personalization, latest technologies and improved multi-channel integration.
27. Why one web merchant thinks the days of the pure-play appear numbered , Internet Retailer , 09-21-2006 . Nathaniel Burke, who co-founded OutdoorDecor.com, thinks the days of many pure-play merchants may be numbered unless they can build a robust infrastructure and conduct marketing campaigns successfully across multiple channels.
28. 4 Strategies To Help You To Make Money From Your Website  by Trey Pennewell, SiteReference , 09-27-2006 . Discusses: (1) conversions, (2) linking for traffic, (3) linking popularity, and (4) link baiting. These are needed to make money on your site.
29. Retail Bonanza Begins Online  by Paul J. Bruemmer, Website Services Magazine , 05-01-2006 . Provides an retail e-commerce overview and its relation to SEO and Paid Search.
30. The Lowdon on Ecommerce  by PetePrestipino, Website Services Magazine , 04-10-2006 . An overview of e-commerce, shopping carts, payment processing, fraud, SSL, site design, support, and a marketing plan.
31. Internet Retailer 2006: Report from the conference , Internet Retailer , 08-01-2006 . This article contains notes on each of the sessions at the Internet Retailer 2006 Conference & Exhibition, June 5-7, 2006, which revolved around using technology to meet customer needs.
32. Following the money trail  by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer , 06-01-2006 . Web retailers are doing well at growing the top and bottom line. In an Internet Retailer survey,most retailers taking part in the survey are established, profitable for at least the last two years and expect robust sales growth, with 40% anticipating growth of 30% over 2005. But chain retailers, catalogers, virtual merchants and consumer brand manuf
33. The Top 500 Guide  by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer , 06-01-2006 . 2005 was another banner year for the Internet retailing industry with merchants across the board achieving significantly higher sales, average tickets, conversion rates and traffic. Special features on JCPenney.com, Blockbuster.com, and InsideStore.com.
34. Racing Ahead  by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer , 07-01-2006 . 2006 is shaping up as another year of record sales, with retailers shifting their attention to customer retention from acquisition. Discusses creating repeat business, spending on applications and services, shifting to search marketing, and investor acquisitions.
35. Weighing spending options  by Mark Brohan, Internet Retailer , 07-01-2006 . Online retailers are purchasing more e-commerce technology, but they're also pickier and want more tools that drive traffic and convert sales. Shows results of a survey of readers on e-commerce technology spending. Nearly all expected to increase spending by at least 6%, many at 20% to 25%. Most expected to replace their e-commerce platform as a high priority this year.
36. The Internet revolutionizes U.K. retailing , Internet Retailer , 05-25-2006 . Studies from The Interactive Media in Retail Group (KMRG) and GfK report online sales in the U.K. will reach £30 billion this year, up 51% from last year.A study of Internet vs. High Street prices shows rapid price depreciation created by easier comparison shopping, especially in MP3, digital camera, and smart phone sales.
37. The E-Tailing Group 5th Annual Merchant Survey , The E-Tailing Group , 04-01-2006 . Executive summary of annual merchant survey. Describes how various e-tailers are using the Web.
38. Starting An Online Store: The Essential Checklist  by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide , 04-17-2006 . This multi-part article offers a checklist and capsule description of 15 essential steps you must take to launch an online store successfully, stressing that if you gather everything you need before you launch, you'll be far ahead of most people who take the plunge into e-commerce.
39. eBay Careers: How to be an eBay Trading Assistant  by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide , 04-24-2006 . Setting yourself up as an eBay "trading assistant" - using your online auction expertise to sell other peoples' goods on eBay for a commission - is an ideal 1-person entrepreneurial opportunity. A detailed explanation of what it takes, and how to do it.
40. Starting An Online Store: The Essential Checklist  by James Maguire, Small Business Computing , 04-25-2006 . Assembling everything you need prior to launch will save you numerous headaches. And it will better prepare you to compete with established businesses, which are operating with full toolboxes. Checklist.
41. Bright Ideas  by Mary Wagner . Online shoppers want more power to choose—the web invents new ways to serve it up. Discusses price comparison by phone, fuzzy search, RSS, and e-catalogs.
42. Why Your Web 2.0 Business Plan Doesn't Work  by Sean Carton, Publish , 02-13-2006 . Opinion: That which works best online is that which can only work online. Call it what you will (I prefer "Carton's Law of Online Publishing," but that may be seen as a little immodest), but if you look around the Web, this axiom holds true. From e-commerce to e-zine publishing, sites that offer no benefit beyond their "old media" counterparts fail while others that offer additional value in the form of features old media can't emulate
43. Optimism up among online retailers, Shop.org speakers say , Internet Retailer , 01-24-2006 . Recap of current state of e-commerce. 75% of online retailers saw sales growth of 30% during Q4 2005.
44. Google heading toward ‘e-commerce 3.0,’ analyst says , Internet Retailer , 11-14-2005 . Piper Jaffray analyst Safa Rashtchy sees Google's moving toward using search to buy anything from anyone, anywhere -- a challenge to eBay and Craigslist.com. Sees E-commerce 3.0 taking e-commerce to the local level including an online payment system.
45. Retailing: What's Working Online  by Christopher Grosso, McPherson, and Shi, McKinsey Quarterly , 10-18-2005 . Tracks for successful online retailing models: (1) Efficiency machines, (2) niche leaders, (3) traffic drivers, and (4) triple plays. Web-only retailers do better with 1 and 2, multi-channel retailers with 3 and 4. Includes reasoning and definition of terms.
46. Going Back to School with eBay U  by Frank Fortunato, ECommerce-Guide , 11-02-2005 . Review of eBay's own offering of 3 day-long courses covering all aspects of selling on eBay ('eBay Basics,' 'Beyond The Basics,' 'eBay For Business'). They are low cost, expertly taught, and well worth while for anyone getting into eBay sales.
47. Starting Your Own E-Business, Pt 3: Critical Components  by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide , 10-10-2005 . 3 critical components of an online store are the website's hosting service, a merchant credit card account, and an accounting package. This article details the intricacies of selecting appropriate tools, concentrating on the complex issues surrounding merchant account set-up.
48. Review: 120 Top Tips  by Devin Comiskey, ECommerce-Guide , 10-05-2005 . E-Commerce software developer Actinic offers a $10 book "Over 120 Top Tips for Running an Ecommerce Web Site" that provides a solid introduction to the many details and issues that a start-up entrepreneur must keep in mind while setting up shop online.
49. Starting Your Own E-Business: Part 1 - The Plan  by James Maguire, ECommerce-Guide , 09-19-2005 . It isn't simple to succeed as an online merchant. There's plenty of opportunity, but the competition is fierce. The first (and hardest) thing to do is to develop a workable plan, paying attention to what distinguishes your business from all the rest, knowing the target market, and understanding the competition.
50. Retailers see 16% sales boost from multi-channel , Internet Retailer , 08-03-2005 . A strong emphasis on multi-channel retailing results in a 16% boost in sales from online customers who also shop other channels, said Lands' End president and CEO Mindy Meads at eTail 2005.

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