Edwin Bos says, “A couple of weeks ago, Amazon sued over 1,000 people for posting fake reviews on its site. The defendants in question had offered their services on fiverr.com. But is Amazon addressing the symptoms, not the cause? Let’s go back to the future for a second. In 2012, Gartner said that by 2014, 10-15% of social media reviews would be fakes, paid for by companies. According to the BBC program Rip Off Britain this year, it’s been estimated that as many as one in five reviews online might be fake. It’s a big problem with even bigger ramifications for those playing... [...]

Jay Lagarde says, “Less than 5 percent of customers who buy through Amazon take the time to leave feedback. For the two million third-party merchants who account for more than 40 percent of all Amazon transactions, this comes as frustrating news. In an ecommerce world largely focused on price, a quality seller reputation is one of the few opportunities for differentiation. With so few customers willing to leave feedback, however, many sellers get trapped into a race to the bottom and experience ever-dwindling profit margins. With this in mind, the days of hoping for automatic positive feedback... [...]

Stefanie Flaxman says, “I’ve never claimed I invented the Internet, but at one time I thought I invented the idea of a digital business. Let me explain. In 2008, I set out to establish Revision Fairy, my own online editing and proofreading service. Since I wasn’t planning to interact with any clients in person or over the phone, my business, which would also sell ebooks, was 100 percent digital. I thought I conjured up a revolutionary concept because I didn’t know anyone else who had ventured into this unknown, pixel-dominated territory. Simultaneously, I was struggling because I didn’t... [...]

Gaurav Pandey says, “When Columbus first discovered Indian island, when Graham Bell first discovered telephone or, when Tim Berners Lee, first invented WWW (the Internet), they all would be happy of their own successes, and the world might also be praising their individual successes and their efforts. But let’s read it again but between the lines… When Columbus first discovered a new land of business & mining opportunity, when Graham Bell first discovered a new way of distance communication or, when Tim invented new way of accessing real-time information from other parts of world,... [...]

Sucharita Mulpuru says, “In a recent Forrester-Shop.org study, we found that 70% of online retailers are investing in “content” in the coming year. What sort of content you may ask. Usually when they say “content” retailers mean videos, blog posts and magazine-like content that is best for consumers at the top of the shopping funnel. This type of content though is notoriously difficult to monetize though. A number of companies like Babycenter in the late 1990s were the first wave of content-driving-commerce digital players to try this. They quickly realized it was not only difficult... [...]

Arie Shpanya says, “If you’re new to the ecommerce industry, I’ll let you in on a “little” secret. There’s an 800 pound gorilla in the room that is nearly impossible to take down. Its name is Amazon, and it’s the largest online retailer in the western hemisphere. It’s safe to say that all online shoppers are familiar with Amazon. New studies have actually found that 44% of shoppers turn to Amazon first when looking for an item. That’s because the company is known for having an incredibly wide product assortment, low prices, and impressive customer service. But... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Some 44% of US e-commerce shoppers say they bypass the rest of the Web and go directly to Amazon.com to search for products, according to a recent report from BloomReach and Survata. The report was based on data from two surveys, one of 2,000 consumers living in the US, and the other of 500 US retail marketers. Search engines such as Google are the second most popular method for finding products online (34% of respondents begin searches there), followed by the websites of retailers other than Amazon (21%)“. How Dominant Is Amazon.com in E-Commerce? MarketingProfs  [...]

Philip Rooke says, “Social media stars have always been keen on merchandising and fully understood its value to their business (especially when their content is free). But now, we’re seeing a change in their understanding of how merchandise can raise their brand awareness. It’s not just about selling, well, maybe not at first. For online stars, merchandise can be a way of spreading cool ideas, new designs or just general silliness with their fans. UK Vine stars Stuggy & Ashton, YouTubers like Stampy Cat, iBallisticSquid and Sweden’s Sp4zie have huge audiences who engage with... [...]

Jerod Morris says, “If you’ve been following the media not marketing approach, then you’ve used appropriate forms of digital media to develop a legitimate relationship with an audience that knows, likes, and trusts you. Here’s another characteristic of such an audience: They want to buy from you, assuming you can deliver them a product or service that solves their problems and satisfies their needs. At that point, it’s time to give them just that. And what could be better than something that is digitally created, sold, fulfilled, and supported completely online? If this is the path... [...]

Nicole Dvorak says, “If you’ve noticed fewer window shoppers on the streets lately, it may be because they’re at home window shopping from their couches; that is, they’re discovering and exploring products without necessarily intending to purchase. For our 2015 US Mobile Landscape report*, Forrester analyzed mobile audience data from our behavioral tracking panel to understand how consumers use smartphones and tablets in 2015. We found that although professionals often group both devices under the “mobile” umbrella, consumers use smartphones and tablets in very different ways.... [...]