Most Clicked Shop.org SmartBrief Stories
1. Bazaarvoice agrees to pay $151.9M for PowerReviews
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 25, 2012
Bazaarvoice, which provides technology for customer ratings and reviews, plans to acquire competitor PowerReviews in a cash-and-stock deal worth $151.9 million. Internet Retailer (05/24)
2. How one cupcake company redefined itself via social media
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 29, 2012
Brooklyn-based pastry chef Allison Robicelli and her husband gave up their day jobs to open a small gourmet shop just before the market tanked. The pair closed the shop in 2009 and turned their $200,000 in debt into a wholesale business in a borrowed kitchen, and today they're busy connecting with consumers via social channels. "Everyone wants to connect with somebody, but they can’t, because they’re looking at their phones. I thought, okay, let’s develop a strong Twitter presence." Fast Company online (05/29)
3. Amazon debuts "Never Before on DVD" store
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 24, 2012
Amazon has launched a new service that will offer custom DVD copies of about 2,000 movies and TV shows that have not been released on DVD, under agreements with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Lionsgate, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Home Media Magazine (05/23) Home Media Magazine (05/23)
4. Target taps Shopkick for mobile rewards
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 24, 2012
Target has become the largest retailer to use Shopkick, a shopper-reward application for Android and iPhone. After shoppers download the free app to their smartphones, they win points, called "kicks," when they enter a Target store and when they scan products. Bonnie Gross, Target vice president of marketing and guest engagement, said the seven-city test launch received rave reviews, prompting the company to expand the program nationwide. Retailing Today (free registration) (05/23)
5. SORO: Sales are growing faster on tablets
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 23, 2012
Tablet-based sales are growing twice as fast as sales made via smartphones, and average tablet sales are comparable to sales in brick-and-mortar stores, according to a new report from Shop.org and Forrester Research. "We expect smartphone shopping adoption rates to stay low but fully believe tablet sales will continue to change how retailers garner the attention of new and current customers," said Vicki Cantrell, executive director of Shop.org. MobileCommerceDaily.com (05/23) Women's Wear Daily (subscription required) (05/23)
6. What's next for flash-sale sites?
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 25, 2012
Flash-sale websites including Gilt Groupe and Rue La La broke onto the scene with a splash and rapidly attracted fashion-loving bargain hunters, but membership has slowed in recent months. Some retail experts say the model needs to evolve if it's going to survive. "It has gotten to be an incredibly crowded marketplace, and there is the risk that all these offers can overload consumers," said BDO partner Stephen Wyss. CNBC (05/24)
7. Shopify infographic proves Pinterest pre-eminence
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 25, 2012
With a Shopify survey already showing as many Pinterest referrals as the older Twitter, spending twice as much as Twitter or Facebook referrals do, marketers cannot afford to ignore the visually oriented social site, writes Steve Olenski. The percentage of social-media-driven revenue for stores from Pinterest has risen from 1% in the second quarter of last year to 17% in Q1 2012, per this Shopify infographic. Forbes (05/24)
8. Shutterfly buys Kodak Gallery for a database of 75 million
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 29, 2012
Shutterfly is buying the Kodak Gallery service for $23.8 million, mostly for the bankrupt company's user database of 75 million accounts. Shutterfly, which had previously acquired the user bases of the defunct SonyImageStation and Photoworks services, will transfer the 5 billion images hosted by Kodak's service to its platform unless Kodak Gallery users decide to opt out of the process. The company says it expects to generate $21 million in revenue this year from the accounts brought in through the Kodak Gallery acquisition. Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (05/28)
9. 5 themes driving the future of digital retail
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 25, 2012
No doubt Google, Amazon, Apple, eBay, and Facebook heavily influence the world of online retail at every step. But there are new players, like Pinterest, also impacting the digital scene right now in big ways. During the May is Marketing Month workshop in New York City earlier this month, NRF's Tony Fontana gleaned five themes that all digital marketers should be paying attention to now based on presentations by SAS Institute's Lori Schafer, Gilt Groupe CMO Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and comScore's Jennifer Vlahavas with The Partnering Group's Peter Leech. Read more. Shop.org Blog (05/11)
10. 15 retail chains to accept PayPal in stores
Shop.org SmartBrief | May 25, 2012
PayPal has signed 15 more major retailers including Barnes & Noble, J.C. Penney and Toys R Us for its in-store payment system, the company said Thursday. The announcement came as PayPal's system went live in 2,000 U.S. Home Depot stores; rivals Google Wallet and Isis are working to sign up retailers for their mobile payment systems, and some including Jamba Juice are testing all three. Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (05/24) Advertising Age (tiered subscription model) (05/24)
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