I’m hoping my smart readers can help me out here.  Why does Overstock.com carry Sponsored Links?  Is it a good revenue stream? Do you think this is a good strategy? A screenshot:

For a majority of shoppers buying online is still a strange new experience.  When I walk into Best Buy I don’t have to worry about the company’s credibility which helps focus on the buying process.  But when I click on a Google result and visit a site for the first time there is no way to know if they offer …

I’ve been a big fan of the Road Warrior segment in Fortune magazine for a long time.  It’s such a clever idea: interview frequent travelers on their favorite travel companions (items) and publish it for readers. I would launch an ecommerce store that played on this idea.  The site would be very similar to the Fortune segment but customers will …

For a retailer, it would seem, the brick and online store are like oil and water.  Both are needed individually but must never be mixed.  But mixing has its benefits. In previous posts we’ve discussed bringing store functionality online through features like browsing stores by area code, but the reverse is equally powerful. Retail space is expensive and brands like …

A big advantage for ecommerce sites is the ability to track minutest details of customer activity.  For the average store, however, swing door operators is the extent of their analytics.  Now it’s time to bring analytics deeper into store isles. One idea consists placing infra-red sensors at the ends of isles.  These would trip each time customers walk in or …

A few months ago I bought a new hot-sauce and fell in love with it.  Now it’s time to restock but I have no clue where I purchased it.  The packaging makes no mention of the grocery store that housed it.  I could look online or search for the product on my next grocery trip but by not mentioning store …

If restaurants added a feedback feature on bills it would give valuable input on how people liked individual dishes.  As long as the feedback process was painless most patrons would participate and the information could be integrated to update the menu.  Avinash has shown how simple feedback gives valuable insight through 4Q, my idea merely extends the concept to an …

As you all know the world of retail is presently living in the house of pain. Last week I had a long conversation with my cousin who works for a big retailer in the home improvement space. That section of the market has been facing the full brunt of the soft housing market so I wanted to get news from …

Redenvelope.com is a great site but they need to refrain from posting intimate images on their homepage between 9AM-5PM (office hours).

Allrecipies.com is a great site and I often use it for recipes and cooking instruction. The other day I found a dish called anniversary chicken. Only problem was that I didn’t have teriyaki basting sauce. I wish the ingredients were listed in a format where I could mark a little x on an item I did not have and then …

It’s common knowledge not all store visitors buy, some are there to browse. But customers that visit stores despite bad weather (heavy snow, frigid cold, rain, flooding etc) tend be more serious about making a purchase. I wonder if retailers like Best Buy already know this because this morning was super cold (4 degrees F) and I still went to …

Much has been written about Kindle. Most reviews give it a 50/50 chance or call it a failure, but from the vantage point of having no real knowledge of the product I would like to make a bold claim: Kindle will (eventually) change the world. Everything about this product is skewed in Amazons favor: – They own the “last mile” …

Why do online retailers ask for type of credit card? If it starts with a 4 it is a Visa and if it starts with a 5, it’s MasterCard

In the last 20 years I have had bad customer experiences no less than 1,200 times and yet I can’t remember one instance when I actually filled a feedback form.  So the store never really knew I was unhappy. Fortunately, in the online world feedback feature comes standard.  When a customer is unhappy you don’t need to ask but observe …