eCommerce Events

^* FitForCommerce is speaking or sponsoring at this event

Conference	Date	Location
Shop.org Strategy & Innovation Forum	Jan 22-24, 2008	Orlando, FL
Internet Retailer Web Design Conference *	Jan 30 - Feb 1, 2008	Miami, FL
eTail West	Feb 11-14, 2008	Palm Desert, CA
Luxury Interactive: The Premiere Luxury eBusiness Conference *	Mar 10-12, 2008	London, UK
WBR eTail Europe	Mar 10-12, 2008	London, UK
ACCM *	May 19-22, 2008	Orlando, FL
Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition *	June 9-12, 2008	Chicago, IL
Luxury Interactive: The Premiere Luxury Brand Conference	June 17-19, 2008	New York, NY
eTail East	Aug 4-7, 2008	Washington, DC
Shop.org Annual Summit	Sept 15-17, 2008	Las Vegas, NV
Online Market World *	Oct 1-3, 2008	San Francisco, CA
WBR Mid Market eTail	Oct 28-30, 2008	Lake Las Vegas, NV

eCommerce Articles

Keynote Online Retail Transaction Performance Indices (Ecommerce Times)
December 17, 2007 – The Keynote Online Retail Transaction Performance Indices (Apparel, Books & Music, Electronics) show, for each site on an index, the total execution time (speed) and success rate (reliability) for logging into an account, searching for an item, applying a filter, drilling into product detail and adding the product to a shopping cart.

An ecommerce platform is not just for Christmas (Retail Bulletin)
November 12, 2007 – Two recent surveys by revealed not only that UK e-tailers are losing £300m in sales from 'invisible errors' on their sites but also that 24 per cent of UK retailers are planning to replace their entire website systems in 2008. The author considers the importance of scalable ecommerce infrastructure investments.

10 steps to successfully selecting software (Internet Retailer)
August 16, 2007 – Although retailers are notoriously slow to adopt new technology, most already possess the basic skills needed to select the right e-commerce and other business software to run their operations, says software advisor Don Fornes, founder and president of Retail Software Advice, which operates on the web at SoftwareAdvice.com. He offers 10 steps to IT project success

New hosted e-commerce systems options are on the rise (Internet Retailer)
August 16, 2007 – After the application service provider systems delivery model hit, many e-retailers turned against it because of availability, security, control, maintenance, payment integration, flexibility and service concerns. Today, however, new hosted systems are a viable option for retailers looking to refresh their e-commerce platforms, says Rob Garf, vice president of retail strategies at research and advisory firm AMR Research Inc.

Five best practices when buying and implementing new platform technology (Internet Retailer)
August 16, 2007 – As e-retailers upgrade their e-commerce platforms from outdated or homegrown versions, there are five key best practices they should follow when purchasing and implementing new technology, according to a new Forrester Research Inc. report.

Peer review can help when shopping for order management systems (Internet Retailer)
August 16, 2007 – Many online retailers are in the market for new order management systems that automate the process from order entry through fulfillment. Those retailers will want to make sure any system they buy can integrate easily with other internal systems and those of key suppliers. Another tip: talk to merchants like you before making a purchase.

Starting Your Own E-Business, Part 2: Choosing a Platform (Ecommerce-Guide.com)
September 26, 2005 – Selecting which software you'll use to build your online store is a critical decision. It's like laying the foundation: all the other tools, from your credit card account to your marketing plan, will be influenced by this one decision. So choose carefully. Very carefully.

Business Benefits of Software-as-a-Service: Making the Most of the On-Demand Advantage (NetSuite / Ecommerce Times Whitepaper)
Software-as-a-Service, also referred to as On-Demand, provides specific business benefits to mid-market companies, serving as the market-leading alternative to sinking valuable investment dollars into high cost of ownership/low return business strategies. This white paper explores the business advantages and considerations in moving to "on-demand" and running your business via Software-as-a-Service.

eCommerce Research

Multichannel Retail: Understanding an Increasingly Complex and Competitive Market (Jupiter)
December 26, 2007 – As retailers prepare for the coming maturity in the online retail market, new opportunities and challenges will affect the way they interact with customers.

Hosted eCommerce: An Interim Solution, Four Types Of Hosted eCommerce Solutions And Where They Best Fit (Forrester)
November 14, 2007 – For retailers that lack resources to manage the technology in-house, a hosted platform may be the ideal option. But with so many choices in today's market, Forrester believes that no single hosted eCommerce solution is well matched for all online retailers. Today's hosted vendors fall into one of four classes, each better suited for a specific type of merchant. Matching merchant type with the proper vendor class can make all the difference in client satisfaction. It is essential for providers to set clear expectations with prospects, because even the right hosted platform can be outgrown on the road to multichannel maturity.

2007 CRM Summit: E-Commerce Survey Findings (Gartner)
November 2, 2007 – Gartner surveyed the e-commerce attendees of the 2007 CRM Summit on four key trends for 2008. Attendees' 2008 plans include site upgrades, adding Web 2.0 and product reviews, and SaaS e-commerce.

The Top Five Things eBusiness Executives Need To Know About Commerce Platform Implementations (Forrester)
July 17, 2007 – As sellers continue to upgrade their commerce platforms off of outdated and homegrown solutions, many face the daunting task of replatforming and relaunching eCommerce sites. We've all heard the horror stories and seen the repercussions of poorly implemented solutions – delayed launches, unstable site performance, and millions of unbudgeted dollars. So how can eBusiness executives avoid these often public disasters? We've gathered some best practices and key lessons learned from firms that have recently undertaken the challenge.

Social Shopping Will Shape the Future of E-Commerce (Gartner)
May 22, 2007 – Despite a decade of refinement in e-commerce technology, making a purchase on the Web is an act done primarily in solitude, rather than in the presence of others. The dimension of "social shopping" has yet to be fully exploited and offers great potential for growth and disruptive change

Five Immediate Opportunities For eCommerce Improvement (Forrester)
May 11, 2007 – While eCommerce sales continue to grow at a rapid pace, unmet customer opportunities abound in the areas of Web site merchandising, Web site operations, and fulfillment. Specifically, the following five areas represent opportunities for improvement: shipping/product delivery issues, multichannel coordination, online security, touch and feel factors, and product discovery. Addressing these opportunities will provide differentiation and drive customer satisfaction for eCommerce operations

US Online Retail Forecast, 2006 to 2011 (Jupiter)
January 12, 2007 – Off-line retail giants like Wal-Mart are making strong progress in the online arena. At the same time, the online buyer base is stabilizing. As a result, the level of competition online will only increase over the next five years.

Benchmark Your E-Commerce Capabilities (Gartner)
July 31, 2006 – Gartner's 1Q06 survey of large multichannel retailers reveals which Web site functions and features they offer as well as what is in the pipeline for the next 18 months. We believe retailers could do better at aligning future priorities with basic customer needs.