'Net Features : internet retailers

Internet Retailers Show Slow Growth in Online Security

Amberly Dressler — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 14:30:00 GMT

Three out of four online retailers and top-100 U.S. banks are failing to adopt online security and privacy best practices, but there are improvements year over year – perhaps not enough to make us feel comfortable, though.

The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) recently released its 2013 Online Trust Honor Roll report, which reveals the top-scoring websites recognized for excellence in privacy, security and consumer protection. Its comprehensive audits reviewed more than 750 domains and privacy policies, 10,000-plus Web pages and over 500 million emails associated with the Internet Retailer 500 (IR500), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC 100), and Top 50 Social and Federal Government sites.

Only 32 percent of the companies audited made the Honor Roll. Twitter had the top-overall composite score and American Greetings achieved the number one ranking of all Internet retailers. American Greetings, Amazon, Big Fish Games, Bike Bandit, Books-A-Million, iHerb, JackThreads, Levenger Co., LivingSocial, Netflix, Ralph Lauren and Rock Auto qualified for the top-10 e-commerce sites (two sites tied for two rankings are included in the top 10).

Key findings of the 2013 Online Trust Honor Roll include:

• Though 26 percent of the Internet Retailer 500 made the Honor Roll, a slight improvement over 2012, 53 percent are still failing to achieve passing scores in one or more categories, unnecessarily exposing users to security, privacy and social engineering threats.

• FDIC member banks demonstrated significant improvements over last year with 25 percent making the Honor Roll. Of those that did not qualify, 71 percent received failing grades in one or more categories, largely attributed to inadequate email and domain protection or outdated privacy policies with inconsistencies observed between their written policy and actual data collection observed.

• The banking sector led in the adoption of Extended Validation SSL (EV SSL) certificates, at 60 percent, while overall worldwide growth of EV SSL certificates grew 28 percent over 2012.

• Top U.S. Government (Federal 50) sites made improvements across all sectors; achieving 88 percent support of DNSSEC, yet significantly lagged in helping protect consumers from forged and deceptive email and securing their sites from known vulnerabilities. Only 20 percent adopted both SPF and DKIM and one third received failing grades for their SSL server security.

• Adoption of email authentication to counter forged and malicious email experienced double-digit growth across three of the four segments with IR100 adoption of both SPF and DKIM jumping 20 percent to 76 percent.

• Privacy scores climbed in all categories representing the importance of transparency for data collection and controls on sharing with third parties. OTA member companies led all segments with an average of 83.7 percent increasing five points over 2012.

OTA will host an online briefing on Wednesday, June 12 at 10-11:30 a.m. PDT. To attend, register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/557281512

UK Retailers Fail Web Shoppers

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:15:00 GMT

Top retailers in the UK are in danger of “contravening” legal requirements relating to their customers according to the UK’s Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Research (PDF available here) on 156 e-commerce sites (both pure-play Internet and brick-and-mortar retailers) revealed that nearly half were not in full compliance with consumer protection laws and could face legal action if adjustments were not made. For instance, according to the OFT report, one of the key issues was that merchants were adding fees to the initial price shown. While 60 percent of sites indicated upfront that extra charges would have to be met prior to purchase, 24 percent of these platforms then also required that unexpected costs be paid.

Some other interesting highlights from the report include:

- 33 percent of platforms providing information about cancellations imposed “unreasonable restrictions” on customers right to a refund (the objective being that it was common for retailers to require products be returned in their original packaging or condition, which can “infringe on consumers’ right to reasonably inspect/assess the product”)

- 60 percent of digital retailers only provided a web contact form, not through an email address (as demanded by UK law); 2 percent made no electronic contact details available.

There was some good news however, 99 percent of companies provided information about when goods would be delivered, and 95 percent provided a postal address when payment for products was needed in advance.

Global Payments and Fraud Prevention

Administrator — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Ralf Gladis, CEO, Computop

With the economy still in flux in the US, many online retailers may be looking at possibilities overseas for growing their business. It requires much more than a localized Web site, though. An e-tailer must know the payment expectations, regulations and requirements of the local markets and prospective customers.

For example, a consumer in Germany expects to see a retailer with prices posted in Euros. In the UK, people assume an online shop will have prices in British Pounds. Any divergence from these expectations will make a prospect hesitate, and that increases the chance of the consumer leaving the website and going elsewhere for his or her purchase.

This also applies to the payment methods that customers expect to see atthe checkout, because with the sensitive issue of payment, consumer trust will help influence the conversion rate. While credit cards and PayPal are accepted and used around much of the world, only offering these methods to international consumers will limit conversions. There are important payment methods specific to different countries which will be key to success.

Domestic Payment Methods

The German consumer, for example, expects options that include credit card, debit card and PayPal, as well as payment methods not used in the US, like Giropay or Elektronisches Lastschrift Verfahren (ELV) -- Direct Debit. Also a key success factor in Germany is payment on invoice which comes with high default risks that need to be addressed correctly.

For business in Austria, the e-payment standard (EPS) has been utilized as a popular payment method for several years now. Another regular payment option used is the Maestro SecureCode. In the UK, the Maestro card is used by many consumers.

The French predominantly use one card, the Carte Bancaire or Carte Bleue, and that option needs to be available if an online retailer wants to sell successfully in France. If you want to do business in The Netherlands, the Dutch often use iDEAL online Internet payment method, with the remaining purchases made by credit cards and PayPal, and a small number by Lastschrift.

For business in Poland, consumers expect to see Prezelewy24 as a payment option. And when selling into Russia, the Qiwie-wallet is a popular payment method, as only five percent of the population has a bank account, and less have credit cards, doubting their security online. Qiwi enables accountholders to pay in cash by loading their accounts at terminals, participating ATMs or activated telephone contracts.

If you want to be successful in the wide and varied market of China, consumers expect to see Alipay, which is an online payment platform with the biggest market share in China -- currently more than 650 million registered users. Alipay accounts for more than 47 percent of all online transactions in the country.

Fraud Prevention

Across the board, preventing payment-related fraud is key, regardless of geography and payment method – and is obviously important for a company conducting business from potentially the other side of the globe. The good news is that some payment methods have come a long way in preventing fraud and guaranteeing payments.

With PayPal, the global PayPal Seller Protection has been in place since 2010. It extends to international payments, making the method safe for use outside of the US. When the customer submits the payment, and the shipping address is verified by PayPal, PayPal’s guarantee becomes unlimited for all payments worldwide. However, seller protection does not cover products such as intangible goods, tickets or services.

Credit card companies have also made great strides in this area– but only up to a point. Options like Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode are widely used and accepted. However, Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode only cover fraud if the unauthorized user misuses the credit card authorization within 7-14 days.

There are other ways to help minimize fraud and guarantee payments. One of those is to explore options with a Payment Service Provider (PSP). For example, there are some PSPs that can extend Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode payment guarantees past 14 days.

If you are exploring options with PSPs, ask if they can incorporate credit card origin checks, GEO IP origin checks, device identification and velocity checks. These will help to prevent fraud in the payment process. Also, ensure you will be able to block specific credit cards and account numbers. In addition, some PSPs have integrated various credit bureaus into their solutions and can access international credit agencies for further details that can protect retailers from fraud.

While opening your business to overseas prospects raises the potential for more sales, it also increases the possibility for fraudulent behavior during the checkout process. Ensuring you have the right payment solutions in place will help to minimize your risk and enable you to transact effortlessly, and with confidence.

Order Dynamics Merchant Lets Users Shops Socially

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Ecommerce platform provider Order Dynamics announced last week that social media platform ShopSocially is now available within its integration network H.I.V.E (Highly Integrated Virtual Environment). For one multi-channel retailer (Walking on a Cloud) the results have been quite impressive.

ShopSocially allows online shoppers to either share a brand on Facebook prior to a purchase, or share recently-purchased items for entry into contests, or to receive discounts on future purchases. The results for merchants of course is an increase in web traffic, increased revenue and optimized exposure.

As an OrderDynamics merchant, Walking on a Cloud ran several campaign promotions through their weekly email newsletters offering a 20 percent discount off all products for the day. The result? The retailer grew their social media fanbase by more than 70% in under two weeks. But that’s not all - 47.8 percent of email recipients actually used the coupon code from “Liking” the retailers Facebook page.

“Growing our online fanbase has been a big priority for us over the past few months,” said Mark Zuckier, President of Walking on a Cloud’s eCommerce division. “We’ve tried several strategies in the past, but nothing has generated the kind of results ShopSocially has for us. Having the pre-built integration into the OrderDynamics platform made turning on ShopSocially fast and extremely seamless. We need this kind of flexibility to keep pace with our evolving customers,” he added.

Catching the E-Commerce Counterfeiters

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:30:00 GMT

Online brand protection and enforcement service CitizenHawk has introduced a tool that enables companies to detect unauthorized product sales, including counterfeit goods, on the Internet.

HawkAuctions™ allows its users to monitor their brands’ presence on online auction platforms, exchanges and classified advertising sites, and detect sales of counterfeit products to determine if legitimate products are being marketed without the manufacturer’s permission.

What is interesting about the solution is that it detects sales patterns and identifies the offending sellers (including those operating under various aliases), delivering information on a real-time basis so merchants can respond quickly. The solution currently supports eBay’s VeRO (Verified Rights Owner) and NOCI (Notice of Claimed Infringement) programs.

“Counterfeiting costs the U.S. economy an estimated $215 billion a year and is a particularly serious problem prestigious, high profile brands,” said David Duckwitz, CitizenHawk’s president and chief executive officer. “Major brands also must contend with products being sold in the so-called gray market, i.e., unauthorized product sales outside of approved distribution channels. The Internet has been a powerful vehicle for counterfeiters and gray marketers, who often use legitimate sites like eBay or Craigslist to move their goods. With HawkAuctions, brands now have an effective way to uncover such activity and fight back.”

PPC Ad Management Comes to Magento Connect

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:30:00 GMT

AdWords bid management application WordWatch announced an interesting integration with Ebay-owned e-commerce solution Magento.

The application, which is designed for small business advertisers, is the first such PPC management application in the Magento Connect store – Magento’s repository for third-party application extensions. WordWatch will have dibs on more than 110,000 Magento users. The application will enable merchants to automate their AdWords management and optimize spend through a process of monitoring, analyzing and adjusting keyword bids.

“We’re very happy to get our app into the Magento Connect store. Magento is one of the largest and most respected storefront companies on the Web and we’re sure that our WordWatch app will be helpful to their merchants,” says Todd Wilkinson, CEO of WordWatch.

View of WordWatch dashboard within Magento:

What's New in Google Product Feeds?

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:36:00 GMT

Google announced several important changes to its product search feed specification this week. If you're an Internet retailer and use Google Product Search as a channel to promote products, the developments should be top of mind.

The changes relate primarily to providing shoppers with more accurate and "fresher" information. Google is now requiring merchants to show availability of products, include the appropriate Google product category, and is making the image link mandatory as well. For retailers selling apparel, merchants will need to include information such as size and color as well as for whom the product is designed (age and gender).

Perhaps the most important aspect of the announcement was that starting September 22, 2011, Google will take "taking action" against accounts with feeds targeting the United States, France, United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany that do not comply with the new specification and policy requirements.

Znode Integrates Remarketing for Cart Abandonment

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 18:34:00 GMT

Abandoned shopping carts a very real, very serious problem for merchants. With consumers deal hunting at a feverish pace, Internet retailers need to be proactive. Forrester reported earlier this year that abandonment rose to 71% which translates to 18 billion in lost revenue.

Email service provider Listrak and multi-store ecommerce software Znode have partnered up to help users lower the abandonment on their merchants’ carts. Znode has integrated Listrak shopping cart abandonment solution (something WM has covered previously at some length), an automated behaviorally triggered remarketing solution that prompts abandoners to compete a sale.

”Shopping cart abandonment is real pain point for all online merchants, costing billions per year in lost revenue. Our technology partnership with Listrak now provides our customers a comprehensive integration with our ecommerce platforms that will allow them to recapture lost revenue,” says Vish Vishwanathan, CEO of Znode. “The value of remarketing is fully realized with Listrak’s innovative solutions by way of increased cart conversions and re-engagement techniques that will lead to a very real ROI for our end users.”

Retailers, Mobile and Social

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:43:00 GMT

According to Shop.org's "State Of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social, and Mobile” report, conducted by Forrester Research Inc., 91 percent of retailers currently have a mobile strategy in place or in development (up from 74 percent a year ago). Don't mistake strategy for implementation or success in these channels however - at least not yet.

Retailers participating in the survey report that 21 percent of all mobile traffic is coming from tablets, but the overall amount of mobile traffic and revenue has not increased dramatically. This may suggest that "investment levels in site optimization may still be inadequate" according to the report. For example, 48 percent of retailers report having a mobile-optimized website; 35 percent have deployed an iPhone app; and 15 percent offer an Android app and an iPad app, respectively.

Retailers are having their troubles with social as well. The report also indicates that while social networks surfaced higher as an investment among retailers, ranking fourth on the list of successful customer acquisition sources, the ROI associated with social is muddy with 62 percent of retailers said the returns on social marketing strategies are unclear.

E-Commerce Web Page Response Times

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Akamai Technologies and Forrester announced the results of a survey on website performance and its correlation with an online shopper's behavior. What they found is that consumers are seemingly growing more impatient with slow loading web pages.

Results revealed that two seconds is the new threshold in terms of an average online shopper's expectation for a web page to load and 40 percent of shoppers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a retail or travel site.

In 2006, Akamai conducted a similar study to understand consumer reaction to a poor online shopping experience. The 2009 study is a follow up to examine how customer expectations around online shopping have evolved in the past three years.

Additional finding from the joint study include:

- Online shopper loyalty is contingent upon quick page loading, especially for high-spending shoppers. 52 percent of online shoppers stated that quick page loading is important to their site loyalty, up 12 percent from the 2006 study.

- Shoppers often become distracted when made to wait for a page to load. 14 percent will begin shopping at another site, and 23 percent will stop shopping or walk away from their computer.

- Retail and travel sites that underperform lead to lost sales. 79 percent of online shoppers who experience a dissatisfying visit are less likely to buy from that site again, up 17 percent from the 2006 study. 64 percent would simply purchase from another online store, up 16 percent from the 2006 study.

Focus on Checkout to Increase Sales; Everybody's Doing It

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:36:00 GMT

It looks like retailers are going to be paying a lot more attention to how the shopping experience ends - that means the checkout process.

According to a survey scheduled for release this morning at Shop.org’s Online Merchandising Workshop in San Diego (conducted by Forrester Research), retailers plan to focus heavily this year on improving customers’ check-out experience. Companies will also place an emphasis on image enhancement on product detail pages and site search filters to help shoppers more easily find what they’re looking for.

According to the survey, eight out of ten retailers (79%) said enhancing the checkout process was on the top of their to-do lists for the remainder of the year, with 90 percent of medium-sized retailers* listing checkout as a top priority.

The largest initiative in this area among retailers seems to be an emphasis on shipping, with retailers specifically increasing the transparency around shipping charges to reduce shopping cart abandonment. According to the survey, 88 percent of retailers will focus on providing more shipping information within the next year, including such details as when a customer can expect to receive a package and information about when products have left the warehouse. In addition, two-thirds of retailers (67%) said they would pay special attention to calculating the loaded cost of an order prior to checkout.

“Retailers realize that, particularly during an economic downturn, shoppers who understand shipping charges at the beginning of the checkout process are less likely to abandon their purchases,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research Vice President, Principal Analyst and lead author of the report.

Encore, ControlScan Protect Data

MaureenA — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:45:00 GMT

Encore Payment Systems has partnered with ControlScan to ensure merchants are meeting the new PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). The standards, established by the PCI Security Standards Council, must be met by all organizations that deal with cardholder information and was established to protect sensitive data. The partnership will provide training and certification for merchants using the Encore platform.

Jethro Felton, executive vice president of sales and business development, ControlScan, sees the partnership as a huge plus for Encore and its merchants. "By utilizing ControlScan's PCI compliance solutions as part of their overall offering, Encore Payments will help their merchant community become secure, thereby ensuring that they meet all private and public regulatory requirements by protecting all cardholder data," Felton was quoted in the release.

In October, Website Magazine reported that each lead generated to Encore provides a $20 commission, and utilizes credit/debit processing. So, protecting all data is a good idea.

__________

Ready to Start Really Competing In Web Business?
Request a professional-level membership from Website Magazine.

Online Sales Tax Update; Bad News For Internet Retailers?

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:10:00 GMT

Back in April of 2008, the state of New York enacted a new tax law which required out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales tax if they have a commission agreement with an in-state resident (that means affiliates) if earnings totaled more than $10,000 in revenue annually.

Is this a major setback for the tax free Internet retail? Perhaps, but not yet. The bad news came yesterday as a New York judge dismissed the case and claims of both Amazon and Overstock who filed lawsuits to stop the Internet sales tax collection. Count on both Amazon and Overstock, however, to appeal the rulings.

According to Judge Eileen Bransten, "In the end, the Commission-Agreement Provision does not broadly tax any and all Internet sales to New York consumers. It requires a substantial nexus between an out-of-state seller and New York through a contract to pay commissions for referrals with a New York resident along with realization of more than $10,000 of revenue from New York sales earned through the arrangement. The neutral statute simply obligates out-of-state sellers to shoulder their fair share of the tax collection burden when using New Yorkers to earn profit from other New Yorkers."

Should Amazon and Overstock ultimately lose their appeals, it is possible that you may see the end of affiliate advertising programs in their current iteration from retailers like Amazon and Overstock.

Revolution For Online Merchants

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:31:00 GMT

Revolution Money Inc. and CardinalCommerce Corporation today announced that, beginning in October, online merchants will be able to accept RevolutionCard payment cards through Cardinal Centinel(R), the Universal Merchant Platform.

CardinalCommerce's Centinel technology allows merchants to enable multiple payment brands through one installation.

RevolutionCard payment cards charge merchants up to 80% less in transaction fees than other card brands. RevolutionCard charges no interchange fees and only a 0.50% processing fee per transaction. And because all RevolutionCard payment cards are PIN-based, many merchants are discovering that the cards also reduce transaction costs related to disputes, chargebacks and unauthorized transactions.

Majority of Shoppers Not Getting Needed Information

Mike Phillips — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:14:00 GMT

It's no secret that the vast majority of online shoppers (74.5% according to ServiceXRG) visit company websites to get information about a product or service. But it seems that less than half (44%) feel the information meets their expectations, according to the study, "Influencing the Online Experience."

Around 1,000 companies and shoppers were surveyed. Some findings:

Shoppers were three times more likely to become repeat customers after a positive experience, compared to those that had a negative, or even a neutral experience.
They were four times more likely to recommend a company after a positive experience.

Of the businesses surveyed, just 38.9% said they offered an advanced search function for customers.

Tom Sweeny, Principal and Co-founder of ServiceXRG sums the issue up nicely saying, "The onus for delivering a positive experience now lies with the tools and content offered, and their relevance in helping customers achieve their objectives. With competitors just a Google search away, consumers must have easily accessible, quality information at their fingertips."

Other studies have suggested that online reviews are also critical to conversions. The average is 3-4 reviews before a customer feels comfortable purchasing.