AOL

Retailers are often frustrated by millennials’ browsing habits because while they like to shop online, they don't often result in a sale. This behavior is part of an overall "fauxsumerism" trend which describes millennials avoidance of ownership. The trick for retailers is to leverage this browsing as a positive and use some techniques to extract sales from this group while building your brand.

Anyone with at least a decade of experience in B-to-B retail — listen up millennials — will tell you that e-commerce doesn't qualify as a new trend. It was the next big thing back when new episodes of "Seinfeld" regularly aired on NBC, when people used AOL, and even when NSYNC was on tour. So for me to say e-commerce is changing the face of business feels a lot like a Twitter feed riddled with Kim Kardashian's name — a little exhausted.

There's no question that marketing has become infinitely more complex for retailers over the past several years. The number of potential customer touchpoints has exploded, as consumers shift how they spend their time from nondigital (TV, print) to digital channels (web, mobile, social). The upside to this complexity is that retailers have a huge opportunity to engage with customers on a much richer and more personalized basis. The downside is that it's become even more complex for retailers to measure marketing effectiveness.

Force Factor, a sports nutrition brand founded in 2009 by two Harvard University rowers, launched a display advertising campaign in April for its Test X180 Ignite supplement. The campaign has delivered a clickthrough rate (CTR) of 0.86 percent, which is more than eight times above the industry standard. The ad, a 300x250 above-the-fold placement, runs across SportingNews.com, a top 10 U.S. sports site that reaches millions of unique sports fans daily.

Think back to before you recognized the screech of AOL dial-up connecting the triangle to the key. Back in the damp darkness of the pre-web, when you read about things in glossy magazines and saw them on TV. Then, if you wanted them badly enough, and it wasn't raining outside, you put on your coat and tromped down to Main Street to buy them. Fast-forward to today, where, by the magic of the interwebs, all that reading and watching and shopping can happen in one place online. Efficient, right? Well, no.

Here's a look at a few key takeaways — and fun perspectives — via tweets sent during eTail East, which took place in Boston Aug. 13 to Aug. 16:

The dynamic mobile landscape offers many opportunities, but it will take a smart retailer to cut through the noise, capture consumers’ attention and drive action. Branding through excellent ad experiences, connecting consumers to deals, and targeting critical ad times will enable retailers to place themselves where the consumer is already browsing and keep their brand relevant.

By consistently producing the highest return on investment of any marketing vehicle, it’s easy to see why email is a part of most every marketer’s toolbox. The challenge is getting your email message to stand out among the clutter. That encompasses a number of factors, including first and foremost getting your message delivered. After that, catchy subject lines, relevant content, enticing offers, great creative, among other things will determine whether your message connects with consumers.

A compilation of this year’s best and brightest ideas in our annual 50 Best Tips issue.

In the July/August issue of Retail Online Integration, I discussed how important merchandising, strong navigation, instigated chat and customer reviews will be to achieving online selling success this holiday season. Here are five more things you should consider doing with your e-commerce site before it's too late.