Internet Retailer

Web Site Creative: Catalog Quick Order Design Features to Increase Conversion
June 20, 2006

While catalog quick order entry boxes were among the highest converting segments of Spiegel’s Web site, officials at the multichannel apparel merchant felt that the quick order boxes took away the opportunity to upsell to customers, said Tony Chivari, Spiegel’s senior vice president of marketing, during a session at the Internet Retailer conference held earlier this month in Chicago. Following are a few features Chivari and his team added to the catalog quick order function to increase its value during a recent Web site redesign. 1. Added the ability to quick order up to five items at a time. 2. Made it easier to continue shopping

Web Site Creative, Part II: Three Lessons Learned From a Web Site Redesign
June 13, 2006

Once you start a Web site redesign, the results often can be surprising. Geoffrey Robinson, vice president of e-commerce for auto parts cataloger J.C. Whitney revealed several surprises that followed his company’s Web site redesign during a session at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. * Men don’t read! When Robinson and his team at J.C. Whitney added more text-based product information to site search results, they found that predominately male audience didn’t click on the category links listed as text, but rather skipped to the bottom of the page where specific product images related to the search were featured. Unfortunately, these product links

Web Site Creative, Part I: Four Steps for a Successful Web Site Redesign
June 13, 2006

When planning a Web site redesign, a definitive plan can make the process easier. Debbie Hess, Internet marketing director for multititle gift and apparel cataloger Norm Thompson Outfitters, shared her step-by-step plan for Norm Thompson’s recent multi-site redesign process during a session at the Internet Retailer conference held last week in Chicago. 1. Seek first to understand. Because of the many areas of an e-commerce site that can be affected by a redesign, it’s important to know how your current Web site works in explicit detail, Hess said. Before the company’s recent redesign, Hess consulted internal stakeholders familiar with the inner workings of the site,

Tiered Commission Increases Most Popular Online Affiliate Incentive
June 13, 2006

Twenty-six percent of e-merchants offer tiered commission increases as rewards to online affiliate partners that drive traffic to their sites, according to a recent report from affiliate network LinkShare and shared with attendees at last week’s Internet Retailer conference in Chicago. Other affiliate incentives revealed by the study include the following: * Special access to marketing materials, such as data feeds and pay-per-click keywords: offered by 25 percent of online merchants; * VIP commissions, offered right away to large affiliates that can drive highly qualified traffic: 25 percent; * Contests rewarding top affiliates per month or per quarter: 22 percent; and * Special bonuses

Catalog Success Datebook
May 1, 2004

MARCH March 6 - Loyalty by the Numbers: Financial Planning & Measuring Return on Investment. Webinar. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 6-8 - Direct Marketing Institute. Hilton Chicago and Towers, Chicago. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7 - Law of Direct Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 7-8 - Kansas City DMA: New Marketing Revolution. Overland Park, Kan. (816) 561-5323, www.kcdma.org March 8-9 - PMA's Annual Conference 2006. Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago. (212) 420-1100, www.pmalink.org March 13-14 - Data-Driven Marketing. DMA Seminar Center, New York. (212) 790-1500, www.the-dma.org/events March 20-21 - Basics of Direct Marketing. Millennium Hotel Minneapolis, Minneapolis. (212) 790-1500,