Marketers Underestimate Word of Mouth, Overestimate Influencers: Report Marketing and business communications company R.R. Donnelley & Sons has released a study which reveals that traditional marketing channels, including word of mouth, direct mail, and in-store signage, are largely untapped and underestimated by marketers. The research uncovers significant differences between marketer assumptions and what consumers…

Inflation, Cybersecurity Chief Concerns This Holiday Shopping Season Technical and logistical problems stretching across multiple industries gives both shoppers and retailers reason to double efforts to avoid being hacked this year. Two factors top the list: runaway inflation and increased cyberattacks. Both are stretching spending capacity and digital safety to their limits during the holiday shopping season.

How Merchants Can Better Battle Chargebacks and Fraud Cash flow concerns and fraud are going to be a menace to both retailers and consumers this holiday shopping season. One of the biggest shopping headaches this year will be a much earlier start to the chargeback cycles. Jeff Wixted, vice president of marketing and client solutions at Accertify, discusses various precautions retailers can implemen…

Holidays Fuel Surge of Mobile, Online Phishing Scams ‘Tis the season to go phishing. Nothing brings out digital bandits like the holidays, and this year is no exception. Proofpoint, an enterprise digital security company, reports its researchers are seeing a massive global increase in holiday-themed mobile phishing attacks, a.k.a. smishing. It noted the volume of mobile phishing messages has almos…

Belly Up to the Bar With First-Ever Digital Booze Card Consumers have a strong appetite for gift cards and gifting alcohol. But until now they could not do both with a branded gift card. The market had none. Beverage alcohol e-commerce platform company Thirstie on Nov. 23 announced the first-ever alcohol branded gift cards with major liquor brands.

Supply Chain Woes, Yearning for Normal Sway Holiday Buying Habits Concerns over supply chain snags, delivery delays and a yearning for a return to normal are influencing consumer shopping habits this holiday season. “The biggest change this year is that shopping has started earlier than in the past,” observed Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist with Morningstar.

Managing the Inevitable Reality of E-Commerce Returns Product returns are an unavoidable part of running an e-commerce business. They can’t be eliminated, so offering the option to return items can be a vital part of a business’s strategy. As the adage goes: “If you have too few returns, you’re not selling enough.” Still, most e-commerce businesses would like to reduce the numbers of returns they n…

Bots Skew Marketing Analytics, Cost Businesses Millions Bot activity at websites is skewing marketing analytics and costing businesses millions annually, according to a study by bot detection and mitigation firm Netacea. The company maintained in its report that the skewed analytics problem is as costly to businesses as click fraud, which costs businesses US$42 billion annually.