“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” OK, so perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but having spent the last several months thinking about the holiday season ahead (much like you, I imagine), it’s good to officially launch the 2010 eHoliday Study with our partner, BIGresearch . I’m calling all retailers to participate in our annual pre-holiday survey, this year featuring 14questions across marketing, promotions,... 

As soon as the August 13 application deadline for the Shop.org Think Tank expired, the Judging Committee (comprised of 5 volunteers from the Shop.org Board of Directors) set straight to work, poring over the many applications to identify the 12 candidates – 6 from retail and 6 from associate member companies – who would become the Charter Members of the Shop.org Think Tank. Congratulations are due to the 12 winning candidates, but not... 

It’s a topic that is on the forefront of every one of our agendas: mastering the art of cross-channel optimization.  Whether you are a big box retailer or a specialty chain, we are all confronted with the same core issues of delivering seamless customer experiences across our channels of business.  I’ll be tackling this topic during a session at the upcoming Annual Summit ( Optimizing the Cross-Channel Experience…  Read More →

This year’s Shop.org summit is just around the corner. Judging from the impressive line-up of speakers and sessions, it promises to be packed with valuable insight and collaboration with your peers. Here are just a few tips to ensure you make the most out of your trip to Dallas September 27-29. 1. Plan It sounds like a given, but take time on the Summit website to plan which panels, speakers and exhibitors to check out. Winging it guarantees... 

My name is Sara Greene and I had the pleasure of joining the Shop.org team as Director of Membership on June 7th of this year. Prior to this role, I was the Director of Membership Development for our parent company – NRF . In all, I’m getting ready to celebrate 5 years with our company (NRF & Shop.org) and couldn’t be more thrilled. I have learned a lot from our members in these first 90 days, but most of all, I’ve learned that many... 

We want to thank all of the Shop.org members who have already filled in their ballots to vote for the new Board of Directors members .  We are electing 11 new Directors – 6 retail and 5 non-retail and this Friday Aug. 27 is the deadline to cast your votes.  These new members will serve a two year term and will play a direct role in shaping content direction, membership philosophy, research strategy, and all of the benefits that you enjoy as... 

With just two weeks to go before Labor Day, back to school shoppers are feeling the need to complete this annual ritual. As the media has noted, consumers may still have their hands tightly clamped on their wallets, but anyone who has been in a mall lately can confirm parents and children making the rounds. Our parent organization, the National Retail Federation , and partner BIGresearch polled consumers between August 1 and 10 to get an update... 

The Shop.org Board of Directors election runs through Friday, August 27. Speaking as a former board member, I can tell you that anyone who serves on the board works hard for the Shop.org community. The “by the member, for the member” spirit infuses every board meeting, and they do their best to get the needs of the community heard and met. If you haven’t had a chance to vote yet, please do so soon. If for some reason you have not received... 

Those of you that know me know my role at Shop.org is primarily related to content for our events and running our webinar program . However, one of my favorite new side projects is related to one of our member benefits, the Shop.org Job Board. The Shop.org Job Board is available to Shop.org members as a FREE platform for sharing job opportunities relevant to retailers and service providers within the online and multi-channel retail industry. Guidelines... 

Hi One of our retail members (mid-large size cross-channel retailer) had a question they wanted to ask the community.   They wanted to know about different options regarding affiliate networks in the UK — what are the options and what have been different experiences from retailers. If you can help out, you can either post a comment to the blog, or simply write me at joseloffl@shop.org and I will send your comments to the member. Thanks... 

Our mantra of “by the member, for the member” permeates everything we do here at Shop.org, from conferences and webinars to member benefits, research and more. And we know that your input as a Shop.org member should be just as important as we launch our annual strategic planning and budgeting process for 2011 and beyond. So, I invite all of our members to participate in the 2010 Member Survey, which launches today.  Actually, we’re conducting... 

Big things are happening at Urban Outfitters, Inc., the company which heads brands like Anthropologie , Free People and of course the namesake Urban Outfitters . When I say ‘big’, I could be referencing a first quarter company profit increase of 72%, a one-year-old mobile commerce effort, or a brand with one of the highest per-square-foot revenue rates in retail. And there could be a multitude of reasons why URBN seems to be having... 

With more than a decade of service to the online retail community, Scott Silverman will be departing as Executive Director of Shop.org at the end of the week. As he prepares for his new role with an internet start-up company, Scott has spent some time reflecting on the past ten years in the industry. In an open letter to the Shop.org community, Scott leaves three recommendations for…  Read More →

Last year our Online Bootcamp at the Annual Summit attracted over 300 people who started their Summit with a series of practical and tactical presentations on many digital marketing channels that will drive success for their online business.  While the boot camp received rave reviews, many requested a deeper dive into some of the most popular topics. Consistent with our “by the member, for the member” philosophy, this year we will... 

Shop.org retail members are invited to join an NRF conference call on Thursday, August 12 , to learn about a new interchange or swipe fee law and what it means to their business. Two weeks ago, despite incredible amounts of money, pressure and effort by the banks and card industry, President Obama signed into law a financial reform bill that includes provisions addressing debit, and to a lesser extent, credit card swipe fees .  This is a major...