ChoiceStream

Lawmakers this week questioned whether businesses are amassing too much data about consumers without their knowledge or consent. “We have moved from an era of privacy keepers to privacy peepers and data mining reapers,” Rep. Ed. Markey (D-Mass.) said at a hearing about data collection. Markey, who has previously said that consumers should be able to opt out of online behavioral targeting, reiterated calls for consumers to have the ability prevent companies from collecting data. “They should have the right to say no,” he said. The hearing, held by the Subcommittees on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and Communications, Technology, and the Internet, addressed both online and offline data collection. Read the full article

While Google remains consumers’ favorite online brand, Yahoo and Amazon are not far behind, according to a new report from Forrester Research. “In the minds of their fans, the top online brands exhibit very traditional attributes such as trustworthiness, helpfulness, and relevance, all at the expense of more-predictable tech-friendly characteristics such as innovation and speed,” reads the report authored by Forrester analyst David Card. According to the report, direct-to-consumer brands in categories including media, retail, financial services, and travel -- and consumer electronics, given its technology angle -- should position themselves against competitors’ weaknesses, and deliver their brand messages through site experiences that complement offline marketing. Read the full article at MediaPost

Consumers between the ages of 25 and 44 find the most value in personalized product recommendations, according to a recent study by e-commerce platform provider Art Technology Group Inc. The poll found that 81.6% of shoppers between the ages of 25 and 44 deem personalized product recommendations as an important feature, compared to 31.5% ages 18 to 24 and 66.7% of consumers 44 and older. In the coming year, ATG expects more e-retailers to implement personalized product recommendations on their sites. Read the full article at Internet Retailer

Neither Black Friday nor Cyber Monday are truly the biggest shopping days of the year. But the period beginning around Thanksgiving does mark the start of an increase in retail sales that peaks around the Sunday before Christmas. In fact, in the ad industry and media pros have long called the eight weeks starting the week before Thanksgiving and ending the week of Christmas the “hard eight” because of the volume of advertising that occurs during this period. Contributer Larry Woodard of Vigilante wonders “if we can use the principles involved in Black Friday and merchandising seasonal merchandise to help spur our economy in this difficult retail climate. Both are short-term efforts at using advertising to grab our attention and hold us for the time it takes to give us information, which we then choose to accept or reject. Ideally, marketers could convert that short-term behavioral change into more long-term behavior.” Read the full article at ABC News

Patricia Pao, CEO of Manhattan-based fashion and luxury good consultancy The Pao Principle submits that there are eight things retailers can do to increase profits and assure survival during the econcomic malaise and holiday shopping season. Among her advice, Pao says retailers must stop overly aggressive discounting and instead focus on maintaining margins. She also notes that it is vital to make the in-store experience an “oasis” for the consumer – one which isn’t cookie cutter like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie – whose stores are all unique. Pao also thinks retailers should recognize/reward the best customers with small gifts among other suggestions. Read the full article

Borders has appointed Bill Dandy SVP of Marketing. Dandy has more than 20 years of retail experience, serving in marketing and operations leadership roles for several multi-billion-dollar retail organizations. Most recently, he served for three years as EVP, Marketing, for Mattress Firm, Inc., where he led the strategic planning. Prior to that, Dandy served as CMO for $2.3 billion retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods. Read the full article

Profit at Gap Inc., one of the world’s largest apparel retailers by sales, rose 25% to $307 million for the quarter ended Oct. 31, from $246 million a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year were flat compared to last year. The company, which also operates Old Navy and Banana Republic, reported that gross margin increased 3.8 percentage points to 42.5%, its highest in a decade. Read the full article

Wal-Mart Stores already operates a successful m-commerce site (1.58 million unique monthly visitors in August, according to The Nielsen Co.) and conducts text messaging with customers. Now it has added the third leg of the mobile commerce stool by launching a mobile app. The new app, designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch and available for free, focuses on electronics product recommendations. It also includes a store locator and a social media tool to ask friends for help. The app was built by iGoDigital LLC, a vendor of a software engine that collects customer data to create product recommendations and a gift finder. Read the full article

Quarterly profit dropped 54% despite recent signs of recovery in the technology sector, raising questions about the personal-computer maker’s strategy of focusing on profitability at the expense of market share. The results, which also showed a 15% decline in revenue from the year-earlier quarter, contrasted sharply with strong performances in recent months from Dell rivals. Overall, Dell’s sales to large companies were down 23% from last year and up 4% from last quarter. Dell reported earnings of $577 million on revenue of $12.9 billion. Read the full article

Williams-Sonoma Inc. posted higher net income in the third quarter but e-commerce revenue declined 6.9% as total sales decreased 3%. E-commerce accounted for 31.5% of sales compared with 32.8% in the same quarter last year. Net income was $7.3 million compared with a net loss of $10.9 million a year ago. Read the full article