ChoiceStream

E-mail delivery is intrinsic for online auction site eBay. The site is one of the top five senders of e-mail globally. Users communicate their buying and selling listings with eBay, as well as with other users. In fact, eBay sends approximately 25 billion emails per year. “We’re very focused on e-mail deliverability primarily because, why send a message if it doesn’t get into the inbox,” says Nicole Birdsall, group product manager, communications at eBay. “We want to make sure that we are a good citizen and sending relevant e-mails and getting important messages through to our customers who are expecting them.” Read the full article

Consumers appear to be more optimistic about the economy, according to Deloitte’s Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends. More than half of those surveyed (54%) said they expect the economy will improve in 2010, compared with 28% responding favorably last year. The optimism is also starting to show in Americans’ shopping plans. More than half of consumers (51%) said they hope to spend more or the same on the holidays, an improvement from last year’s 41% response. Though consumers may have more confidence in the economy, the Deloitte study found that many still plan to reduce their spending on gifts. Read the full article at RetailingToday

Marketers seeking to sprint out of the recession need to become multichannel-friendly and completely consumer-focused. That was one of the words of advice heard at Forrester Research’s annual Consumer Forum. There will also be further need to construct data-rich profiles of customers, personalize responses to their needs and smartly communicate with the consumers – especially through their smartphones and web-enabled mobile devices. the on-the-go nature of today’s consumer and the convenience of researching products and promotions on the go via smartphones are a major reason retailers need to embrace mobile commerce. “Consumers are focused on their needs, not on your channels,” Henry Harteveldt, Forrester vp and principal analyst, warned those retailers in attendance. Read the full article at MediaPost

George John of computational ad firm Rocket Fuel submits that it isn’t enough to just use video or behavioral or contextual targeting or even retargeting or geo-targeting to improve response rates for your display ads. In fact John argues everything matters noting “it matters to varying degrees depending on the campaign. This can be great news or bad news depending on how you look at it. If you’re a vendor selling only one of these types of solutions…[it could in turn limit] your ability to deliver great results to your customers. However, it’s great news if you’re an advertiser, media buyer, or vendor who takes a “marketing scientist” approach to display advertising.” Read the full article at ClickZ

It’s not even Halloween yet, but the nation’s retailers are already starting their mad dash toward the Christmas finish line. The efforts to stimulate holiday feelings ahead of schedule are, of course, a result of the dire economy, as retailers remain anxious about shoppers trimming back spending. So stores are already stocking shelves with Christmas gifts, dusting off the decorations and outlining marketing plans. Macy’s is urging consumers to “believe” in the magic of the holiday season while rival JC Penney is preparing to roll out a “joy of giving” themed campaign. Read the full article at The New York Times

Shopper marketing has received a lot of buzz lately. Basically, all it really means is taking the insights learned about the shopper’s buying behavior in various retail outlets and using these insights to benefit all stakeholders—shoppers, retailers and manufacturers. Hence, the endgame of retail: the shopper. Without the shopper, there is no return on investment (ROI). As an owner of a storefront, you should always keep the shoppers top-of-mind in your communications. Many large companies are focusing their efforts around the total shopper’s experience from conception of a need in the shopper’s mind to actual purchase. Ideally, the end results of the retailer’s efforts will produce a steady stream of money due largely in part to shoppers you converted to customers. Read the full article at The Epoch Times

The economy is not only impacting shoppers, but online retailers as well. This holiday season, shoppers can expect to see changes in retail marketing and promotions. According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, free shipping offers will abound as nearly 80% of online retail consumers will be exposed to some form of free shipping offer this holiday season. Online retailers also are compensating for the economy by making operational changes to help them protect their profits: scaling back on inventory levels and hiring fewer seasonal help. While online growth is expected to slow this holiday season, it remains a bright spot in retail as 45.8% of online retailers expect their holiday sales to increase at least 15% over last year. Read the full article

Say bye-bye to the last click as the de facto measurement tool. Tools are being developed that Forrester Research analysts believe will have an impact on the way advertising allocates ad budgets across media channels, from online to offline. Online advertising has always held the promise of being the most accountable medium, but execs in the industry now realize that models need to measure much more across many advertising channels. Read the full article at MediaPost

David Jakubowski, most recently SVP at online ad network Specific Media, has been named chief revenue officer and GM at Aggregate Knowledge, which provides technology for optimizing the relevance of online display advertising. Jakubowski will be responsible for strategic planning, direction, growth and profitability of Aggregate Knowledge. Before Specific Media, Jakubowski was general manager of Microsoft Corp.’s adCenter and Search Strategy. Read the full article

USA Today’s Jayne O’Donnell notes "companies have been tracking our online activity since there’s been an Internet." O’Donnell notes that tracking takes place most avidly is in the realm of retail. By monitoring the browsing and buying behavior of consumers who visit their websites, stores are able to better target online and e-mailed promotions to what consumers are most likely to buy. They occasionally adapt their home pages to the shopper. And as Amazon has been doing for years, they also can use what products other shoppers have purchased to knowledgeably recommend additional purchases." In fact, ecommerce marketing consultant Coremetrics says consumers are 50% more likely to open and click through a targeted e-mail than a generic one. And targeted e-mails generate 50% more revenue than generic e-mails." But government authorities, pressured by consumer privacy advocates, are now considering cracking down on what can and can’t be tracked, leading online retailers to worry about how much consumer shopping data they’ll be able to use for future marketing efforts. Read the full article at USA Today