ChoiceStream

Although consumer demand for quality brands and products remains strong, consumers generally do not strongly identify with brands, according to a new survey of consumers by research firm Trendwatching. When asked “what brands care about you?,” not a single global consumer said they believed any brand cared about them, except as a source of profit. When asked what brands they love, more consumers answered Apple than any other brand. However, many consumers surveyed said they love no brand in particular. Large chain retail brands led the category of brands consumers hate, with more respondents mentioning fast food chain McDonald’s than any other brand. Wal-Mart, Gap and Starbucks were also mentioned. Read the full article at Retailer Daily

Digital-marketing companies are rapidly moving to blend information about consumers’ Web-surfing behavior with reams of other personal data available offline, seeking to make it easier for online advertisers to reach their target audiences. Advertisers say the push could enhance their ability to target ads at specific types of consumers, but it is drawing scrutiny from Congress, federal regulators and privacy watchdogs, who are already concerned about the use of Web-surfing data. The ongoing trend is underscored by a new alliance being announced today between EXelate Media – a start-up that collects and sells Web data on consumers – with Nielsen, the big consumer retail firm. The two firms say that under the deal, eXelate will tie its data on more than 150 million Internet users to Nielsen’s database, which includes information on 115 million American households, to provide more-detailed profiles of consumers. The partnership represents one of the most aggressive efforts to tailor ads for specific groups of consumers. Online marketing firm BlueKai says it is striking similar deals with a series of more-traditional consumer-research firms. “Data is king right now,” says Matt O’Grady of Nielsen. “Everybody wants to understand who is the best person, are they the most valuable, did they see an ad, did they get the offer?” But lawmakers are still looking into how to protect consumer privacy. Stay tuned. Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal

Online retailers posted gains in just about every area of customer service—from e-mail to self-service to contact center—according to a test by eGain Communications Corp., a provider of customer service software. Analysts conduct the test annually by “mystery shopping” the web self-service and contact center customer service at 175 companies spread across eight industries. Online retail’s overall service score was 2.3, up from 1.8 a year earlier. “Retail sector performance was a bright spot in this year’s ‘mystery shopping’ customer service research,” says Anand Subramaniam, eGain vice president of marketing. “However, channel silos still remain across knowledge, policy and process.”Read the full article at Internet Retailer

U.S. retail sales posted a surprising gain last month. Retail sales rose last month by 0.3% according to the Commerce Department. “It seems that the American consumer is a resilient species... snubbing the winter storms that ravaged the nation in February,” said Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist at TD Securities. “Consumers seem to have shifted into a cautiously pro-spending mode.” Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.3% decrease. January retail sales were adjusted downward, to a 0.1% increase from a previously reported 0.5% gain. Retail sales data are an important indicator of consumer spending. Consumer spending represents some 70% of demand in the U.S. economy.Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal

The lackluster economy, combined with the rise of blogs, the declining allegiance to brands and increased retail competition online, have combined to make it more difficult for e-marketers to craft messages that can capture shoppers, says Jeff Wisot, vice president, marketing, for Buy.com. “Consumers now want to be in charge of how, where and when they receive messages, forcing online retailers to adapt to what consumers want, rather than the other way around. Accordingly, retail e-marketers must run highly adoptable campaigns capable of being refined at a moment’s notice. Read the full article at Internet Retailer

The ROI from catalog marketing is low relative to other online and offline media, including e-mail, Internet search and direct-response newspaper ads. The reason is that catalogs are expensive to produce. But consumers revere them and they hold an important position in the multichannel mix because many consumers “either feel uncomfortable buying online or need hand-holding to complete a major purchase,” says analyst Jeffrey Grau of eMarketer. However, catalogers must also embrace the web as well to assure continued success. Retail industry experts who predicted the demise of catalogs at the hands of e-commerce in the Internet’s early days are wrong. The rise of online shopping has forced retailers to re-examine the purpose of their catalog business and its role in a multichannel strategy. A few examples: JCPenney is terminating its “big books” and instead producing specialized catalogs for customers who want them. Taking the opposite stance, Zappos.com launched a holiday catalog as a way to win back lapsed customers and attract new ones.Read the full article at Internet Ad Sales

In an effort to assess the increasingly important concept of customer loyalty, Aberdeen Research recently previewed its upcoming study, "Cross-Channel Customer Loyalty: Rewards vs. Promotions, and the Battle for ROI." The preliminary results show that Best-in-Class retailers are testaments to the positive effects of proper blend of cross channel loyalty offer optimization (customer-segment based point perk or dollar rewards and multi-tier, multi-channel offers or promotions), which are necessary to achieve higher customer retention rates (profitable), as well as reduced customer attrition rates of those with the highest profitability, the report said. However, many retailers are missing the boat as only 22% of retailers identified cross channel shopping as ROI criteria for their loyalty programs, while 67% of retailers rate their loyalty program as "partially successful" or "not successful," marking no discernable ROI. Read the full article at Retail Touch Points

Western Europeans love online shopping—at least more than they did last year, says Forrester Research. They spent 68 billion euros ($92.5 billion) online in 2009, up 12% from 2008. And, Forrester projects the growth trend will continue over the next five years. For the next five years, Forrester predicts online retail sales in Western Europe to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11% to 155 billion euros ($210.5 billion) by 2014. “As the economy gets better and given the satisfaction with the Internet, it is highly likely that consumers will continue to look to the web for purchasing because of the benefits they find in using this channel,” Forrester says in its report.Read the full article at Internet Retailer

Cart abandonment rate is one the most watched metrics in retail e-commerce, and one that most merchants could stand to improve. But before making changes to their Web sites, retailers need to understand the many factors that lead to cart abandonment – not all of which are inherently evil. Cart abandonment rates average around 70%, but they can vary widely based on industry, product category, and customer base. Some of the most obvious factors driving cart abandonment include inventory availability and unexpected shipping and tax charges. Other, less obvious, factors may also contribute to cart abandonment. To understand and impact cart abandonment, retailers should first research their customer’s “natural” behaviors, and then seek opportunities to influence those behaviors through targeted content and promotions. Even seemingly minor user interface issues can have a significant impact on cart conversion rates, so identifying and correcting these issues should be top priority. Read the full article at Multichannel Merchant

Amazon is discontinuing its affiliate program in Colorado as the state has decided to impose new taxes on large out-of-state retailers like Amazon. Colorado’s move is not unique. Fifteen other states have considered or are considering enacting laws targeting Amazon and other e-commerce companies that typically do not charge sales tax for shipments sent outside their home state. Four states (including Colorado) have already enacted them. “I see this as a trend moving along--a lot of states are considering doing it,” said Joseph Henchman, director of state projects at the non-partisan Tax Foundation. But, Henchman says, the laws “won’t solve short-term budget problems, they signal business-unfriendliness, and they’re probably unconstitutional.” The justification for the laws is a reprise of arguments that state tax collectors have made for at least a decade: they claim that Amazon, Overstock.com, Blue Nile, and other online retailers that don’t collect taxes are unreasonably depriving states of revenue, and that they enjoy an unfair competitive advantage over local retailers that must collect taxes. More to come on this issue.Read the full article at CNET