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57% of online retailers plan to spend more on e-commerce technology in 2010, including 49% whose investment priorities cover new or upgraded e-commerce technology platforms, Forrester Research Inc. says in the study, "2010 U.S. Online Retail Technology Investment Outlook." The report is based on a survey of 291 online retailers in the fourth quarter of 2009. Other popular areas of technology investment this year include content management tools, multichannel order management integration, system security and mobile commerce.Read the full article at Internet Retailer

In a down year for the U.S. economy, online retailers took market share from offline retailers, according to the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Online retail sales in the fourth quarter grew 14.4% on an adjusted basis over the fourth quarter of 2008, reaching $35.9 billion, the Department of Commerce reported. For the year, e-commerce sales increased 2.0% to $134.9 billion.Read the full article at Internet Retailer

A “new frugality,” born of this recession and evidenced by two consecutive years of declining per capita consumption, is now becoming entrenched consumer behavior. The Booz & Co. survey suggests that frugal behaviors are “sticky,” and unlikely to quickly change as the economy shows signs of improvement. For example, in the next 12 months, just 9% of consumers intend to spend at pre-recession levels on household products, 10% on mobile phone service, 11% on health and beauty products, and 18% on apparel, clothing and shoes. Moreover, nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers say they’ll shop at a different store with lower prices even if it’s less convenient for them. “Frugal behavior is now considered trendy by many shoppers, and will continue for years to come,” said Matt Egol, a Booz & Co. partner. “In this changed environment, marketers need to develop deeper insights into shopper attitudes and behaviors in order to better align their product, pricing and marketing communications strategies.“Read the full article

How should marketers approach Twitter and Facebook in relationship to one another now that both networks are emerging as power-players in the world of marketing? According to WebTrends, Twitter is great for initially exposing new customers to a brand, Facebook is better at helping funnel them down a path of actions toward making a purchase. Simply put, Twitter assists while Facebook actually converts sales for retail marketers (ala the basketball analogy). “Google and Yahoo must be looking over their shoulders because in three to five years’ time, Facebook is in a position to cannibalize up to 50% of their display advertising market share,” said a WebTrends exec. What also helps these social media companies gain marketing dollars is the complete suite of marketing analytics that they offer marketers. Stay tuned.Read the full article

A survey of 156 display media marketers by Forrester Consulting commissioned by AudienceScience found that 77% of respondents currently use or will implement audience targeting in 2010. Reaching targeted consumers was the greatest benefit for 42% of display marketers that planned to start using or increase their use of audience targeting, while 32% cited better results. "Increasingly, marketers are realizing that audience targeting can deliver branding and direct response results, and that they can count on the channel for continued success," said Jeff Hirsch, president and CEO of AudienceScience. Read the full article

Having multiple channels to market is not the same as being a multi-channel retailer, especially now that customers are expecting more from retailers and are starting to demand seamless integration of all channels and are less tolerant of mistakes. A new report by Aberdeen Group notes some of the following key points to the changing world of multi-channel retail and customer perceptions: (1) Retailers’ efforts to integrate all channels are causing them to need to re-work merchandising planning and control practices for quicker ’decision’ cycles from quarters and weeks to weeks and days; (2) Retailers who started out with a catalog channel in addition to stores have a ’leg up’ on their competition, in terms of understanding how to forecast multi-channel consumer demand; (3) Multichannel customers drive more sales at a higher gross profit, and customers tend to be more loyal; (4) Multichannel customers are less tolerant of mistakes, therefore, it is critical for all channels to be in synch and (5) Integrated multi-channel retailing is causing retailers to need to re-tool their systems to get to deliver a seamless experience for the customer. Read the full article

As the world of ecommerce continues to grow and evolve, it’s important for merchants to take note of changing consumer trends and preferences so that they are in the best position to adapt accordingly. According to this blog post, “Knowing what potential customers are looking for when it comes to online shopping is the best way to position yourself as a leader and separate your operation from the competition.” A new “Compete Online Shopper Intelligence Study” indicates that a whooping 94% of online shoppers now conduct research prior to making a purchase. Furthermore, the study revealed that 61% of those polled rely on search engines more than any other online shopping resource, ahead of coupon sites (35%), retailer emails (29%) and online product reviews (24%). Read the full article

Conventional wisdom says online marketing spending has suffered less in the recession because the Internet is more measurable than other channels. But even marketers looking to justify each dollar in a world of tightened budgets are not confident in their ability to evaluate their online performance. Case in point – interactive agency ISITE Design asked companies about their online executions and a whopping 40% said they planned Web efforts 6-to-12 months in advance. However, only a minority felt that strategy was effective. One reason for a lack of confidence in strategic planning could be ineffective approaches to performance measurement. In fact, BusinessWeek noted that “The immediacy of real-time information is creating a new urgency and speed that has many marketers scrambling, particularly those who lack the technology to capture and make sense of this information.” Read the full article

Retailers in all product categories have a place in mobile commerce. For mobile commerce to gain critical mass, consumers must be able to at least access the Internet from their mobile phones. eMarketer senior analyst Jeffrey Grau believes mass adoption of mobile commerce is happening as more and more consumers upgrade to smartphones like the iPhone and Droid devices. Grau notes, “37% of smartphone owners purchased merchandise via their phones in 2009,” however Internet Retailer reported in December of last year that on 10% of retailers boast a mobile-commerce enabled Website. So what does Grau expect in the near-term? “[What] I expect to explode first involves shoppers who take their smartphones with them inside stores. When they find an item of interest they will either photograph or scan its barcode and then price compare via other online retailers. In-store shoppers will also use their phones to get customer reviews and other product information to help them make purchase decisions,” said Grau. Stay tuned. Read the full article

Leading economic indicators are looking up, but consumers are keeping a frugal mindset for 2010, according to research from About.com. The "2010 Consumer Study" indicates more online shopping for 64% of those surveyed. More than one-half of online buyers found online ads helpful when researching and shopping online. While one-third of the online buyers who were aided by ads said they helped them save money, the majority appreciated online ads for informing them about a product or service previously unknown.Read the full article at eMarketer