ChoiceStream

48% of corporate information technology decision makers say they plan to boost their budgets over the next six months, according to the latest CDW Corp. I.T. Monitor research report -- a nine percentage point rise since October, CDW says. The December CDW I.T. Monitor is based on an online survey of 1,047 I.T. decision makers conducted between Nov. 17 and Nov. 24. “There are a number of dynamics in the marketplace that, when combined, create a greater sense of optimism—especially during a time of the year when people traditionally feel more hopeful,” says Thomas E. Richards, president and chief operating officer, CDW.Read the full article at Internet Retailer

Online shopping scored with U.S. consumers this holiday season and the bigger retailers are taking over, according to an annual holiday survey released by Foresee Results. Shoppers are giving the highest customer satisfaction scores to the largest e-retailers as these bigger retailers with lower prices and spending power are investing in improving their customers’ Web shopping experiences. The 100 largest e-retailers control more than 55 percent of online retail sales for the top 500 e-retailers, according to Internet Retailer magazine. Last year, 27 companies reached $1 billion in online sales, up from 21 the prior year. Overall, customer satisfaction with their e-commerce experience rose this year. J.C. Penney Co.’s score rose five points this year to 81 (a score of over 80 is considered “excellent”). Over the last 18 months, J.C. Penney has integrated its online and catalog marketing and buying operations with its brick-and-mortar stores. Meanwhile, several companies scored at least 10 percent higher than a year ago, including Macys .com (79), Gap.com (76) and Overstock.com (76). Why does customer satisfaction matter? A highly satisfied online shopper is 65% more likely to buy and 70% more likely to recommend the site, according to the study. Customer satisfaction scores are based on price, merchandise, functionality of the site and product content.Read the full article at The Dallas News

More holiday shopping roundups are hitting. The Washington Post is reporting that consumers spent a little more than anticipated during the holiday season with overall retail spending increasing around 3.6% year-over-year. The biggest jump in 2009 holiday retail spending happened online, where purchases rose 15.5% compared with last year. Online retail sales now account for about 10 percent of all retail sales. On a wider scale, the uptick in holiday spending came from electronics, jewelry and footwear, which combined to make up more than 16 percent of all sales, MasterCard said. However, online retail’s gain came at the expense of brick-n-mortar department stores who saw sales dip 2.3%.Read the full article at The Washington Post

Among the top-gaining online retail subcategories were toys, consumer electronics, and department stores -- each growing more than 30% versus October, according to comScore. Toys sites attracted 27.4 million Americans during the month of November, representing a 33% increase from the previous month while consumer electronics sites grew to 52.8 million visitors during the month of November. Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “With nearly 4 out of 5 Americans online visiting a retail site during November, the Internet clearly represents an increasingly important channel for retailers during the holiday season and beyond.” Online Department Stores also saw a 33% gain, reaching nearly 81 million unique visitors in November. Read the full article at MediaPost

ClickZ contributor Heidi Cohen suggests that marketers need to accept the fact that the way interactive marketing works has changed and that it is important to ensure your online and interactive marketing remains relevant and effective. As such, Cohen wants marketers to keep in mind the following: (1) Listen to the conversation your brand/product/web site has with consumers by monitoring social media; (2) Provide content related to your offering that consumers and prospects find useful; (3) Deliver continuous communications via a variety of distribution channels including email, mobile and social media; (4) Use events to connect with prospects and consumers to extend your relationships; (5) Continually test different aspects of your marketing and explore new ways to engage prospects and close sales; (6) Use offline marketing to support your online efforts and finally; (7) Measure the results of your marketing efforts. Read the full article at ClickZ

A late boost from procrastinating consumers and an extra day of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas increased total retail sales by 3.6% over the year-earlier period through Christmas Eve. Retailers are increasingly confident that the shopping season this year performed substantially better than last year’s, when consumer appetites for anything but essentials were minimal and stores cut their prices to the bone to try to lure customers. This year, store owners believe they navigated the tough economic terrain better by discounting a few items and offering other promotions, but keeping prices relatively steady for much of their inventory. The holiday retail sales results were in line with industry forecasts. However, expect an added boost during the last week of the month as shoppers head to malls for after-Christmas sales and to redeem gift cards that are projected to have been sold in higher numbers this year.Read the full article at The Wall Street Journal

Online retail sales will return to growth in 2010 and to double-digit growth by 2011, eMarketer Inc. predicts. The eMarketer forecast calls for an increase in e-retail sales to over $189 billion by 2013, which would represent a 9.56% compound annual growth rate from 2009 to 2013. The firm forecasts U.S. e-retail sales this year will total $131.4 billion, down about 0.7% from $132.3 billion last year, but will grow 7.5% next year to $141.3 billion. The firm says online retail sales have rebounded after a worse-than-expected first half of the year, and eMarketer now predicts fourth quarter e-retail sales will be 5% higher than last year.Read the full article at Internet Retailer

The Globe and Mail interviews retail vet Kerri Molinari of IKEA Canada regarding what retailers need to do to not only survive - but thrive - as the economy continues digging out from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. “I feel the worst is behind us,” said Molinaro, noting that her store hasn’t “totally changed our way of presenting and marketing and pricing our products. It’s more that the customer has seen our value for money, rather than us changing our strategy.” When asked to expound on the big lessons she has learned from the recession she said the biggest is for retailers to forecast accurately and to keep current on business news. Molinari also advices retailers “stay with the marketing, not drop one dollar of investment. Usually the first thing you cut is marketing. I think marketing is extremely important.” Read the full article

MediaPost offers a summary of the year that was in retail e-mail marketing. According to the story, “Executives finally realized that email marketing is a powerful, inexpensive marketing channel” but, “Some then began making unreasonable demands of a channel they didn’t understand.” Marketers ratcheted up their recession-conscious messaging, which was best exemplified by “Save Now” replacing the “Buy Now” call-to-action. ISPs started using engagement metrics to determine inbox placement. Email lists everywhere groaned a little louder under the tremendous weight of their inactive subscribers. Zappos sent subscribers an email that explained that the company would be sending more emails during the holiday season, and on which days to expect them. Black Friday messaging was twice that of 2008 and Cyber Monday became the Read the full article

The snowstorm that hit the Eastern seaboard last weekend might have been a blessing in disguise for online retailers as many retail experts believes the weather drove more shoppers online. About 67% of retailers saw stronger year-over-year online performance on Saturday and Sunday, compared with the previous weekend. To date this holiday season, consumers spent $24.8 billion online in the first 48 days of the holiday period, up 4% from the year-ago period. Online sales continue to rise, but consumers also abandon shopping carts, clicking to close the browser before completing the transaction. On Black Friday 25.8% of consumers who started to make a purchase at Sears.com abandoned the shopping cart before completing the transaction, for example. Still, that figure is down from the 36.5% who abandoned their shopping cart in 2008, according to data research company Compete. Meanwhile, experts say retargeting offers opportunities to marketers that are not fully explored to turn holiday lookers into shoppers. A recent Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization and Advertise.com study shows only 30.5% of the marketers surveyed had tried remarketing with online advertising, and 51% of them said it provided impact. Read the full article at MediaPost