- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.CjzeOUZw.dpuf On-Demand eCommerce Blog | Dynamic Merchandising by OrderDynamics: 2012

Pile of Pillows Makes Their eCommerce Debut with OrderDynamics


OrderDynamics would like to congratulate Pile of Pillows on the launch of their eCommerce site on the OrderDynamics On-Demand Commerce Platform.

Pile of Pillows offers high quality, hard to find home décor goods including duvet covers, bed sheets, pillows, towels, and more. The Canadian-based e-retailer prides itself on offering North American shoppers the best deals in a fresh and fun online shopping experience.

Modern and up with the trends, PileofPillows.com meets consumers’ growing demand for convenient and affordable ways to find and shop specialty bedding and home items online. The website features a clean and stylish design with high-resolutions photos of all items, detailed product descriptions and sizes, and in-depth category breakdowns to create an online shopping experience that provides the ease and comfort of shopping for personal home items in a retail outlet. In addition to browsing by brands, categories and prices, shoppers can search products by unique attributes such as sleep position, product sizes or even fabric.

 A key feature of PileofPillows.com is its online Buying Guide, which helps shoppers choose the right bedding, sheets, towels and pillows with detailed descriptions of the types of items that are available. The Pillow Finder is an excellent tool, which identifies the perfect product for each sleeping style based on materials used, as well as the preferred head position of the sleeper.
PileofPillows.com's Find the Perfect Pillow Guide
The e-tailer leverages key integrations in the OrderDynamicsPlatform that create a sophisticated and interactive online shopping experience, equipped with tools like Social Sharing, Email-A-Friend, Mini-Cart, and Clickable Breadcrumbs to enable efficient shopping and simplified navigation. 
PileofPillows.com's Support Guide
Other great features include personalized recommendations and cross-sell suggestions in the Product pages, running through to Check Out pages, as well as a scrolling carousel of Featured Products on the site’s home page.

The new site is also outfitted with the OrderDynamics Endpoint solution for enhanced order management and fulfillment. OD Endpoint™ will enable Pile of Pillows to manage inventory levels, and facilitate order processing and shipment directly from their own warehouse. The Endpoint solution also integrates with various shipping carriers, so that PileofPillows.com can provide their customers with real-time shipping total calculations, order-shipped emails and order tracking codes.
PileofPillows.com's real-time shipping total calculator


Happy Holidays 2012 from OrderDynamics!



As 2012 comes to an end, OrderDynamics would like to extend our gratitude to all of our partners, clients and vendors who helped make this year an incredible success. For OrderDynamics, 2012 has been a year full of new and exciting opportunities including speaking engagements, conferences, new technology integrations, and site launches – and the support from our friends has been much appreciated.

Our Connected Commerce-Retail Vision
This year, we launched an all-new website with client videos to highlight the newest addition to our platform technology, Connected Commerce – a system that seamlessly supports and manages multichannel retail. Our Platform Team also produced enhancements to our Order Management System that include Globalization features and Loyalty Program Capabilities. These new implementations have helped build our reputation in the industry, and fueled our unprecedented Canada Post Integration, which offers services like Ship to Post Office, Real-Time Order Tracking, Real-Time Rate Lookup and Generate Return Label. The OrderDynamics Platform is Canada’s most comprehensive ever.

Recognition from Key Analytics and Industry Experts
We are extremely proud of the recognition we have received this year from various industry experts, including being named a Vendor to Watch by Internet Retailer, and identified as a Leading Platform Provider in the 2012 Forrester Research SMB eCommerce Solutions Report. OrderDynamics also became a member of the National Retail Federation and Shop.org communities.

Thought Leadership at Leading Retail Conferences
In addition, OrderDynamics exhibited at 8 different trade shows throughout Canada and the US, this year being the first time we have had a presence at Shop.org, STORE, Retail West, eTail Latin America, and the first ever Dx3 show. These shows presented us with speaking opportunities and interviews with Internet Retailer, Retail TouchPoints, Retail Council of Canada, and Amber Mac (to name a few).  OrderDynamics was also invited to moderate an “How to Enter eCommerce” discussion panel at Dx3 last January, and provided an information session entitled “Getting eCommerce Right” at STORE2012 in June. OrderDynamics showed excellent thought leadership in providing industry professionals with information, best practices and experiential advice.

High Profile Omni-Channel Site Launches
The OrderDynamics Platform experienced substantial growth, launching 8 new eCommerce sites for reputable brands. Some of our most exciting launches include Canadian retailers such as Murale.ca – a sub-brand of Shoppers Drug Mart offering high-end beauty products and cosmetics. The launch of Laura.ca was also a highlight event for OrderDynamics by entering eCommerce for the first time after over 80 years in retail, and becoming our first client to utilize the Canadian Post Fulfillment Integration within our H.I.V.E. Ecosystem. We launched Inova.com.mx, a leading direct response marketer in Mexico City and no. 17 on the Internet Retailer Top 300 Latin American Retailers Guide in 2012.  Additionally, OrderDynamics launched 5 new mobile commerce websites, helping clients invest in Connected Commerce.

Explosive Black Friday/Cyber Monday Results for Our Clients
This year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday yielded excellent results for OrderDynamics retailers. The OrderDynamics Platform processed 162% more orders over the same weekend last year, generating 178% more revenue. The sophisticated enhancements to the OrderDynamics Order Management System allowed the Platform to process 154% more transactions, attesting to the scalability of the Platform.

We are extremely proud of all that we’ve accomplished this year, and are excited to continue developing our Platform, providing innovative solutions and service to our customers, and helping them grow their business in the new year. From the OrderDynamics Family to yours, Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year!

OrderDynamics Monthly Google Updates Report – December 2012


Last month we reported that businesses saw minimal search results fluctuation in November; it would appear that Google was putting off updates until November, as they reported several updates while there were also suspicions of additional updates that have not been confirmed by Google. Google Adwords continued to make updates and enhancements every few days as seen in October, while Analytics made one small but significant change.

Google Search
Google made a Panda Refresh on November 5, just over five weeks after the last Panda change. The refresh was suspected by some sites, leading Google to confirm via Twitter that 1.1% of English searches in the US would be affected, while 0.4% of global searches would yield changes noticeable to a ‘regular user’ – e.g. someone not technical.

Two days later, Google announced a Page Rank update for Google Toolbar users (for searches via the Google Toolbar). These updates are generally infrequent – the last being in August – and as Page Rank contributes but does not weigh heavily in Search Rank, many SEOs considered this update very minor.
It was suspected that an update to Google Images Search was being rolled out November 15 to 16, as many SEOs and businesses reported seeing a drastic change in the way images were being indexed. It was noted that ALT text and a keyword-rich file name appeared to hold less relevance with respect to image search placement. However, Google did not confirm whether there was an update.

On November 21, Google implemented an official Panda Update with less drastic results than the Refresh earlier in the month. Google tweeted that 0.8% of searches would display a noticeable difference.

Google AdWords
In October, Google announced that changes to Impression Share Reporting would take place in November. Impression Share refers to the amount of overall ad space on the web that a single business encompasses. According to AdWords Support it is calculated based on the total number of impressions an Adwords campaign receives divided by the number of impressions the business was qualified to receive. Google confirmed that updates to Impression Share Reporting went live November 7, and included features that allow for improved display and easier reading of reports; new filters, charts and rules to segment the reports including “Hour of Day” segmentation; and improved calculation of Impression Share.

Google unveiled AdWords Editor 9.9 on November 12, with major updates and improvements to the following:
  • Google Display Network - Google implemented the Flexible Reach panel to easily manage flexible reach settings.
  • Import and Export Improvements - changes to various campaign settings (including flexible reach) and how AdWords handles duplicate ads pointing to different URLs by uploading changes via CSV.
  • Device Targeting - the release only applies to Blackberry devices currently; it allows AdWords users to point ads specifically to Blackberry users.

On November 15, AdWords announced significant improvements to location targeting:
  • Airport Targeting - allows AdWords users to target ads to the devices of those who are in and around airports.
  • Location Extensions - a link below Sitelinks in the search results stating the location (or nearly location for a chain business) that displays a map when clicked on.
  • Better Location Matching - this allows AdWords users to extend the reach of their ad campaign to just outside a given postal code area, enabling them to attract people who may be travelling or who are close by but not within the postal code area
  • Conversion Reporter - Analytics within AdWords enable conversion tracking for each Location Extension

AdWords also updated the Call Extensions feature, as mentioned in last month’s report, which covers up a business’ phone number in an AdWords ad with a Google Forwarding number to allow for phone conversions of AdWords campaigns. The November 29 update made the Click to Call feature available for ads on mobile apps.

Google Shopping
Just in time for the holidays, Google also released on November 13 exciting updates to the new Google Shopping model. The Holiday Toy Collection is a section within Google Shopping which retailers can use to provide enhanced views of toys including 360 View, which Google hopes will instill confidence in online shoppers by providing the tools to mirror the in-store shopping experience – something that many shoppers struggle with when purchasing toys online. Along with the Holiday Toy Collection, Google also unveiled Shortlists, which is essentially a wishlist or shopping cart of items found in the Google Shopping network that can be shared with friends, and allows for side-by-side comparisons of related items – also in an attempt to channel an in-store experience.

One day later, Google announced that the new Google Shopping, which officially changed over in North America on October 17, is now available in 10 more countries: UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Japan and Australia.
Further updates to the Google Shopping model include the display of promotions for items in Google Shopping that have gone on sale; the ability for shoppers to read reviews written by people they know; view visually similar items; and the release of the Google Shopper 3.0 app for Android devices.

Google Analytics
In November, Google Analytics introduced Enhanced Link Attribution. The feature applies to in-page analytics, and allows for tracking of user behaviour regarding individual links on a single page. Site owners can implement the feature with two lines of code in their current tracking snippet, and the click-through data provided is relevant even if links lead to redirects or are triggered by Java Script.

Inova.com.mx Re-Launches its Global Website with OrderDynamics


OrderDynamics, Canada’s leading on-demand commerce platform provider, would like to congratulate Inova.com.mx on the re-launch of their Spanish-language eCommerce site on the OrderDynamics Platform. The launch marks the first in Latin America for OrderDynamics.

Inova: Mexico's Leading Direct Response Retailer
Inova is one of Mexico’s largest online retailers (and no. 17 on Internet Retailer’s Top 300 Latin American Retailers Guide) and has offered innovative products for health and beauty, sports and fitness, kitchen and housewares, electronics and children’s toys for over 20 years.  Known in Mexico as the equivalent of the Shopping Channel/QVC and As Seen On TV stores, Inova has provided Mexican shoppers with well-known brand name items at great prices.


The new Inova.com.mx
With the online B2C sales in Latin America set to surpass $62 billion by 2016, according to eMarketer, Inova made the strategic decision to upgrade its eCommerce platform with OrderDynamics. The re-launch of Inova.com.mx will support Inova’s long-term growth and international expansion goals, as well as provide a flexible call centre and order management solution, and enhanced marketing and merchandising capabilities that their legacy platform could not provide. In addition, the new site provides an easy-to-navigate shopping experience that caters to customer convenience and confidence in the Inova name.

Customer Service Emphasis
Key features that enhance the Inova.com.mx customer experience include one-click live online chat, and call center support and order capabilities, enabling shoppers to ask questions and solicit any product information they may need to assist in their order.  


Inova's Live Chat feature
Flexible Payment Options
Inova.com.mx also offers the unique Cash on Delivery feature in addition to PayPal and credit card, which allows customers to pay for their order when it is delivered, and helps those who do not have access to a credit card to still make purchases online. For added convenience, Inova.com.mx also provides the option to pay in multiple installments for selected items to help customers alleviate the strain of higher priced items.

Inova's multiple installments payment option
We’re very excited to partner with Inova to help them achieve their aggressive growth goals,” said Michael Benadiba, Chief Executive Officer at OrderDynamics. “OrderDynamics eCommerce platform is designed to accelerate growth with robust online merchandising capabilities and integrated call centre and order management solutions.”


OrderDynamics 2012 Black Friday to Cyber Monday Wrap-Up Report

It comes as no surprise that the weekend including and after the US Thanksgiving Holiday saw a great impact on retail sales. As many retailers including WalMart, Sears and Target opened their brick-and-mortar doors as early as 8pm on Thanksgiving Day, and marketing efforts for the holiday weekend started as early as October, revenue saw a huge jump and traffic was 11% higher over the same 5-day period last year.

Retailers Don't Want to Miss Out on Thanksgiving Day Sales
Online retail traffic for Thanksgiving Day increased 6% over 2011, reaching $633 million in revenue. IBM Smarter Commerce reported a 17.4% revenue growth on Turkey Day – which is not necessarily surprising given that many retail outlets were open, but could indicate that despite the public backlash against encouraging shopping during the major US holiday, many retailers may be apt to do the same next year so as not to miss out.


Black Friday: Driving Significant Mobile Traffic  
With 57 million shoppers in the US alone, Black Friday 2012 set a new record of reaching $1.04 billion – surpassing the $1 billion mark for the first time ever. Brick-and-mortar traffic was up only 3.5% and revenue actually dropped, representing an increase in tech-savvy buyers this year that preferred shopping via web and mobile over mad dashes at retail outlets. Internet Retailer reported that mobile traffic exceeded average daily mobile traffic by 155% on Black Friday, contributing significantly to the 36% online revenue growth.


Cyber Monday Sales Set Single Day Record
Cyber Monday maintained its record as the highest spending day ever at $1.98 billion, surpassing the $1.5 billion that was predicted over 2011’s $1.25 billion. Despite the astonishing growth, it was reported that average sale value on Cyber Monday had dropped by nearly 7%; instead consumers opted for a bigger bang for their buck, as average items per order was up 14.1% to 8.34 items per purchase. Nevertheless, retailers like Build.com and Wayfair.com saw revenue growth of 40% and 60%, respectively, the latter reporting 20% conversion rates.


OrderDynamics Merchants Continue to Outpace Industry Growth
For OrderDynamics merchants, the Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend yielded astounding results. The OrderDynamics Platform processed 162% more orders over the same weekend in 2011, allowing OrderDynamics retailers to generate 178% more revenue. Cyber Monday was the busiest of the 5 days, peaking at 9pm. “It’s amazing what OrderDynamics retailers accomplished this year,” says Michael Benadiba, CEO at OrderDynamics, “the dynamic nature of our SaaS platform allows us to maintain excellent scalability that accommodates big traffic and order spikes.  We have sophisticated order management and order processing systems available to all OrderDynamics merchants through our SaaS software that enable high order capture rates, and allowed us to process 154% more transactions over last year.”

Carain Buchalter, Marketing Director at OrderDynamics’ merchant Henry’s Camera, stated that despite slim margins on cameras, additional items and School of Imaging packages helped push some Henry’s Camera stores up 200% over expected revenue.  Buchalter also reported that this year’s Black Friday online revenue exceeded last year’s Boxing Day revenue – which is traditionally the busiest Canadian shopping day of the year.

The explosive growth in revenue for OrderDynamics merchants indicates that Black Friday through Cyber Monday weekend success can only continue to trend upward in years to come. Revenue from Canadian OrderDynamics retailers alone surpassed 2011’s total OrderDynamics revenue by 18%. New retailers experiencing their first Black Friday weekend on the OrderDynamics platform contributed to 32% of this year’s revenue, and expectations for next year are positive given the growth of legacy merchants.


Canadian Retailers Aggressively Tackle Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Though Black Friday and Cyber Monday have not traditionally been Canadian phenomena, last year’s Canadian interest sparked proactivity in Canadian retailers.

A pre-Black Friday poll conducted by Ipsos Reid in Canada showed 44% of Canadian consumers intended to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions this year. Considering that 2011 saw an 8.3% increase in Canadian Black Friday sales, and up to 40% of cross-border shoppers make the trek from Canada, retailers decided to  offer their own Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals – including the tax break. Reitman’s in Quebec mall, Place D’Orleans, offered shoppers who made purchases between 12pm and 5pm on Black Friday to have the tax returned to them in a gift card at the mall’s customer service location. Sears Canada also admitted to offering items at extremely low margins, but acknowledged that’s what it takes to keep Canadians shopping in Canada. Cadillac Fairview, manager of a chain of reputable Canadian malls, opened their malls as early as 7 am to accommodate those who wanted to shop.

Communications Manager for Future Shop, Elliot Chun, says that Black Friday sales were held all weekend long at Future Shop, and given the traffic seen, the sale may continue for an entire week. Chun states the importance of considering the fact that many people in the US have the day off from work on Black Friday as a result of the Thanksgiving holiday, and as such, Canadian retailers need to offer promotions that can accommodate the Canadian workforce’s schedule.


Mobile Commerce Has Arrived In A Big Way
Mobile was a major player this year, contributing to 22% of Cyber Monday sales – a 100% growth in mobile purchases over 2011. The iPad appeared to be the mobile weapon of choice during the 5-day period between Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, encompassing 68% of mobile traffic. The iPhone and Android tied at 15% each. Showrooming proved to play as big a part as expected according to reports prior to the holiday weekend, as 13% of the weekend’s mobile shoppers did so while physically located in a retail store. However, Jay Henderson, Strategy Director of IBM Smarter Commerce, asserts that retailers who performed the best over the holiday weekend were those who utilized multichannel strategies to encourage purchases, which may mean Showrooming could be helping rather than harming.


Despite Slow Growth, Social Commerce Still Matters
With an increasing amount of important being placed on social commerce over the past year, it was interesting to see how it fared during this year’s Holiday weekend. The contribution was meager, with only 0.41% of all online sales coming from social media traffic. It is noteworthy, however, that Facebook stores saw a 240% increase in sales over last year. Facebook and Twitter accounted for 77% of social sales, while Pinterest comprised 15%.


Notable Trends
Some notable trends seen during this weekend that bring with them some lessons in preparation for next year’s holiday shopping weekend are as follows:

  • Peak order times on Black Friday were between 10:30am – 11:45am, and 11:25am on Cyber Monday. This indicates a lot of desk-shopping while customers have settled into their work day and are checking emails, and may be the ideal time to distribute email marketing campaigns that will stimulate purchase.
  • The distribution of holiday-themed eMail marketing campaigns began in late October. Many retailers sending these out offered increasingly steep discounts over time. This, coupled with the fact that average order values were down on Cyber Monday despite generating more transactions, could indicate that consumers are being primed to wait for the best deal. Retailers may need to be aware not only of how they will compete with competitor prices, but also how they will compete with their own past pricing to continue to attract the deal-seeking consumer.
  • With 13% of mobile purchases made while in-store, Showrooming is not going away. Retailers need to be aware of this should consider creating multi-channel strategies to work with Showrooming, rather than against it.
  • Given such substantial growth during this holiday weekend, it will be interesting to see how the remainder of Q4 fares. Are consumers going to continue to shop? Or did they get everything they needed this past weekend? How can retailers maintain momentum throughout Q4?
  • How much of their resources are retailers willing to allocate to this 5-day weekend, and what will they do for the rest of Q4 if their results fall short? As Q4 is the most critical quarter of the year for many retailers, are they comfortable with the notion that a large and growing portion of their sales comes from just a 5-day period?
  • Peak order time on Thanksgiving day was 8:30pm, with traffic earlier in the day coming from smartphones, and evening traffic primarily from iPads.

Eclipse Selects OrderDynamics to launch its First eCommerce Strategy and Storefront

November 30, 2012 – TORONTO, ON – OrderDynamics™, Canada’s leading on-demand commerce platform provider, today announced Eclipse, a National retailer of women’s apparel, has selected OrderDynamics to launch their first eCommerce initiative to unify retail and online storefronts, and deliver an improved shopping experience for sophisticated multi-channel consumers.

Eclipse is one of Canada’s fastest growing apparel retailers, with more than 65 stores and an expanding catalog of apparel and private clothing labels.  The company’s desire to develop an integrated multi-channel eCommerce strategy and web presence was fueled by the growth seen in the Canadian eCommerce industry and the ability to leverage its well-known brand in new markets.  Eclipse selected OrderDynamics to launch their first eCommerce storefront because they offer retailers new to eCommerce a comprehensive end-to-end platform that caters to the importance of customer service and experience, in addition to their significant experience launching multi-channel eCommerce websites in Canada.

With OrderDynamics, Eclipse will leverage an eCommerce platform with powerful online marketing tools to help drive new and recurring online sales to meet short term and long term growth goals, plus a built-in order management system that will support complex fulfillment and order scenarios.

“Ecommerce represents a big opportunity for us to grow the Eclipse brand, while enabling us to offer our customers the best possible shopping experience across online and retail stores,” said Genevieve Bulgin, Director of Retail Operations at Eclipse.  “Eclipse is excited to take advantage of the online marketing and merchandising tools within the OrderDynamics platform, and to learn from the OrderDynamics team’s incredible industry knowledge and experience.”

Eclipse’s eCommerce launch will enable a premium online shopping experience, using platform features such as:
  • A built-in integration of Canada Post’s web services including Ship-to-Post Office into the OrderDynamics platform
  • Seamless integration with existing enterprise-class ERP and retail solutions
  • A network of 100+ pre-built integrations with leading third party tools
  • A singular platform to maintain a unified shopping experience across online and offline retail channels
“Eclipse selecting OrderDynamics to launch its first eCommerce storefront validates the experience and toolset we offer growing multi-channel retailers,” said Michael Turcsanyi, President at OrderDynamics. “We look forward to working with the Eclipse team and helping them launch a world-class integrated online shopping experience for their customers.”

Retail TouchPoints Interview: Laura Canada Moves To Multi-Channel Retail

Retail TouchPoints (RTP) is an online publisher of eCommerce and retail news stories. RTP focuses on content from vendors and retailers that impacts consumers and customer shopping experiences in both online and offline mediums.

Laura Canada's recent eCommerce launch caught the eyes and ears of Retail TouchPoints as it further illustrates how significant eCommerce is becoming in multi-channel retailing. RTP makes special mention of Laura.ca's interactive web-based store locator, as well as its Shop the Look functionality and innovative Canada Post "deliver to post office" fulfillment options. According to Sam Barnes, Director of eCommerce at Laura Canada, 10% of online orders have been shipped straight to Canada Post outlets across the country already.

The feature also highlights Laura Canada's focus on using eCommerce to engage their customers. “We knew that e-Commerce was the best way to engage our customers," said Barnes. “With this new site, we want to offer our customers effective tools to ensure they have exceptional brand experiences that reflect our brick-and-mortar experience,” he added.

In addition to addressing initial eCommerce strategies Laura Canada went to market with earlier this year, Barnes goes on to discuss the importance of creating a unified and seamless shopping experience across online and retail stores, and how he believes retail will evolve in the years to come.

Read the interview and learn more about Laura Canada's eCommerce launch here.

OrderDynamics Monthly Google Updates Report – November 2012


After a very busy August and September, Google appeared to quiet down this month – or so it was thought. While very few websites saw search rank fluctuation as they had over the past two months, Google AdWords subscribers had several updates and new features to take note of.


Google Search
Throughout August and September, Google Search underwent 7 total changes, 4 of which related to search rank.  As many continued to see fluctuation in their search rank into October during the aftermath of the EMD Update, there were no other official Panda or Penguin updates or refreshes. 

Instead Google Search expanded on the open field trial launched in July that consolidated Gmail information into Google Search Results. On October 15, Google Search increased the reach of the open field trial to also include results from Google Drive, Google Calendar and other Google applications after receiving a large amount of requests for it. To consolidate Google App information in search results, Google subscribers can sign up on the field trial page.

The Google Knowledge Graph also began the process of refining and adding more knowledge-building information. The update allows searchers to see connections between different subjects within search results in a “People Also Search for” sense. Currently, the feature is applicable to celebrity culture and entertainment. For example, should someone search for the Dark Knight, Knowledge Graph might also produce Inception in the results since both movies share Christopher Nolan as the director.

Google AdWords
In October, changes and feature introductions in the AdWords Platform were made and announced on the Google AdWords Blog every few days.

October 1st saw two announcements:
  • Rotate Indefinitely was implemented for AdWords subscribers who wish not to target high performance ads to peak periods, and would have high- and low-performance ads show up equally as a cost-cutting initiative. Google asserts the feature is slightly inefficient, as it often results in fewer overall clicks, more expensive individual clicks, and lower positioning of AdWords campaigns.
  • Google Tag Manager is a tool for those who are less IT savvy, and enables the consolidation of various web page tags pertaining to tracking and conversion, among others, into a single snippet. The snippet can then be easily monitored and controlled on a platform that aims to increase efficiency and lower IT costs.
 On October 2nd came with two announcements:
  • Lightbox Ad Formats were introduced to create more sophisticated and refined ads that include more than just words. Lightbox Ads allow small graphic ads to expand into a lighted focal canvas after a two second hover over the smaller ad.
  • Google Analytics data can now be imported into an affiliated Google AdWords account to enable easy access to Analytics data pertaining to specific AdWords campaigns.

AdWords Call Metrics Reporting was introduced in the US on October 16. The tool caters to consumers who would prefer to call a business to find out more information on their product, rather than browse their website.  Call Metrics Reporting masks the business phone number in the ad with a Google toll free forwarding number, which enables tracking of phone calls that come from ads in an AdWords campaign so the data can be combined with that of online search.

October 17 saw the final changeover from Google Merchant Center to Google Shopping after a 4-month transition period, with only paid Product Listing Ads being displayed. On October 18, Google AdWords unveiled promotion displays within Product Listing Ads, which could in turn be shared across other Google Platforms.

Creators of mobile apps received a treat on October 24, as Google announced the ability to track iOS app conversions. The tool produces a snippet of code to be embedded in mobile apps, so that views and conversions can be tracked, and app creators can identify the best ways to promote their apps on mobile devices.

The next day, Google AdWords made Dynamic Search Ads available to all AdWords subscribers after a year of US testing.  Dynamic Search Ads enables refined targeting of ads based on website content and context related to a search, rather than based on keywords within the search.  This feature allows for more realistic and efficient placement that helps searchers find what they are looking for when keywords can be taken in numerous contexts.

Google Analytics
Google Analytics announced on October 25 that Mobile App Analytics moved into open beta. With the change, setup of Mobile App Analytics was simplified to a 3-step process. The Software Development Kits (SDKs) for the Android and iOS operating systems were completely rebuilt to enhance functionality and create more powerful, easy to implement apps. Within Mobile App Analytics, Google Analytics announced a polished upgrade from Custom Variables to Custom Dimensions within the Analytics platform. Custom Dimensions enables users to :
    •           Create new dimensions with which to segment traffic
    •           Use custom/brand-related variables as dimension metrics
    •           Implement Mobile App Analytics without re-tagging the app itself, but by configuring it via an administrative UI
The Cost Data Import Tool was presented on October 30, which allows users to import cost data from any external platform or tool via a self-service API into Google Analytics so as to measure ROI. The data can then be viewed in the Traffic Sources section of Google Analytics, or in the Attribution Model Tool. 

[INFOGRAPHIC]: 2012 Retail and Ecommerce Black Friday / Cyber Monday Preview


After weeks of promotions and build up to the largest US shopping weekend of the year, Black Friday is finally here. Last year, Black Friday raked in 24.3% more revenue over 2010, and Cyber Monday became the highest online sales day in history, generating $1.25 billion. Can we expect this kind of growth to continue this year, especially as the holiday shopping pandemonium creeps up north to Canada?

The NRF predicts an estimated 147 million people will shop this Black Friday Weekend (Friday through Sunday), which is slightly less than last year’s 152 million. However, Cyber Monday is expected to maintain its title of the biggest shopping day of the year as 41% of US consumers will shop Black Friday, while 57% will hold off for Cyber Monday, all of which will contribute to an anticipated 16.8% increase over 2011 in overall holiday sales, at $54.47 billion. The Bank of Montreal’s Holiday Outlook predicts a 15% increase in holiday revenue in Canada.

For some retailers and their avid consumers, Black Friday actually began last night after Thanksgiving dinner. Sears, Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us opened their doors as early as 8pm last night, and the Mall of America awaits an estimated 200,000 shoppers today. NBC tweeted this morning that “Wal-Mart has already sold 1.8 million towels, 1.3 million TV’s, 1.3 million dolls and 250k bikes”. Cadillac Fairview, who manages a string of malls in Canada, announced that nine of its malls would open at 7am or earlier today. Canadian tourist attraction, the Toronto Eaton Centre opened at 6 am today.

Mobile commerce is also expected to build on the momentum of last year, where 9.8% of sales on Black Friday, and 6.6% of sales on Cyber Monday were mobile based. Retailers like Macy’s has prepared substantially for today, entirely rebuilding their eBay-based mobile app to include geo-fencing. The app will detect the Macy’s location in which the shopper is located, and send push notifications every 5 minutes of special promotions and deals specific to that store. Staples also began mobile-only deals as of 11pm last night that will run until 11 am this morning.

For more information on stats, trends and what to expect this holiday season, check out OrderDynamics 2012 Retail Outlook for Black Friday & Cyber Monday [INFOGRAPHIC] here.




OrderDynamics Holiday Guide 2012 - Holiday Emails

As retail approaches the busiest shopping period of the year, OrderDynamics shares key dates, notable trends, and tips and tricks for social media, email marketing, and promotions to ensure your holiday season is a profitable one!


Part IV – Holiday Emails


Internet Retailer recently published statistics from a Responsys survey, stating that the number of emails with promotional content sent this October were up 22% over last year, with retailers sending at least one email campaign with holiday branding – which is earlier than ever before. By that token, Responsys predicts that total promotional emails this year will surpass last year’s numbers by Thanksgiving. ElasticPath reported that 80% of online shoppers and 71% of in-store shoppers say they are motivated to make a purchase based on promotional emails, meaning retailers not only need to create strategies for maintaining share of mind this season, but need to manage share of inbox as well. Technical specifications - as seen in the OrderDynamics Guide to Email Marketing – aside, here’s what you can do to make sure your brand doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

What to Send

Remember Part I – Know Your Dates? This should help you create a schedule for basic email content. As Thanksgiving Day now marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, holiday emails should at the very least be sent in advance of Thanksgiving to announce special promotions and sales for Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, along with follow-up and reminder emails sometime between the first announcement and the actual date of the sale. Practical eCommerce shared an Email Marketing schedule, asserting that holiday gift guides should be sent November 21 – one day before Thanksgiving – as it builds momentum for the coming shopping season as shoppers are already seeking deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Building on this generic schedule, you can create more brand-specific emails that will attract shoppers during the in-between period of the Thanksgiving Weekend rush, and the home stretch week before Christmas - Free Shipping Monday and Green Monday, inclusive. Marketing Land recommends analyzing the most and the least successful email campaigns from earlier in the year, and last year’s Christmas season to understand what your popular items and top sellers are so that you can use them as features in your emails. Putting these popular items on sale, and offering site-wide promotions are a great way to attract recipients to your website, and indirectly upsell them. The Body Shop uses this tactic in their holiday email campaigns, offering weekend sales spanning from Friday to Sunday, staggering the percentage off each week. The banner showcases both popular and seasonal items to entice customers to click-through to the site, while the additional staircase promotion of ‘buy one get one 50%, buy two get one FREE, buy three get two FREE’ encourages shoppers to purchase more than they meant to in the first place.

An example of the BodyShop.com's holiday emails
Something worth emphasizing here even though it’s discussed in OrderDynamics’ Guide to Email Marketing is the necessity for a mobile version or mobile compatibility for all email campaigns. The season is busy, and many shoppers will be out in shopping malls or attending holiday gatherings rather than sitting at a computer.

Who to Send to

You should ensure your contacts list is up-to-date, removing addresses that have unsubscribed to your emails, or who haven’t opened them in a long time. This will help you identify the extent of which you need to acquire new email contacts. Social media contests, as mentioned in Part III, are a great way to easily collect new addresses, however it is important to note that these subscribers are at risk of unsubscribing later as they may have only been interested in the prize and not your brand. For multichannel retailers, asking buyers at brick-and-mortar stores to sign up for special promotions using their email address at check-out is essentially the same thing as soliciting an email address during online checkout, and can help populate a more reliable contacts list as these subscribers are already interested in your brand.

You should also consider segmenting your contacts list. Practical eCommerce’s Calendar asserts that you should track recipients who have opened your holiday emails but have not made a purchase. This group of people should receive extra special deals, as they have indicated an interest in your brand but require extra motivation. Emails with exclusive offers for loyalty program members (also pictured in the Body Shop email above) can be an added incentive to encourage them to shop when they may not have otherwise. You can also group recipients by the type of product they typically buy, and by age group and gender, as a study suggests men over the age of 55 are more likely to make a purchase as a result of an email marketing campaign than any other demographic – these can create opportunities for his and hers gift guides.

When to Send

It’s no surprise that retailers increase the number of emails they send during the holidays. While some may simply double up, others may be sending daily emails to their customers. It’s important to analyze trends from past holiday seasons to understand the frequency of communication your customers are most comfortable with. Many retailers offer the opportunity to subscribe to holiday emails separately from regular promotional emails, or provide links in their email campaigns that allow recipients to choose whether they would like more or less of these emails. Allowing shoppers to choose the amount and type of emails they would like to receive avoids the issue of them becoming overwhelmed, and ultimately turned off by your brand.

According to Hubspot, promotional emails see more click-throughs at 6 am than at any other time of the day, and Saturday sees the highest click-through rate in emails than any other day of the week. Monday to Wednesday holds almost half of all online purchases, however, retailers should be weary of sending promotional emails on a Tuesday as it holds the highest rate of unsubscribes.

The number one thing all ecommerce retailers should remember is that first and foremost the holidays are about joy, cheer and family. Make sure to take the time to send a purely un-promotional email, simply thanking your customers for being wonderful and wishing them Happy Holidays - like this great letter from airsoft gun retailer AirsoftMegastore.com, putting a softer side on the rugged sport.

Example of AirsoftMegastore.com's promotion-less emails
---

Don't forget to read the other parts of the 2012 OrderDynamics Retail Holiday Guide:

OrderDynamics Holiday Guide 2012 - Social Media for the Holidays

As retail approaches the busiest shopping period of the year, OrderDynamics shares key dates, notable trends, and tips and tricks for social media, email marketing, and promotions to ensure your holiday season is a profitable one!


Part III – Social Media for the Holidays

Social media is never more fun than during the holiday season. Users are abuzz with cheerful banter about pumpkin pie, turkey, Santa and wish lists. This is the perfect time for online retailers to reel consumers in by joining in the fun.

The basics here are to always keep your followers updated. That means updating Facebook statuses and blogs, and tweeting to reflect current sales and promotions, new collections and popular products. However, you also want to engage your followers in creative ways so that your brand stands out among the rest they are following, as well as attract new followers. Here are some great ways to join in the holiday cheer on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and your blog.


Recipe sharing

The highlight of Thanksgiving and the Christmas season is food! Pinterest is a great way for food retailers to share recipes, especially using ingredients found within their stores. Whole Foods has notably been the epitome of Pinterest excellence, and lives up to the reputation this season with pin boards like “Thankful Thanksgiving”, “Winter Entertainment”, and “Creative Christmas Projects”. While Whole Foods does not sell food online, customers can be inspired to place catering orders online based on spreads seen on their pin boards, as well as purchase gift cards with cheerful seasonal branding such as “Happy Hollandaise”.

Williams Sonoma’s blog, The Blender, shares recipes in a manner that also supports sales. The luxury housewares retailer recently posted a ‘Thanksgiving Recipe Remix’ set of gourmet mashed potatoes recipes, wherein they also listed related kitchen tools needed to prepare each recipe with links to their respective product pages on Williams Sonoma’s eCommerce site.

The Blender by Williams-Sonoma's Recipes & Product Information
Société Perrier uses Facebook to share drink recipes, all of which contain Perrier sparkling water. They share in three different ways: syndicating their Mixology blog posts on their Facebook Timeline, sharing links to drink recipes from their website, and sharing restaurants and bars where specialty cocktails made with Perrier sparkling water can be found. Most recently, Société Perrier posted a list of Halloween Drink Recipes.


Gift Ideas

As mentioned in Part II of the OrderDynamics Holiday Guide, Hubspot stated that shoppers respond well to being told what to buy via gift guides as stress builds during holiday shopping. Social media is an excellent way to share popular and new items and staff picks as gift ideas.

Pinterest introduced Secret Boards yesterday, just in time for the holidays. The tool allows users to create up to 3 private pinboards that they can share with specific users. Secret Boards can be used by shoppers to conference over gift ideas for a specific person without spoiling the surprise, making Pinterest a convenient tool for shoppers while creating their holiday gift lists. Clothing retailer Roots Canada has pinboards simply named “Favourites for Her”, and “Favourites for Him. By creating boards such as these, Roots Canada has offered their followers an efficient way to browse gift ideas with which they can utilize Secret Boards. All pinned items link directly to their product page on Roots Canada’s site so that they can be purchased.

Blogs enable retailers to share gift ideas, while also taking a little extra time to explain features and benefits to help shoppers choose more effectively. Cosmetics retailer Murale.ca has regularly used their MUSE blog to share staff picks for favourite gift items for all holidays including Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. These articles state favourite items from various staff members with an explanation as to why they feel these products are great gifts for the given occasion. This initiates a relationship between the shopper and the product, stimulates their imagination as to how the gift recipient may react when opening it on Christmas morning, and steers the shopper in the direction of the item’s product page so that it can be further researched. Murale.ca also leverages the MUSE blog to announce limited edition holiday collections and gift sets.

An interesting way to offer gift ideas is using YouTube videos. YouTube videos are very personal, and help build a rapport between the shopper and the brand. This can instill confidence in online shoppers as many are more open to buying high-priced items during the holidays. HockeyMonkey.com embeds video product descriptions and reviews from their YouTube channel directly on the product page to offer detailed information to customers who appreciate understanding the look, feel and performance of high-ticket items before purchasing.

HockeyMonkey.com's Video Product Reviews

Contests

Contests are typically used as a way to help shoppers treat themselves as budgets become tight while shopping for others.  Specialty footwear retailer and OrderDynamics client, Walking On A Cloud is currently hosting a Facebook contest in collaboration with Blondo Boots. The Blondo Boot Giveaway requires entrants to Like Walking On A Cloud’s Facebook page, along with writing an explanation in the contest page comments box as to why they want to win a pair of Blondo Boots. This initiative helps Walking On A Cloud build their fanbase, while also helping them and Blondo understand key comfort and style features that are important to their customers.

Town Shoes is supporting their multi-channel commerce strategy with their current Facebook/Instagram contest, #Snap2Win. Entry to the contest requires customers to visit a Town Shoes location, take a photo of themself trying on a pair of shoes they would like to own, stylizing the photo with Instragram, and then upload the photo with the Facebook entry form for a chance to win the pair of shoes in the photo. When the entry is posted on Town Shoes’ Facebook page, entrants can share it to earn an additional 5 entries for each of their friends that also enter the contest. The contest entices shoppers to visit their eCommerce site to research styles and locate the store at which they can find it, while also creating an opportunity for Town Shoes staff to upsell when contest entrants visit the store to snap their photo.

Town Shoes' #Snap2Win Contest
---

Don't forget to read the other parts of the 2012 OrderDynamics Retail Holiday Guide:

OrderDynamics Holiday Guide 2012 - Website Checklist

As retail approaches the busiest shopping period of the year, OrderDynamics shares key dates, notable trends, and tips and tricks for social media, email marketing, and promotions to ensure your holiday season is a profitable one!


Part II - Website Checklist 

The most important part of preparing for the holiday season is setting up your website to reflect that you are ready to provide excellent service to your customers. According to an infographic by GetElastic, 39% of shoppers obtain information about a brand, its products and promotions by visiting the site itself. A study by Shop.org also indicated that absolute transparency of all details pertaining to order fulfillment is the make or break point for shoppers when deciding whether to make a purchase from an online retailer. This means providing great products, at the best prices, and making necessary information readily available so as to make shopping on your website as stress-free as possible.

Naturally, seasonal products should be highly promoted and easily accessible on the website. However, these are an easy sell as many shoppers are looking for Thanksgiving and Christmas-branded items anyway. Hubspot asserts that as many shoppers can become overwhelmed during the holidays and simply want to get through their Christmas list as quickly as possible, they are highly receptive to being told what to buy via Holiday Gift Guides. This gives you the opportunity to promote higher margin products that shoppers may not necessarily pay attention to earlier in the year as great gift ideas. Gift guides should be placed on the homepage for high visibility; Hubspot and Level 343 even suggest temporarily updating the meta data for focus product pages to boost the likelihood of them showing up in search engine results when shoppers are searching for gift ideas or holiday sales. Aim for page titles and meta descriptions that are labelled “Black Friday/Cyber Monday Specials”, “Holiday Gift Guide/Ideas” or “Holiday Staff Picks”.

Murale.ca's Holiday Guide featured on their home page.
While you may be able to push higher margin products during the holidays, shoppers are also strict about getting the most value for their money. Shop.org reported that the importance of perpetual visibility of shopping card totals including shipping charges was ranked 4.5 out of 5 during their pre-holiday consumer study, as shoppers want to constantly be aware of how much they are spending. Many retailers including Walmart, Toys R Us and Target are offering – and highly publicizing – price matching for the holiday season to reassure shoppers that they will get the best value. PayPal has even jumped on this trend by offering price adjustments within 30 days of purchase should they find the purchased item at a lower price during that time.

Hollisterco.ca's auto-update shopping cart total and shipping cost banner
Along with value, consumers also want reassurance that their holiday gift items will arrive on time – there is nothing worse (or more awkward) than a Christmas gift that does not arrive in time for Christmas. Dell, Sears and Amazon, among others, have outlined the details for order cut-off dates for shipping to local, remote national, US, and various international areas. There are also few things as awkward as not being able to return a gift should it be the wrong item, size or an overall miss. Ensure your website is transparent about shipping and return policies.

Amazon.ca's order cut-off dates for Christmas delivery
Shoppers also want to know that there is sufficient inventory to fulfill their order, so that it won’t be backordered, or at least have advanced knowledge of it in the event that the item does need to be backordered. The inventory management feature within the OrderDynamics On-Demand eCommerce Platform has shown great success in clients such as Kitchen Stuff Plus, by providing shoppers with advanced knowledge of inventory availability, and what stores they may be able to purchase them in should they be unsure of delivery times.

---

Don't forget to read the other parts of the 2012 OrderDynamics Retail Holiday Guide:

OrderDynamics Announces Cutting Edge Checkout and Fulfillment Integration with Canada Post Ecommerce Services

NOVEMBER 6, 2012 – TORONTO, ON – OrderDynamics™, Canada’s leading on-demand commerce platform provider, today announced the first integration of Canada Post’s eCommerce services into their platform, creating the most comprehensive eCommerce platform in the country.  This integration, in addition to French Canadian language and built-in Order Management and Fulfillment capabilities, is the latest step the company has taken to accelerate eCommerce growth for Canadian retailers.

Retailers using the OrderDynamics eCommerce platform will be able to offer online shoppers additional transparency, information, and convenience prior to and after all transactions. Specific functionalities and benefits related to this integration include:
  • Deliver to Post Office: In addition to shipping to any physical address, shoppers will also have the option to have purchased items delivered to one of the 6,500 Canada Post outlets of their choice. 
  • Real-Time Rate Lookup: Retailers will be able to provide online shoppers with accurate shipping cost estimates on goods they may purchase prior to checkout.
  • Real-Time Tracking Updates: Shoppers can log into the My Account section of the website they recently purchased from to get real-time updates and information on shipping and processing status.
  • Generate a Return Label: Shoppers looking to return purchased goods will be able to download and generate a return label packing slip directly from the My Account section of the website they purchased from.
Canadian women’s apparel retailer, Laura Canada, have already begun leveraging these functionalities as part of their recent launch into online retailing with OrderDynamics.  The national retailer, with more than 107 stores across Canada, believes these integrated capabilities will enhance Laura.ca and help deliver a premium shopping experience for their customers.

“Our goal is to provide the absolute best shopping experience for our customers across all sales channels,” said Sam Barnes, Director of eCommerce at Laura Canada.  “The on-site experience, ongoing service, and quality of fulfillment, are all key to our eCommerce strategy.  OrderDynamics integration with Canada Post’s eCommerce services has proven to be a feature that our customers are already making great use of.  These integrations helped Laura immediately achieve several short and long-term goals for our eCommerce channel,” Mr. Barnes added. 

“Canada Post offers an unparalleled network for any retailers.  By integrating our eCommerce services to the OrderDynamics platform, we are providing the most seamless customer-enabling experience on the market today,” said René Desmarais, Senior Vice President, Parcels, at Canada Post.

“Integrating Canada Post’s eCommerce services into the OrderDynamics eCommerce platform enables merchants to create a more transparent shopping experience for consumers,” said Michael Benadiba, CEO at OrderDynamics.  “This integration, along with other recent platform upgrades, demonstrates our commitment to providing Canadian retailers with best-in-class retail and eCommerce solutions that connect online and in-store sales channels,” Mr. Benadiba concluded.

OrderDynamics Launches Canada’s Most Comprehensive eCommerce Platform with Canada Post



Canada Post announced on November 1 the most convenient delivery experience in the country, in collaboration with Canada’s leading eCommerce platform provider, OrderDynamics. The latest additions to the OrderDynamics On-Demand eCommerce Platform includes built-in Canada Post eCommerce services supporting Order Management and Fulfillment, in both English and Canadian French language.

The unique Canada Post integrations enable Ship to Nearest Post Office, Real-Time Rate Lookup, Real-Time Tracking, and Generate Return Label, to create an enhanced online shopping experience that gives customers the ability to control and personalize every step of their online purchase.

Laura Canada recently launched its first eCommerce site, Laura.ca, on the OrderDynamics platform. The popular women’s apparel retailer has already seen great success since launch, especially with Canada Post’s Ship to Post Office Feature. Ten percent of orders within the first two weeks of Laura.ca’s launch were shipped to post office despite minimal publicity on the unprecedented feature, indicating a readiness in Canadian shoppers for more convenient online shopping and reliable shipping. Laura.ca is currently the only retailer to offer Ship to Nearest Post Office with Canada Post.

“There’s nothing else like this in Canada,” says Michael Benadiba, CEO of OrderDynamics. “Canadians are becoming more eCommerce savvy and are more willing to shop online, but crave tools and information that simplify the process. We expect these new integrations with Canada Post will help retailers drive sales by offering convenience to their customers that creates a shopping experience that is as comfortable online as it is in-store.
Read the press release by Canada Post here.

OrderDynamics Holiday Guide 2012 - Know Your Dates

As retail approaches the busiest shopping period of the year, OrderDynamics shares key dates, notable trends, and tips and tricks for social media, email marketing, and promotions to ensure your holiday season is a profitable one!

Part I – Know Your Dates!

Retailers spend the entire year preparing for the holiday shopping season, planning for the next one as soon as one has finished – and rightfully so. According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales encompass 20-40% of annual revenue for many retailers, making it the most profitable time of the year.  Last year, online holiday sales saw a 15% increase over 2010, and Shop.org asserts that growth will continue this year at 12%. Traditionally, Halloween and Christmas were key shopping periods to cater to; however, with retail encompassing online and mobile channels holiday shopping takes on a far grander scale. Many key shopping days are entirely online-based, not only catering to digital ‘holidays’, but also international holidays that people have become exposed to via the internet. The first step towards capitalizing on big revenues from these shopping days is to know when exactly they are, so you know exactly how to prepare.


Thanksgiving – November 22, 2012
The US Thanksgiving now marks the official start of the holiday season, and is an extremely important opportunity for e-retailers to capitalize on given that brick and mortar stores are closed. comScore reported that Thanksgiving Day online sales generated an estimated $550 million – up 39% over 2010, compared to a 25% increase from 2009 to 2010, indicating a greater willingness to shop on the holiday. Thanksgiving 2011 showed 15.2% of eCommerce traffic was mobile, which contributed to 11.09% of purchases.  Peak sales times were 11am, and then 6pm through to 10pm – before and after Thanksgiving Dinner preparation and celebration.

Black Friday – November 23, 2012
For many years, Black Friday has represented mayhem and madness at retail outlets as people line up for hours the day after Thanksgiving for huge sales on the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. However, eCommerce and mobile commerce has allowed Thanksgiving to take the ‘official start’ title, and bring a little more calm to Black Friday with retailers featuring great deals online. 

Black Friday sales in 2011 showed a 6.6% increase over 2010, compared to 2010’s meager 0.3% increase over 2009; the significant growth in sales is likely attributable to the fact that the Black Friday frenzy has made its way south of the border, with Canadian retailers offering steep discounts of their own. This was further reflected by a 24.3% jump in online sales, while 9.8% of overall Black Friday sales were mobile.

Cyber Monday – November 26, 2012
Cyber Monday 2011 was the single largest online shopping day in history, generating over $1.25 billion in sales.  As with Black Friday, the 33% increase in online sales can likely be attributed to the growing popularity of Cyber Monday perpetuating outside of the US and into Canada. Mobile sales paled in comparison to Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, but still contributed to 6.6% of overall sales – a number that is expected to increase significantly in 2012 as many retailers perfect their mobile sites and apps, as well as integrate with mobile payment solutions.

The phenomenal spike in sales did not come without setbacks, however. Many e-retailers experienced slow load-times, and even outages while trying to accommodate increased traffic. AnnTaylor.com suffered an outage on Cyber Monday, while American Eagle’s AE.com saw a total of 8 hours of downtime from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday. 

Last year, OrderDynamics retailers processed 93% more orders over 2010, and reported generating double, and triple their average revenue, making the scalability of the OrderDynamics On-Demand Commerce Platform an extremely important asset during the coming holiday season.  In the aftermath of last year’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping weekend, OrderDynamics’ Co-Founder and On-Demand Platform Architect, Steven Berkovitz, stated  “We maintain significant on-demand capacity in our SaaS infrastructure to protect merchants against inevitable spikes. Operating a single version of our software allows us to make performance enhancements to our core platform which immediately benefits all of our clients without needing to make costly customizations.”

Green Monday – December 12, 2012
Green Monday is another online retail term originally coined by eBay in a 2007 holiday marketing campaign as their highest sales day in December. Having been beat by Cyber Monday for 3 years, consecutively, now it is specifically known as the second Monday in December, or the Monday no less than 10 days away from Christmas, and one of the last days on which online purchases can be delivered in time for Christmas with standard shipping. While Green Monday is relatively unknown, it’s popularity has grown by having been the third most profitable online shopping day last year, raking in $1.1 billion – a 19% increase over 2010. Green Monday also kicks off the busiest shopping week of the year, accommodating last minute holiday shoppers.

Free Shipping Day – December 17, 2012
Previously known as Free Shipping Friday, this Green Monday rival has been moved to a Monday for the first time this year – the last Monday before Christmas. Free Shipping Day caters to the ultimate procrastinators, wherein expedited shipping is offered for free by participating retailers to ensure arrival by Christmas Eve. Last year, 2600 online retailers signed up to offer free shipping on FreeShipping.org, generating $1.07 billion in revenue and claiming the title of 6th heaviest online shopping day of the 2011 holiday season. FreeShipping.org founder, Luke Knowles, expects just as many retailers to participate this year.

---

Don't forget to read the other parts of the 2012 OrderDynamics Retail Holiday Guide: