E-Commerce Blog

Millions of consumers have switched their bill-paying practices from tedious sessions with a stack of statements and checkbooks to streamlined, paperless payments through a variety of online channels. However, the movement to electronic payments still has a long way to go, and a huge majority of consumers have not yet been weaned away from their checkbook chores and welcomed to the world of paperless payments. As a result, billers, financial institutions, and the IT vendors who provide online payment programs still have many opportunities to profit.

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Online Bill Payments, Part 1: Fertile Soil for IT Vendors

Throughout the economic downtown, business managers heard virtually every cost-cutting measure, from furlough days to reducing IT investment. As we see shoots of recovery, we are reminded that no company can cost-cut its way to excellence; without some focus on the customer, eventually service starts to dwindle, products are shoddy and the company is no longer competitive. Those that persevere through both economic booms and busts incorporate a long-term view of quality and cost measures into their strategic business functions.

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How to Know When Enough Customer Service Is Enough

Let’s hone in on some predictions for IT industry growth and impact, now that the recession appears to have bottomed out. We’re going to ask our distinguished panel of analysts and experts for their top predictions for IT growth through 2010 and beyond. To help us gaze into the IT trends crystal ball we are joined by our panel: Jim Kobielus, Joe McKendrick, Tony Baer, Brad Shimmin, Dave Linthicum, Dave Lounsbury, Jason Bloomberg and JP Morgenthal.

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Cloudgazing: What Does the Rebound Have in Store for IT?

Although the shadow of the recent recession is still lingering over us, many business owners are moving toward starting an e-commerce business, which can seem like a scary leap to take. However, a reason to take that leap is that the number of consumers shopping online is growing. Recent figures from the Department of Commerce show that online stores’ sales were up 12.4 percent in January, compared with a year ago. Data like this show that shoppers are more often turning to e-retailers for their product needs instead of wandering through the mall.

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Building E-Commerce on Rough Economic Terrain

Google has introduced a mobile version of its Product Search tool that lets users check on a product’s availability in local participating stores. Product Search for mobile with local inventory lets a user see if, say, a Nikon Coolpix camera is in stock at a nearby Best Buy or Sears — two of the retailers participating in the program — and then provides basic directions to get there. The search results also show how far away shoppers are from the store if they have enabled the “My Location” feature.

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Google’s New Mobile App Lets Shoppers Peer Into Retailers’ Stockrooms