Industry News
FIFTH GEAR Top Picks

The Final Sales Figure Is In

Internet marketing research company, comScore, reported record-breaking ecommerce sales from November 1 through December 26 – totaling $35 billion.

(Source: Retail Online Integration)

Inventory Management Highly Critical Component

With fulfillment increasingly playing a role in customer service, retailers can’t afford to guess when it comes to the warehouse.

(Source: Internet Retailer)

Kicking Your Contact Center Into Shape

Is your contact center really delivering on the metrics that matter? Resolve to building a more effective customer service effort by tracking these top metrics in 2012.

(Source: Multichannel Merchant)

High or Low, but Never Correct

That is the answer by retailers when asked about their inventory levels! The biggest business pressure faced by retailers this year will be the ability to react to demand changes in a timely manner as they face unpredictable buying behavior and market fluctuations.
(Source: Retail Solutions Online)

Effectively Manage Your Operations Costs

Keeping operational expenses in check is a common challenge for direct-to-consumer retailers. With these helpful tips online merchants can identify areas in freight, inventory, and staffing that can increase productivity and decrease costs.
(Source: Multichannel Merchant)

Here Come the Returns

With great holiday sales, it is only natural that online retailers get ready to face the returns. UPS estimates approximately 550,000 returns on Tuesday (up 8% from last year) and expects to deliver more in the coming days.
(Source: Edmonton Journal)

Accelerating Commerce
Selections from the FIFTH GEAR Blog

Make the Customer King – Shape Up Your Supply Chain

Turn Excess Ecommerce Inventory into Sales

Was the 2011 Holiday Season Really Good for Ecommerce?

Is 2012 the Year of Ecommerce?

Making Returns More Manageable in Order Fulfillment

INDUSTRY EVENTS

Retail’s Big Show

January 15-18, 2012

New York, NY

Social Retail Summit

January 19, 2012

New York, NY

RILA Leadership Forum

January 22-24, 2012

Naples, FL

RILA Logistics

Conference 2012

February 19-22, 2012

Dallas, TX

Data Driven Business Week

March 4-10, 2012

San Francisco, CA

NEMOA directXchange

Spring Conference

March 14-16, 2012

Boston, MA

IRCE 2012

June 5-8, 2012

Chicago, IL

Shop.Org Online

Merchandising Workshop

July 16-18, 2012

San Diego, CA

DOING BETTER BUSINESS

Quick Insights from FIFTH GEAR

A MULTI-CHANNEL
MARKETING TIP

Always look at how your offline campaigns drive online sales. Yes, purchasing through catalogs is down, but print still proves to be a viable trigger for online sales. Size up how your catalogs influence site traffic and conversions. Then target specific buyer segments with your best print campaigns.