Zappos launches lifestyle magazine iPad app
Online footwear retailer Zappos has today launched an iPad app called Zappos Now, presented in the form of a digital lifestyle magazine.
It will be updated monthly, and allow users to shop directly from the app with free next business day shipping with no minimum order value.
Discounts and loyalty: a bad match?
Quick: what are some of the best way to acquire loyal customers? If you look around online, you might draw the conclusion that providing discounts makes the list.
Billions upon billions of dollars worth of coupons are distributed by brands each year, and increasingly couponing is moving to the web, where bargain-loving consumers have more power than ever to seek out the very best deals available.
Online video strategy in the US: what works?
In June, YouTube announced that it had hit the 3bn views per day milestone and was receiving 48 hours of new video per minute, while Garner listed online video as one of the top ten strategic technologies for 2011.
But in the staggering jungle that is online video, what can US brands do to make sure their content and distribution plans work together as an effective strategy?
Here are my top five tips...
Is the domain name gold rush finally over?
The internet has minted a fair share of millionaires. More than a
handful have made those millions buying and selling desirable domain
names. Starting with the sale of business.com for $7.5m in 1999, over
the years many domains have changed hands for sizable amounts -- six, seven and even eight figures.
That's not exactly surprising: domains have been likened to real estate, and when it comes to building a brick-and-mortar business, it's all about location, location, location.
Behavioral targeters need to find a balance between helpful and creepy
Zappos knows what you did last summer. Or maybe what you did last time you were on the Zappos website. The shoe seller is just one of many companies that tracks customer activity online to serve more relevant advertising.
Such tools have has the ability to make product searches much easier online. But they also creep some people out. And behavioral targeters need to figure out the difference before regulators really start paying attention.
Q&A: Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh
Think Zappos.com and you think not only of happy customers and happy employees, but also of an e-commerce site that's the poster child of a successful web business.
The architect of all this happiness and success is CEO Tony Hsieh who, in the wake of Zappos recent acquisition by Amazon has penned a book about the rise of his company, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose.
We caught up with Hsieh to find out how e-commerce has changed since he founded Zappos 11 years ago, and why companies should be fearless about social media and infusing their organizations with strong corporate values.
Zappos lives up to its reputation for customer service
Perhaps no online retailer has acquired a reputation for customer
service quite like Zappos, which was acquired last
year by Amazon for more than $900m.
Reputations, of course, are difficult to acquire and maintain, but very easy to lose. And for good reason: when something goes wrong, many companies respond in ways that end up tarnishing their reputations. Last week, a costly mistake put Zappos to the test.
The demise of the brand relationship
Brands are working harder than ever to decide what course to take to engage with their audiences' world and sell more. Many say brands need to evolve, but more signs are showing that a complete rebirth is a better bet.
Q&A: Zappos' Jane Judd on customer loyalty
Zappos has built up a reputation for excellent customer service, and owes much of its success to this. The fact that 75% of its business comes from repeat customers provides convincing evidence of its importance.
I've been asking Jane Judd, who is the senior manager of Zappos' Customer Loyalty Team, and was one of the keynote speakers at the recent Internet Retailing conference, about the company's approach...
Site review: javari.co.uk
Launched at the end of last week, javari.co.uk is Amazon's new standalone site selling footwear and handbags.
The online retail behemoth has been selling shoes on its main site for some time, but launched a dedicated site to attract more brands. I've been taking a closer look at the website...
