Ecommerce News Around the Web for July 30, 2010

“Ecommerce News Around the Web” is our weekly review of articles, blog posts and other news items that could interest ecommerce merchants.

Ecommerce SSL is Broken, Says Conference Founder – The Inquirer

Black Hat 2010 conference founder Jeff Moss is adamant that commerce’s secure socket layer (SSL) is broken. “Thirteen years down the line since the first conference and we’re still not able to conduct business online,” he said. Others disagree, saying there is still considerable usefulness for SSL.

The Reason Customer’s Don’t Pay Online: It’s a Pain – Fortune Magazine

Purchasing on the web is not as easy as one would think, given that it is 2010. Customers still run into many roadblocks using their credit cards to buy online, suggests this article.

American Eagle’s Ecommerce Site Down for Eight Days – StorefrontBacktalk

Multi-billion dollar retailer American Eagle experienced one of the longest outages in recent history on its ecommerce website — eight days in total. Its site was dark from Monday, July 19, through Tuesday afternoon, July 27. The company blames IBM for the downtime.

Consumers Have 50/50 Chance of Finding What They Want Via Site Search – Econsultancy

Consumers have just as much chance of not finding what they want via the search function on most websites as they do in finding it, according to Econsultancy’s Site Search Report, published in association with Funnelback. The report also finds that the 57 percent of firms are planning to increase their investment to improve in this area.

Actinic Survey Shows Ecommerce Still Growing – Actinic

Actinic’s Quarterly Survey of ecommerce sales for the U.K. small to medium enterprise (SME) market confirms that online retail is still in growth mode. The first quarterly survey highlights a healthy increase in revenue of 15 percent in the three months prior to June 2010 when compared to the same period in 2009.

Ecommerce Grabs Market Share from Bricks and Mortar Retail; Poised for Continued Growth – The Motley Fool

U.S. online retail sales are projected to rise from $155 billion in 2009 to $249 billion in 2014, and online retail sales in Western Europe will rise from €68 billion in 2009 to €114 billion in 2014, according to Forrester Research’s online retail forecast. The growth is predicated on the back of ecommerce grabbing market share from bricks and mortar retail.

The Future of Online Retail – Treehouselogic’s Blog

Online retail is quickly evolving as more compelling Internet tools enhance the ability for consumers to purchase online. Despite some inconveniences, maturing Internet technologies will lead to a more “integrated, intuitive, empowering shopping experience,” says this article.

Comparison of Volusion vs. BigCommerce – My Wife Quit Her Job.com

This blog post compares two popular no-transaction-fee shopping cart services, Volusion and BigCommerce. Both provide positive amenities, says the reviewer. The choice comes down to which features and factors users find more valuable.

Social Commerce is Hot, Ecommerce is Not – MarketingWeek

Facebook plans to enable users to buy products without leaving the site, but it could have major implications for online retailers, states this article. This fast-growing integration of social media and ecommerce has even given rise to a new term, social commerce.

Facebook and Amazon Connect, Share Data – AuctionBytes

Amazon.com now provides customers with the ability to connect their Facebook accounts with their Amazon accounts. Some users are resurrecting concerns over privacy, but consent that social media can be used to drive sales.

Email Marketers Integrate Social Media Into Campaigns – eMarketer

Two-thirds of U. S. email marketers are making efforts to integrate social media into their campaigns, according to interactive marketing agency eROI. StrongMail, a provider of email and social media marketing solutions, put the number at 71 percent worldwide.

How Gadgets Will Shape the Future of Online Retail – Experience Solutions

Most online stores use photo images and descriptive text on product pages. That’s fine for some things, but not for others that may demand a more interactive experience (clothing, for example). Thanks to gadgets like the iPad, things are changing and online shopping has moved to the next level.

Use of Skype in Ecommerce – AuctionBytes

Skype may have parted company with eBay, but ecommerce merchants are finding ways to use the online conferencing application to bring buyers and sellers together. With the recent launch of a new multi-person videoconferencing feature, Skype use may continue to grow.

Testimonials and Reviews: Easy Ways to Get Customers Talking – TrialPay Blog

Online customer testimonials and reviews directly influence the purchase decision of 40.9 percent of a site’s customers, according to recent research by Oneupweb. Customers don’t merely want to read ratings and review before they make a purchase, they need to see them. This post provides fives ways to get customers talking.

Flatter Customers by Marking a Special Occasion – Solid Cactus Blog

Even though you might not remember the anniversary of a purchase, it is helpful when the company you purchased from does. Keeping transactions records current is one way to continue marketing to customers long after the purchase is complete. This blog post provides an example from Geek Squad regarding the anniversary of a computer purchase from Best Buy.