Ecommerce Watch

SPECIAL FOCUS:

Holiday Gifting Trends and

Ten-Year Retrospective

Resource Interactive’s tenth annual qualitative review of the online holiday experience.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends � �©�007 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Gift Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Today Only . . .Until Tomorrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Smoother Channel Surfing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

A Shift in Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Learning to Leverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Retrospective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Memory Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

How time flies. This year a Resource Interactive e-retail team stepped out into the field to evaluate the holiday season e-commerce experience for the tenth year in a row. With a decade of hindsight, our multidisciplinary team of researchers audited 50 top online retailers. This study of the �006 holiday season spanned seven weeks, and involved hours of site browsing,

product selecting, purchasing, contacting customer service and visiting brick-and-mortar counterparts.

So what did we find? Online retailers ushered in the season by elevating holiday gift guides, trumpeting cross-channel buying options and coming out from behind the shadows of their offline counterparts. Cyber Monday officially moved from industry term to consumer speak, and had the promotional fanfare to prove it. By the week after Thanksgiving, we were already getting “Last Chance for Holiday Savings” emails—setting a tone of urgency for the season.

While a few years ago many web sites acted like digital versions of stores or catalogs, this year they leveraged the channel and realized opportunities all their own—much to consumers’ benefit. From sites that integrated the product assortments of multiple brands for one-stop-shopping convenience to product pages that let consumers examine the goods as if they were actually holding them, traditional e-commerce barriers fell away.

Although brick-and-mortar retailers continued to edge out pure players in the race for online sales supremacy, the continuously innovating Amazon.com proved the exception with four million orders placed on December 11—breaking its previous sales records.

Brands that tapped into their internet potential fueled a season that saw online sales climb to $��.1 billion—�6% more than �005, according to comScore Networks Inc., and more than twenty times the $1.1 billion BCC Research (formerly Business Communications Company, Inc.) reported in 1997, the year of our first study.

INTRODUCTION

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends and Retrospective

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends � SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 5

GIFT GUIDANCeGift guides were in full force—on homepages, in navigation and emails. But while the ideas were plentiful, points of view were not. Rather than showcase their expertise, retailers repackaged lists of “best sellers” or “what’s hot.” And while Amazon.com shoppers could browse by products with the most popular customer-created tags, few other brands leveraged customer favorites or their own research, experience and insight to help shoppers find gifts for the hard-to-buy-for. Among the standouts, Anthropologie’s thoughtfully bundled cross-category gifts for “The Snow Bunny,” “The Homebody” and “The Globetrotter” invited exploration. Crate and Barrel’s “This and That” paired complementary items for a well-rounded gift, but was removed from the site before the season was in full swing. Borders’ GiftSquad offered helpful suggestions— if only the animated instructions that accompanied the experience could have been skipped on repeat visits.

Kudos to retailers that helped consumers shop outside their comfort zones and beyond what’s familiar. Gifts for “the cook,” for example, are nice in theory, but customers not culinarily-inclined needed a bit more help choosing between a panini press and a griddle. Brands like Giggle and Gifts.com that suggested not just what to buy, but why to buy it increased shopper confidence this season, and

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most likely for future purchases. Based on personality cues, Sephora’s Fragrance Finder helped customers find a unique and personal gift by navigating fine fragrance notes. Toys “R” Us’ Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids explained how individual toys work, and what skills they help children develop.

Beyond gift ideas, retailers continued to offer shoppers a way to give back, announcing that a portion of proceeds would go to a worthy cause. More retailers became virtual middlemen for taking and delivering customer donations, with one-third of the sites we reviewed making philanthropic gestures. Williams-Sonoma solicited help for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through a link on its homepage. JCPenney

donated a portion of its proceeds to an after-school program. Target’s online Angel Giving Tree was a partnership with The Salvation Army—an organization whose banishment from Target’s storefronts (honoring a corporate no-solicitation policy) brought controversy back in �00�.Giving back: TARGET.COM

AMAzOn’S GIFT ORGAnIzER

One of the latest innovations from Amazon.com was the merging of multiple functionalities to help customers give during the holiday season and beyond. By keeping track of not just what customers are purchasing, but whom they’re buying for and why, Amazon.com took steps toward a truly intelligent—and useful—gift guide.

A gift history hub: AMAzOn.COM

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 6 SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 7

REPACkAGEd nAvIGATIOn

Any site that showed its everyday global navigation in green and red type, and called that a gift guide (you know who you are) gets our Blind Spot vote. There were so many we stopped counting.

As holiday online traffic increases overall, so does the number of new customers visiting your site . Some might be new to your brand; others might be new to your merchandise category . Just as you train seasonal store associates differently, you must also guide seasonal customers differently . A gift guide needs to go beyond product suggestions, and include confidence-building input to encourage these shoppers to buy .

HELP FOR THE HOLIdAYS

GIFT GUIDANCe

Fruitless SearchesWhile some shoppers go online with specific brands in mind, others might only know that they want the season’s popular argyle sweater. Without the brand recall to go directly to a retailer’s site, these customers relied on search engines to lead the way. Unfortunately, because many of the best (and biggest) retailers didn’t put much effort into global search engine optimization, shoppers went where search engines took them—not necessarily where they needed to go. With nearly 7 billion searches being conducted every month in the US, having a well-optimized site is now virtually a requirement for selling anything online.

We found that less than half of the retailers we measured were implementing search optimization at a best-practice level, and several retailers had significant barriers that stopped search engines from indexing their product pages:

> Many retailer sites used highly-dynamic URLs that were not search friendly, causing product pages to be unindexable by engines.

> While retailer product pages often had descriptive copy, there was often very little keyword-rich copy on home, landing or category pages. Paired with the dynamic URLs mentioned above, this left little usable copy for search engines to rank against.

> Page titling, an important aspect in ranking algorithms used by search engines, was frequently an issue.

Who got it right: Bluefly and L.L.Bean used page titling to its fullest. Bluefly often included sale information in the title, and L.L.Bean used highly descriptive titles that were frequently updated. Who didn’t: American Eagle used very short page titles that often lacked effective keywords and were not descriptive of page content. Anthropologie employed the exact same title for every page, missing a critical opportunity to provide accurate, keyword-rich page descriptors for products.

Recent data from competitive intelligence service Hitwise concludes that one out of every four visits going to a shopping site originated at a search engine. Without proper search optimization, the opportunity to reach a potential customer can be lost.

WE LOOkEd FOR:9 Descriptive titles 9 Meta data9 Search-friendly product pages 9 Keyword-rich copy

Many more sites featured gift finders, guides or idea sections this year, and with increased categorization… Too many sites focused on elementary segmentations—namely gender—often leaving consumers to click through a mass of generic “gifts for her.”

—E-CommerceWatch2003

LOOkInG BACk: OUR 2003 HOLIdAY STUdY

While today gift guides are a holiday mainstay, it was as recently as �00� that e-retailers first embraced the challenge of helping consumers find the perfect gift.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends � SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 9

TODAY ONLY... UNTIL TOMORROWAt the peak of the holiday season, more than one-third of the retailers in our study reached out to customers every �� hours. Daily contact marked online retailers’ bold attempt to shift consumers’ habits. Formal programs such as Bluefly’s “Steal-a-Day” and Lands’ End’s “1� Gifts of Christmas” promoted habitual site visits. Unfortunately, when combined with urgent “Last Chance” emails, it created unwanted angst about getting the best deal.

Some sites used this increased frequency to offer inspired suggestions, but far more common—and less enjoyable—were ever-changing shipping and sales promotions. Overall, this strategy was novel, but everyday deals aren’t on brand for every retailer. The usually elegant gift site RedEnvelope tarnished its brand image with highly promotional emails—nearly 1� days in a row.

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Inspiring daily gifts: FREEPEOPLE.COM

L.L.BEAn’S HOLIdAY COUnTdOWn CALEndAR

L.L.Bean treated shoppers to a new gift suggestion on its site each day. While some daily messages announced promotions, other recommendations were just that—thoughtfully selected, can’t-miss gift ideas.

SHOO, FLY!

Frequent emails are the norm for discount designer goods retailer Bluefly. But patience and trust wore thin when daily offers became difficult to distinguish from one another without poring over a paragraph’s worth of fine print. With the seemingly random promotional cadence, we never knew when to buy…and therefore, never did.

Daily dose: L.L.BEAn.COM

Big gamble: BLUEFLY.COM


Customers are savvy enough to realize that promotions increase and prices go down as the season progresses . So not only will they spot a misused sense of urgency when you insist “Today Only!” when tomorrow’s deal is better, they’ll also stop trusting you as well . Instead, inspire customers with key items or promotions that encourage purchase, not make them fearful to do so . Even better, tell them what the rules of the sale are . And if price adjustments are available for online purchases, disclose details for how to get them .

PLAY FAIR

TODAY ONLY...UNTIL TOMORROW

The holiday shopping season had little promotional activity. Most online merchants were already overwhelmed by volume and didn’t want to overload their systems during the most critical time of the year.



The abundance of promotions from e-retailers this year—with so many daily emails and updates—is in sharp contrast to their cautionary approach of 199�.

Detouring Traffic JamsPerhaps it should go without saying, but you can’t make money if customers can’t get into your online store. Yet several of the 50 we audited—including Wal-Mart, Apple, Urban Outfitters and Macy’s—experienced outages on easily predictable high-traffic days. Amazon.com screeched to a halt at precisely the day and minute it had invited us to purchase one of the 1,000 Xbox �60 game consoles at the “Customer Vote” price of $100.

Technical difficulties even crossed channels. One Resource Interactive researcher tested Circuit City’s “��-minute in-store pickup” on Black Friday only to find out upon arrival that the store systems were “four hours behind the internet.” Too late to wait on her television for Friday’s big game, she cancelled the order, forfeiting the free gift card that was part of their guarantee.

Want more motivation? As we draw closer to a time when shopping via mobile device will be as second nature as purchasing off our laptops, the need for effective web traffic forecasting tools is critical. Leading the charge to mobile will be Digital Millennials*—Gen Y, tech-savvy shoppers who don’t just expect instant gratification, they demand it. Sites that have traffic under control will reap the benefits of those disposable incomes, and will be light years ahead of those retailers still refusing to plan.

Used humor to soothe disappointed customers: URBAnOUTFITTERS.COM

*Learn more about digital Millenials at www.resource.com.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 1� SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 1�

Several retailers used their cross-channel connections to increase customer convenience. Notably, Crate and Barrel announced that same day in-store pickup was a phone call away, while Circuit City positioned “� Ways to Buy” prominently in emails. And Bath & Body Works’ Black Friday promotion seamlessly integrated a Resource-created email blast with its web site focus, in-store marketing and television ad. In our work with Wal-Mart, we created online advertising to promote “secret” in-store deals that were unveiled only online. This program helped Wal-Mart claim the top spot for online traffic on both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

While many online venues gave shoppers great reasons to visit their brick-and-mortar destinations, few offline stores returned the favor by sending customers to their sites. Promoting a channel that offers the convenience of expanded inventory combined with reduced waiting seems obvious this time of year.

Another benefit of driving traffic online is that even when the store is closed, the site is still open. Promotions for Thanksgiving Day specials kept consumers busy through dessert. After presents were opened, shoppers on Christmas Day were lured online when visions of early sales danced in their heads. Retailers including Best Buy, victoria’s Secret and Eddie Bauer quenched the thirst for a deal, and helped customers spend their shiny new gift cards.

SMOOTHeR CHANNeL SURFINGMore brands than ever before reached out across channels to their brand counterparts. Homepages touted multiple ways to shop. Sister brands promoted one another. Web sites supported in-store promotions. It wasn’t perfect, but it was progress.

Gap Inc.’s family of brands cross-promoted each other online and in bouncebacks. Although a lackluster execution, Sears Holdings Corporation brought together the combined product selections of its Sears, kmart and Lands’ End brands for one-stop shopping. Crate and Barrel, which also promoted sister home décor brand CB2 on its homepage, perhaps said it best by inviting shoppers to “Think of [sister site The Land of nod] as Crate and Barrel for kids.”

Best Buy perfected its online-offline connection with a web site tool that appeared during its online Thanksgiving Day sale, and facilitated Black Friday shopping in-store. victoria’s Secret PInk used homepage real estate to send customers to stores for a limited-editionT-shirt.

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Promoting the big sale: BESTBUY.COM

In-store specials, revealed online: WALMART.COM

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 1� SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends 15

GAP InC.’S CROSS-PROMOTInG GIFT CARdS

Not every multi-brand company has a customer that shops more than one of its divisions. Companies that do can benefit from making cross-brand shopping easy. each Gap division offered gift cards (both brand-specific and multibrand) for each of its three big sites—Gap, Banana Republic and Old navy. Available all season long, and done perhaps in an effort to boost lagging sales, the transparency meant convenience for the cross-brand customer.

WILLIAMS-SOnOMA’S WRAP UP

Williams-Sonoma stores delighted customers with several pre-wrapped items for ready-to-give convenience. Online, however, the same items would have cost a $5 premium to look as nice. That lack of consistency was frustrating, especially when one channel set the bar high, and another failed to clear it.

More and more retailers have discovered the benefits of driving customers online, yet there is monumental progress to be made when retail store executives are still viewing their own web site as a competitive threat . If the only option to promoting your site is a window sticker in stores announcing “Shop Online 24/7,” then, yes, sales may be the only thing customers think your site is good for . It takes broader thinking to embrace the fact that sales goals should transcend channels . Ideas, inspiration, comparisons and product information are all tools customers can use online before making a purchase in store . With Jupiter Research estimating that by 2011 nearly half of all U .S . retail sales will be transacted online or influenced by internet research, a united front across the entire business will allow channels to complement each other, not compete .

CHAnnELInG COnSISTEnCY

SMOOTHeR CHANNeL SURFING

Wrapped and ready: WILLIAMS-SOnOMA.COM

This holiday, the six best total online shopping experiences were delivered by Internet-only retailers, displacing retail industry behemoths such as Walmart.com, disneyStore.com, nike.com, and Toysrus.com.



The sophistication of today’s multi-channel experience demonstrates that traditional retailers (those who started out as a store or catalog) have expertly reclaimed the edge they lost early on to nimble pure players—Internet-only shops.

Pick a card: OLdnAvY.COM


the lines of communication open. Customers disappointed with the promotion were free to leave comments saying so, without diminishing the program’s popularity.

Another important consumer control came in the form of product views, and the retailers who get it, got it big time this year. Eddie Bauer not only let consumers choose multiple views, but edited available views by product at the index page level, anticipating what customers would want to see. When customers rolled over dresses, the images transformed to show the back view. When browsing T-shirts, shoppers could preview the available color range. Newcomer shoe retailer Piperlime’s thoughtful array of shoe views (matched only by the post-holiday launch of Amazon.com venture Endless.com) made it easy to forget the computer screen that stood between customers and the adorable patent leather platforms.

Consumer-generated product reviews moved beyond electronics-related sites to become a key decision-making feature. Macy’s even offered an incentive to leave feedback with a sweepstakes entry. evolving its everyday capabilities,

Amazon.com’s flexibility to allow readers to rate, sort and verify ratings upped the trust and relevance of feedback substantially. Unfortunately, while cross-category product selling, mobile marketing, customized gifts and RSS feeds were forecasted in years past to become highlights, all lacked prominence this year, leaving customers with fewer unique options.

Viral campaigns invited us to stay, play and pass it on, although in the case of Office Max’s �0 unique microsites, felt like more of a distraction from the fact that the brand didn’t have much else to promote. (Although we will admit to spending entirely too much time “elfing” ourselves with the photo-on-a-dancing-elf animation.)

A SHIFT IN CONTROLThe baseline for the customer experience has increased dramatically in ten years of E-CommerceWatch studies. Consumers went from asking retailers whether they could pay online to asking themselves which payment option they’d prefer. In addition, customers can now determine when to ship orders, and—in some bold instances—which items go on sale.

Amazon.com pioneered with its “Customers Vote” campaign, which let shoppers vote on their favorite of four items to

be promoted at a shockingly low price, for later purchase. Interestingly, it shifted to an experience that lacked control, as the number of users trying to buy the chosen item crashed the site. In the end, it was quite literally a game of chance, with a lottery system implemented to give the lucky few the deal of the season. However, Amazon.com kept

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Rocking the vote: AMAzOn.COM

Rating apparel: MACYS.COM

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The line between internet-empowered consumers and the companies they interact with has blurred . Moving forward the most successful companies will be those that share brand ownership with their consumers . In fact, many consumers already interact with brands on a variety of levels—sanctioned or not (like SlaveToTarget .com, a blog created and run by customers) .

Opening the brand to customers can be as simple as frictionless transactions and alternate payment options or as complex as consumer-generated media and crowdsourcing . Openness is something brands must understand, embrace and leverage . In Open Branding, our latest Thought Leadership initiative and forthcoming book (Summer 2007), we examine the benefits of being an open brand and the pitfalls of being closed, and lay out a strategic framework for how to engage the consumer .

HAnd OvER THE kEYS

The best practices to date put customers in charge of their online experience by providing adequate opt-ins and opt-outs. However, consumers should have the option to purchase as a registered member or shop anonymously without account information being saved.



Control has long been a theme in analyzing the online customer experience, but while customers today expect to influence their shopping trip from start to finish, in 1999 having control meant substantially less.

A SHIFT IN CONTROL

Present PerfectIn our first study ten years ago, we noted that online gift wrap options were limited, and a decade later not much has changed. While in the years in-between, customers were offered multiple gift wrap options, this year choice was once again limited. Crate and Barrel went back to classic black and white, after offering more colorful choices last year. Target opted for silver. No one gave shoppers a meaningful choice of gift wrap—not even those retailers who readily offered up a dozen or more gift card designs.

Ten months out of the year, we’re inclined to agree with the operational decision to limit gift wrap. But at this business-critical time of year, a choice may be in order. While RedEnvelope’s classic red box and white bow is appropriate for the holidays and beyond, Amazon.com’s light green paper felt more like spring. And if all other control-enhancing tactics are logistical nightmares, moving the gift message from the packing slip (as seen with Urban Outfitters and Piperlime) to a gift enclosure would be a tremendous (and long-overdue) start.

Seeing green: AMAzOn.COM

Impressed with thoughtful embellishments, if not choices: AnTHROPOLOGIE.COM

SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends �0 SPECIAL FOCUS: Holiday Gifting Trends �1

LeARNING TO LeVeRAGeSo what’s next? While we saw some retailers trying new things this season, the majority of sites we audited lacked true originality—original content, offerings, tools and services. We want to see brands take advantage and even push the limits of technology to deepen customer relationships. We want to be inspired, surprised and delighted in �007. Be the site your customer is looking for.

9 Take cues from the customers’ in-store experience. Consider rich internet applications (RIA) that allow for better visualization and customization—bring the product to life.

9 Make the connection from search to store seamless. Leverage search engines through keyword-rich copy and relevant page titles.

9 Bundle thoughtful gifts, including cross-category items that complement each other. even better, include a loadable gift card with every purchase to encourage additional site visits and provide customers with a convenient last-minute gift.

9 Allow customers to check site and store inventory levels. If an item is available in store only, help shoppers find the nearest store that still has it in stock.

9 Provide updates via RSS and even mobile communication for consumers willing to opt-in (likely your best and most loyal customers).

9 Don’t assume that an “abandoned” cart equals a lost customer. Remind them of items left there, update them if the price has changed and alert them when inventory is low.

9 Develop a comprehensive shopping experience for the customer who visits only during the holidays, as well as the one who is with you year ‘round.

Until next year, have a happy and prosperous new year!

Ten years in the field.10

A decade ago, consumers were just beginning to dabble online via 2800-baud modems, Amazon .com was a bookstore and Google (well, googol) was just a number . That was when Resource Interactive President kelly Mooney decided we should get smarter about the opportunities for our clients to sell their products online .

Since then, we’ve spent thousands of hours browsing, buying, returning, calling and emailing . We’ve seen e-retailers do it all . And we leveraged our learnings to educate associates, fuel Thought Leadership and guide our clients .

To commemorate a decade of brilliance and blunders, we’ve highlighted hurdles the industry has cleared, snapshots that capture today’s online experience and innovations that will shape the blueprint for tomorrow . Like any good history lesson, we hope this leaves you with a better appreciation of the past and an enlightened perspective on the future .

ReTROSPeCTIVe

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The threat of credit card fraud and identity theft were barriers to making purchases online.

ReTROSPeCTIVe

One Brand, Many ChannelsThe importance of bricks versus clicks continues to be debated, but the reality, of course, is that no matter how a company views its channels, customers see one brand.

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When asked, “Do you sell this item on your web site?”, a store employee, with the brand URL emblazoned on his shirt, offered a blank stare.

While brand web sites are starting to show evidence of integration, stores and catalogs still do little reciprocal reinforcement.

Store employees will enhance the brand experience by taking shoppers online to close (and save) the sale.

SSL technology and well-written, easy-to-find company policies ease shoppers’ minds, while consumer recommendations are a key trust factor.

Transparent communication and consumer-generated content—including ratings, reviews, testimonials and open forums—are the quintessential trust builders for online brands.

Tell Me MoreRetailers’ desire for consumers’ personal information and the technology to collect and store it has persisted over time. The value is in what retailers do with the information.

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Retailers’ data collection efforts served their needs more than the consumer’s.

Help is HereFAQs. email forms. Toll-free numbers. Live chat. So many ways for consumers to find answers. And after a decade of asking, we’re starting to get faster, more relevant responses.

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Customers waited �� hours to get a unique response to their email inquiries, if they were answered at all.

Live chat makes customer service faster and more human.

Specialized customer service advisors—from the brand or the community of shoppers—will be ready to share expertise via email, phone or chat.

Retailers encourage consumers to share personal information by using it to enhance and customize the customers’ online experience.

Brands anticipate consumers’ needs and become virtual personal shoppers.

Signs of TrustInitially, fear and doubt kept consumers from buying online but best practices for safe shopping made e-commerce an everyday convenience.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Restrospective SPECIAL FOCUS: Retrospective

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Giftable CardsMoving out from behind their reputation as the I-don’t-know-you-well-enough-to-buy-you-a-real-gift stigma, gift cards have skyrocketed in popularity and evolved into the highly sought-after present for the holidays and beyond.

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Premiering online as paper certificates or e-codes, gift cards were first available in predetermined denominations and redeemable only in one channel.

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The Tools to ChooseThe web brought a world of options to consumers everywhere—overcoming geographical boundaries. But without the right decision support tools, more choice can also be more trouble.

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A single, static product view and a list of product attributes were all that customers were given to distinguish one product from another.

Sophisticated filtering tools and multiple product views help shoppers narrow choices and sort through them.

Ongoing two-way dialogues between brands and consumers will result in the option to view tailored assortments.

Creatively merchandised and available in fun, customizable formats, gift cards can be redeemed, registered and reloaded in any channel.

Retailers will include loadable gift cards with purchases to provide additional, instant gift options.

Measures of SuccessSince our first study in 1997, we’ve seen e-commerce evolve from an unemotional, isolated transaction to a frictionless, inspiring and empowering experience that leaves consumers eager to reconnect with a brand.

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Success was measured by the number of new customers and dollars spent online.

Follow-Througheager to sell online, but lacking basic fulfillment capabilities, brick-and-mortar retailers are now taking cues from catalogers to meet consumers’ delivery expectations.

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The shock of gifts not arriving in time to get under the tree—or at all—damaged brands’ credibility.

Retailers provide order-status updates and tracking services to boost consumer confidence and ensure on-time—and even early—deliveries.

Retailers offer more consumer choices for delivery, including scheduled ship dates, in-store pick-up options, and hassle-free, cost-free returns.

Success is measured by dollars spent online with consideration for customer satisfaction, interaction time and repeat visits.

Success will be measured by the quality of the experience, the degree to which consumers interact with and impact the brand, and the web’s contribution to overall sales.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Retrospective SPECIAL FOCUS: Retrospective

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The interactive world has come a long way. And we’ve been here through it all. Our favorite moments from over the years are plentiful, but here are just a few highlights (or mishaps) for your added enjoyment. Cheers to ten more amazing years of studying, influencing and improving the e-commerce experience!

YOUR InBOx IS FULL:

American Greetings sent us an individual email confirmation for each and every item in our order.

MeMORY LANe...

’9�

CLOSEd CHECkOUT LAnE:

Using the back button during Lands’ End checkout emptied our shopping cart .

’9�

WASTEd TIME:

jcrew.com (‘99) and Blue nile (‘00) failed to remember account info upon return visits .

’99-‘00

ALL OR nOTHInG:

Barnesandnoble.com said if we wanted to gift-wrap one item in our order we had to gift-wrap everything .

’99

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE:

Toysrus.com delivered our “in-stock” Furby on January 27—after we had already taken down our tree .

’00

FOURTH TIME’S A CHARM:

Egifts.com site continually crashed in ’98 . It took us four tries before we could order!

’9�

TRY YOUR LUCk:

Sears.com warned shoppers that the “image shown may differ from actual product appearance .”

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PLEASE STOP YELLInG:

Ashford.com displayed return policy in ALL CAPS with textual errors .

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dOn’T MISS A dETAIL:

eToys.com offered the appropriate size batteries for selected toys at checkout .

’99

EARPLUGS PLEASE:

Amazon.com gave toy buyers fair warning by providing noise samples .

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PAUSE-And-PLAY:

Best Buy, L.L.Bean and Gap incorporated the same “save for later” convenience that we fell in love with on Amazon.com .

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SAvE TIME:

Gifts.com reminded us about stored dates and recipient profiles to prompt our gift giving, as well as help us manage it .

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SAY CHEESE:

Circuit City and Wal-Mart offered personalized photo gift cards.

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EvERYOnE WInS:

800.com encouraged consumer-generated content by entering authors of product reviews into a $2,500 shopping spree contest .

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EARLY GIFTInG:

Amazon.com and [email protected] let customers pick the exact day e-gift certificates were to be sent .

’00WAkE-UP CALL:

Target jump-started Black Friday shopping with an early morning phone call from the consumer’s choice of celebrities .

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©�007 Resource Interactive. All rights reserved.

�� North Front Street, Columbus, Ohio ��15ph 61� 6�1 �� ph �00 550 5�15 fx 61� 6�1 ��7�

www.resource.com

For more information, contact:

John kadlicExecutive Director, Business DevelopmentResource [email protected]

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Holly DavisPR SpecialistResource [email protected]

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