Traditional retailers haven't exactly embraced online sales channels. Sure, they all have websites, and they sell varying amounts of merchandise through them, but they've been slow to tap into the potential. When I was watching the space as an analyst at a major consulting firm (admittedly, back in 2007), many retailers equated a website to a new store opening. Finally, however, this industry is starting to see the potential of this venue, particularly when it comes to tracking consumer behavior.

When the CEO of Macy's (NYSE: M), Terry Lundgren, says that online sales are only good for 6% of last year's total sales, it's a hint. The translation: "We focus on where the revenue is" is much different from "We focus on where the revenue could be." Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), on the other hand, sees the upside of playing in the online space, which is where it saw revenues spike 85% last year. Aeropostale has seen increases in traditional venues too, but nothing like what it's realized on the web.

So, maybe there's something to this internet, after all.

Continue reading Consumers dislike web tracking, but not enough to change behavior

Consumers dislike web tracking, but not enough to change behavior originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Amazon gets big upgrade

Amazon gets big upgrade originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Amazon had a great Q4, but don't buy just yet

Amazon had a great Q4, but don't buy just yet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The good news this holiday season is that online spending for gifts is up. Depending on the source, the rise is somewhere between 4% and 9%.

The missing piece of the story not reflected in those numbers is that people are spending much less per transaction. While activity may be up, retailer profitability may be down, way down.

According to The New York Times, the Chase Paymentech's Cyber Holiday Pulse Index tells a depressing story. "Chase's index, which surveys 25 of the largest 150 retailers on its Internet payment processing network, showed that the average shopper spent $7.19 less per transaction on Cyber Monday this year over last."

Online spending is not likely to be the only place where this is happening. Consumers, under financial pressure due to lack of credit and concerns about their jobs, are probably spending less everywhere they go. That would make sense. Getting overextended financially is much more risky this year than at any time in the recent past, perhaps going back decades. Why shell out a lot of money? Who knows how bad 2009 will be.

Retailers work on narrow margins, sometimes as low as 2%. Discounts can wipe that out. Comparisons with last year's shopping activity can be very deceiving.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Online spending not really up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Online retail grows a measly 1% in October as the economy stalls originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ChannelAdvisor is an online retailing facilitator, meaning that it fills in the gaps and provides powerful tools that lighten the burden for sellers of larger inventories to place and manage their items for sale. ChannelAdvisor has just bolstered its total received in venture capital to $60 million. CEO Scot Wingo indicates that the intent of this increase in venture capital is to underwrite continued growth. Wingo states that, "Our revenues are growing more than 65% year-over-year so our valuation has reflected that." You may read his insightful commentary regarding the course of retail internet merchandising in this excellent interview on Business 2.0 Beta.

So what has this got to do with eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY)? Quite a lot actually, and the connections are something less than subtle. eBay is a major stakeholder in ChannelAdvisor. You could safely say that the two entities are closely aligned. What poses an odd scenario to me is, wouldn't it appear to the casual observer that eBay is therefore underwriting the success of their closest competitor, especially in light of the fact that ChannelAdvisor is ratcheting the performance of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) above that of rival eBay? I don't get it. Do you?

What occurs to me is that eBay has a vision for itself that it's just not telling us about yet. Does it see itself basing future operations on a different retailing tier than Amazon? Does it plan to make an overture for Amazon at some point down the road? Or does it see itself and Amazon as co-existing within the retail realm with the expectation that there is enough revenue to go around? The fact of the matter is that this is a very strange internet love triangle, and one that could play out in several different ways. I'm open for theories on what this is, why it is, and where it will go. Please share your opinions, won't you?

ChannelAdvisor is doing well out of eBay's shadow, and in it also originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 May 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) got some help from Santa Claus this year.

Fourth quarter net income was $98 million in the fourth quarter, or 23 cents per share, compared with $199 million, or 47 cents, because of an increase in income tax expenses. Revenue rose 34 percent to $3.99 billion, the Seattle-based company said in a statement.

Analysts had expected earnings of 21 cents on sales of $3.77 billion, according to Thomson Financial. Sales rose in after-hours trading. It also gave bullish guidance.

The company said first quarter sales will be between $2.85 billion to $3 billion, below the $3.77 billion analysts had anticipated. Revenue for the year will be $13 billion to $13.7 billion, above the $10.5 billion forecast by Wall Street.

Amazon's results were surprising considering the poor performance at Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE:BKS) and Borders Group Inc. (NYSE:BGP). The company credited Amazon Prime, a program which allows customers to get free two-day shipping for a yearly fee of $75, for helping to drive sales.

Bloomberg News reported that U.S. holiday shoppers spent more money online at Seattle-based Amazon than other retailers, citing data from comScore Networks.

Still, this stock makes investors uneasy. The company has spent lots of money on new initiatives such as Amazon Unbox, an online video download service. Plus, the company has some pretty tough competitors for price-conscious consumers.

That had an impact in the quarter as the company offered deals to help move more digital equipment and popular toys. Gross margins -- always a worry for analysts -- fell to 21.3 percent from 24 percent a year earlier.

Also check out some other earnings reports that we're following, and let us know what you're expecting.

Amazon got a visit from Santa originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.