For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Travel eBusiness Can Win Friends And Influence Travelers

An In-Depth Look At Travel Social Fans, The Travelers Who Friend, Follow, Or Fan Travel Companies And Destinations On Social Media Sites

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, September 3, 2010

Travelers view social media as more than a way to stay in touch with people they know. Forrester data reveals that two in five US online leisure travelers have friended, followed, or become a fan of a travel company or destination on a social networking . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

What Every Exec Needs To Know About The Future of eCommerce Technology

How Online And Multichannel Capabilities Are Transforming Business

by Brian K. Walker, August 27, 2010

We are in a highly transformative time as changing customer expectations, commerce capabilities, and technology continue to evolve rapidly. Initiatives that just a few short years ago would have seemed a long way off — such as mobile commerce, app stores, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Web Is The Critical Channel For Serving Small Business Banking Customers

eBusiness Executives Should Focus On Web Site Functionality For Support

by Brad Strothkamp, Peter Wannemacher, August 24, 2010

Small business owners know a lot about their businesses, but they often know little about how to best manage the financial aspects of those businesses. As these small businesses grow, banks can build stronger relationships with them by ensuring that they . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Canadian Insurance Customers Use Different Channels

by Ellen Carney, Peter Wannemacher, August 24, 2010

Canadians still use the phone as their primary channel for insurance. In fact, the phone was the only channel used by a majority of online Canadian insurance customers in the past year, while fewer than one in three customers used an insurer's Web site . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Retailing In Australia 2010: Technology Investment

by Steven Noble, Brian K. Walker, August 19, 2010

As online retail continues to gather pace in Australia, merchants have significant plans for eCommerce technology investment. In particular, 53% of respondents say the base eCommerce platform is the key investment priority in the year ahead. Likewise, . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Web Site Functionality Benchmark 2010: UK Grocers

Top UK Grocers

by Patti Freeman Evans, Lauriane Camus, August 18, 2010

Forrester evaluated the grocery Web sites of the four largest UK grocers — Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose — using our Web Site Functionality Benchmark methodology. The results: Sainsbury's led the pack, but the overall functionality experiences . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Global Online Population Forecast, 2009 To 2014

An Overview Of Global Adoption To Help Plan For International Initiatives

by Zia Daniell Wigder, August 17, 2010

Between 2005 and 2009, the global Internet population increased from fewer than one billion to more than 1.6 billion; by 2014, it is projected to grow by another 42%. The bulk of the population growth will come from Asia, which will represent 44% of the . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Banks Should Start Adding Customer Ratings And Reviews To Their Sites

European Online Financial Researchers Want Ratings And Reviews

by Alexander Hesse, August 16, 2010

European online financial researchers look for customer ratings and reviews. They tend to trust them and find them valuable for making better buying decisions. Although a range of North American financial services firms offer customer ratings and reviews . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Polish Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Alexander Hesse, August 10, 2010

The Polish retail financial services market is characterized by strong growth and fierce competition among a large number of banks, many of them foreign-owned. With current account ownership growing from 44% to 58% and Internet adoption growing from 39% . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Online LGBT Traveler: A Fabulous, Value-Focused Travel eBusiness Niche Market

by Henry H. Harteveldt, August 3, 2010

There are more than 7 million US online lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) leisure travelers. LGBT travelers spend more than $41 billion per year on their personal and leisure travel and tend to be more engaged with online travel booking than . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Online Retailing In Australia 2010: Performance And Channels

by Steven Noble, August 2, 2010

Many of Australia's largest traditional retailers have done little more than experiment with eCommerce. As a result, the industry has grown used to saying that Australia lags other developed nations when it comes to online retail. This is true, but "Online . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How Travel eBusiness Can Engage Conversationalists, The New Social Media Group

by Henry H. Harteveldt, July 28, 2010

From 2008 to 2010, 26.3 million more US online leisure travelers began using social media. Members of the group that travel eBusiness professionals need to pay attention to for their social commerce potential are the 53.8 million US online leisure travelers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Organizing For eBusiness — A Financial Services Perspective

The Dual Nature Of eBusiness Requires A Multidimensional Organizational Structure

by Brad Strothkamp, July 26, 2010

Creating the optimal eBusiness organizational structure is one of the biggest challenges confronting eBusiness executives at financial services firms today. As both a channel and an enterprise function, the dual nature of eBusiness serves as the primary . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

How US Banking Customers Use Different Channels

by Emmett Higdon, Peter Wannemacher, July 26, 2010

The percentage of US adults who bank online has risen from 51% in 2005 to 59% today. This steady growth has changed the way customers use other channels like branches, automated teller machines (ATMs), and the phone. In addition, multichannel banking . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The State Of Mobile Commerce In Europe

Mobile Commerce Is Still Nascent And Shows A Small But Growing Market Opportunity

by Lauriane Camus, Thomas Husson, July 13, 2010

European mobile commerce is still at an early stage. Digital content is still the primary product purchased via mobile devices, but consumers show growing interest in using their mobile phone for all sorts of shopping activities. Many enablers are in . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

European Social Retail Is A Work In Progress

by Patti Freeman Evans, Lauriane Camus, June 25, 2010

Social media is transforming the way European online buyers interact with each other and consume content. Online buyers are using social media to connect with their peers and, to a much lesser degree, starting to use such tools to connect with retailers . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Selecting Online Customer Service Channels To Satisfy Customers And Reduce Costs

by Diane Clarkson, June 25, 2010

From a customer service perspective, right-channeling means providing your customers with satisfying service through the lowest-cost channel. For most eBusinesses, improving right-channeling requires expanding online customer service options. eBusiness . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Postmortem: US Online Holiday Season, 2009

by Patti Freeman Evans, June 23, 2010

The 2009 holiday season arrived during the great recession. In spite of the economic slowdown, nearly three-quarters of online holiday buyers maintained or increased spend in the online channel compared with 2008. The online channel remained resilient . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Case Study: Steve Madden Invests In Mobile Fundamentals

by Sucharita Mulpuru, June 22, 2010

Steve Madden is a designer and manufacturer of contemporary women's, men's, and children's shoes and accessories; its products are available through both Steve Madden-branded stores, the company's Web site, and other retail partners, such as department . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

The Alternative Payment Methods Landscape For Travel eBusiness

The Payment Methods That Appeal Most And Least To Leisure Travel Bookers

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, June 22, 2010

Since 2007, US travelers' usage and interest in alternative payment methods (APMs) for online travel purchases has been slowly, but steadily, increasing. Fifteen percent of US online leisure travel Bookers used APMs to buy travel online in the past 12 . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Benchmarking UK Banks' Sales Sites, 2010

The Co-Operative Bank Has The Best Content And Functionality

by Vanessa Niemeyer, Ph.D., June 16, 2010

Forrester evaluated the Web sites of the 10 largest UK retail banking brands — Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, first direct, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander, The Co-operative Bank, and Yorkshire Bank — using our Web Site Functionality Benchmark methodology. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

2010 US Auto Insurance Secure Site Rankings

Progressive Secures The Top Position, Barely Edging Out GEICO

by Chad Mitchell, June 14, 2010

Forrester evaluated the secure Web sites of the four largest US private passenger auto insurance providers — Allstate Insurance, GEICO, Progressive Casualty Insurance, and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance — using our Web Site User Experience and . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Why Travel eBusiness Misses The Mark By Only Emphasizing Price

Leisure Travelers Place As Much Emphasis On Value And Reliability As Price

by Henry H. Harteveldt, Elizabeth Stark, May 19, 2010

Price, price, price. In today's Wal-Mart world, travel eBusiness professionals constantly say that price is the most important element that leisure travelers focus on. That perception illustrates an incomplete view of the customer. An equal percentage . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Banking On Social Sites Is A Work In Progress

Privacy And Security Concerns Must Be Satisfied To Tap Emerging Demand

by Emmett Higdon, May 19, 2010

More than 250 financial institutions from 40 different countries have joined Facebook, looking for friends and future customers while testing the social networking waters. While many of these banks have seen moderate success in engaging customers in discussions . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2010: Staffing And Hiring For eBusiness

by Carrie Johnson, Elizabeth Davis, May 19, 2010

A few months into 2010, eBusiness is going strong, with restrained but modestly growing budgets and a shift under way toward a shared service organizational model. To get to the bottom of how eBusiness teams are staffing to support their companies' optimistic . . .