New York SBDC Research Network

By Lucy Koch From eMarketer A couple weeks ago, headline after headline heralded the moment when US e-commerce (“clicks”) finally surpassed in-store sales (“bricks”), per slightly misconstrued data from the US Census Bureau. This seemed to confirm what many perceive as reality: Brick-and-mortar stores struggle as e-commerce continues to grow at double-digit rates every year. But the headlines didn’t tell the full story, and many people got the wrong impression as a result. What the stories should have clarified was that online sales across all categories accounted for 11.813% of retail spending in February, while sales from general merchandise retailers via their brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 11.807%. (And while “general merchandise” sounds like it could account for everything, it actually represents a more specific segment of retail that excludes auto, food, beverage, apparel, and accessory sales.) We forecast that retail e-commerce will account for 10.9% of total U

From eMarketer The 26-year-old law that exempted online retailers from collecting sales tax in states where they have no physical presence has been overturned, per a US Supreme Court ruling Thursday. This practice was a holdover from a 1992 case, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, when ecommerce looked very different from today. States looking to make up lost revenues have been pushing for reform for years. This case was brought by the state of South Dakota, but it has greater implications for the 45 states that rely on sales tax, as well as online retailers like Wayfair, Overstock.com and Newegg.com (all were involved in this case) that have argued that tax collection would be a logistical challenge and an unfair burden, particularly on smaller merchants.

Obtained from:   MarketingProfs  IT buyers tend to research products/services across a wide range of online channels, prefer to be contacted by vendors via email, and favor firms with excellent customer support, according to recent research from Spiceworks.  The top factors that drive whether IT buyers will respond to a new sales/marketing outreach effort are the relevance of the product/service and the inclusion of detailed pricing information in the message. IT buyers say the top factors that drive their brand loyalty to vendors are great customer support, consistently fair pricing, and a history of reliable products/services.