E-Commerce ALERTS - Archive 1999

SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL VISITORS:
Effective December 31, 2012, articles are no longer being updated on this web site.
The site is now maintained as an historical archive, covering articles from the period 1999 to 2012.

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E-TAILER TESTING SEASON

This has been the first Christmas in which e-commerce has offered bricks-and-mortar businesses serious competition. The first Christmas where online hype has been replaced by educated consumer intention as user after user chose to buy Christmas gifts via the Net. But it will also prove to be many e-tailers' last Christmas — MORE

ONLINE MERCHANTS NEED TO IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

A study of online holiday shopping habits shows while electronic commerce is steady growing, merchants have some work to do — MORE

IBM-HARRIS SURVEY FINDS PRIVACY ACTIVE CONSUMERS IN EUROPE, U.S.

Consumers in Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S. are acting on concerns about their personal privacy. According to the 1999 IBM Consumer Privacy Survey conducted by Harris Interactive, substantial majorities of consumers -- 94% in the United States, 78% in the UK and 72% in Germany -- are concerned about possible misuse of their personal information — MORE

INTERNET PRIVACY ERODING, STUDY SAYS

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) warns that Americans are risking their privacy when they do their Christmas shopping on the Web. EPIC's latest Web sweep, "Surfer Beware III," examined the privacy policies of the top 100 shopping sites to determine whether companies have adopted fair information practices — MORE

REALITY CHECK: BEHIND TRUSTe's SEAL

The e-mail message we received from "uirstcytop" promised: "Premier Investigator Teaches You - MAKE 10K/ MONTH!" Some of us are always looking for ways to supplement our meager salaries, so we opened up the message. "Now, you too can make substantial income using Schweitzers [sic] highly sought-after SECRETS." We decided to pass on the deal, but something else in the message piqued our interest: "As a responsible user of e-mail for mass broadcasting, we filtered our e-mailing list at OptList.com 24 hours before the transmission of this message — MORE

STUDY FINDS MOST SALES GOING TO RETURN CYBER-SHOPPERS

While online shopping is expected to explode this year, only a small number of online gift buyers this Christmas are doing it for the first time, according to a study released by Forrester Research. Almost 90 percent of online holiday shoppers have purchased from e-tail sites before, and half bought gifts last year — MORE

CONSUMERS ONLINE PRIVACY CONCERNS RISING

Online consumers expect their personal information to be used to deliver truly personalized content and to enhance their online experience – not for intrusive marketing efforts, says a new industry study — MORE

PRICE NOT KEY DRIVER AS MAJORITY CRAVE SERVICE AND TOTAL VALUE

Sending a serious signal to online businesses and countering conventional wisdom, 25% of experienced Internet users said that banner advertising drove them to shop online, beating out newspapers or magazines ads (14%), television commercials (11%), radio spots (4%), and billboards (4%), according to a nationwide survey of nearly 1,500 experienced Internet users by Andersen Consulting — MORE

ONLINE PRIVACY ALLIANCE URGES CONSUMERS TO LOOK FOR PRIVACY POLICIES WHEN SHOPPING ONLINE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

The Online Privacy Alliance, a group of nearly 100 global companies and trade associations dedicated to fostering the protection of privacy online, today reminded consumers to look for privacy policies when shopping on the Web this holiday season — MORE

CONSUMERS WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR PERSONALIZATION

A majority of Internet users want information that is tailored to their needs and are willing to provide information about their preferences to receive personalized advertisements if they are given notice and choice, according to a survey by Privacy & American Business — MORE

E-BUSINESSES EXHIBITING PRIVACY LEADERSHIP GET THE SALE, ACCORDING TO NEW IBM CONSUMER STUDY ON PRIVACY

Companies that want to be successful doing business on the Web must provide the personalized service that Web shoppers want and take proactive steps to ensure privacy is protected and secure, according to a new IBM survey of consumer attitudes toward privacy in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany — MORE

FORRESTER TECHNOGRAPHICS FINDS ONLINE CONSUMER FEARFUL OF PRIVACY VIOLATIONS

Two-thirds of online shoppers feel insecure about exchanging personal information over the Internet, affecting the amount of time and money consumers spend online. According to a new Technographics Report from Forrester Research, Inc., privacy fears hold back Web shopping. Only a small percentage of Web users with serious concerns shop online, while consumers with moderate concerns spend 21% less than their more at ease counterparts. As a result of these fears, Forrester recommends a privacy best-practice model to help companies gain customer trust and build brand loyalty — MORE

INDUSTRY PRIVACY FAILURES HURTING E-COMMERCE, LATEST SURVEYS SHOW

Concerns over Internet privacy continue to hamper e-commerce, according to two surveys. Jupiter Communications found that about 64 percent of respondents don't trust a Web site even if it has posted a privacy policy. Jupiter projected that privacy issues could potentially put an $18 billion dent in the $40 billion e-commerce revenue it project by 2002 — MORE

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