SmallBusinessNewz

American Express Promotes Its 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday

As Thanksgiving approaches, so does the biggest shopping day of the year.  The madness of Black Friday brings crazy deals to retail outlets big and small, but it usually seems like the national stores get all the attention on that Friday.For the second year, the Saturday following Black Friday had been declared "Small Business Saturday."The day is sponsored by American Express, who launched the initiative in 2010 to help smaller retailers grab a piece of the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

The Key to eCommerce Success - A Great Customer Experience

A lot of companies talk about creating great customer experiences, but why is that so few of them actually do? From a customer's perspective, it really does make all the difference. An above and beyond experience is preferred, but even a little bit of courtesy goes a long way.

Is NFC Important For Your Small Business?

NFC is the hot new thing when it comes to mobile technology.  NFC, or Near Field Communication allows devices to communicate with each other over short distances.So by short waves, or a tap of your device you can send and receive information from any other NFC capable device.  The biggest and most buzzed about use of the technology is in the world of mobile payments. 

How Businesses Can Capitalize on New Consumer Trends

A new study from the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch bears good news for all. The research found that Americans are becoming more generous with their spending habits, especially in regards to small luxury items.

Congress' Debate of "Interchange Fees" Heats Up

There is a reason why some small retailers offer incentives for paying in cash.  For instance,  a local restaurant might give a customer a free drink with a cash payment in order to avoid "Interchange Fees."  These fees are at the center of an intensifying debate this week in Washington.

Offline Retail Vs. Online Retail

Although online shopping has seemingly taken the world by storm, offline shopping is still very significant. In fact, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently conducted a study that showed some slightly surprising information regarding consumer behavior offline.

It's Not Too Early To Start Preparing for the Holidays

It's June, so it must be time to start preparing for the holidays right? Seriously, it's never to early to start thinking about it when you're in retail. That's precisely why Google has run down some takeaways from the 2009 holiday season on its Retail Advertising Blog. Google reminds us that last year, 44% of shoppers had already started their holiday shopping and researching in August. That's not so far away. Some other stats the company points out:

Overstock Launches Store For Small Businesses

Overstock.com has launched its new Main Street Store as retail channel for U.S. small businesses. The store is the focus of Overstock's Main Street Revolution Initiative. The store carries over 2,500 products from small and minority-owned business across the U.S. Categories include furniture, jewelry, apparel, and gourmet food.

Does Your Business Have Enough Info Available Online?

Art Technology Group (ATG) has released the results of a recent survey, suggesting that 30% of consumers use over three commerce channels to research an item and make a purchase. Three quarters use two or more channels. To put these findings into perspective, the firm believes this means merchants need to offer more information on the web to increase sales and improve contact center efficiency.

Social Media Was Big for Retailers for the Holidays

The holidays really showed just how big of an impact social media is having on businesses, retailers in particular. Competitive intelligence agency Experian Hitwise is sharing some data it collected regarding the impact of traffic sources to retail sites. Social networking has become th most popular activity online and because of that, visits to the retail category represented 13% of all US Internet visits in December, according to the firm.