The name Alibaba may not be a household name in the U.S. and Europe, but the Asian eCommerce giant is one of the largest global online retailers and is continuing to grow. The most notable directive of this growth initiative…

Online retailers are always looking for new and innovative ways to increase their conversion rates. From initiatives such as social log-in to responsive design, changing the on-site experience is one way to directly affect conversions. Unfortunately, many initiatives such as…

While Cyber Monday continues to be the biggest online shopping day in the United States, a new online shopping day has emerged in China that has captured the eye of the eCommerce industry around the world. Dubbed “Singles Day” and acting…

In the past, we have documented online sales tax in the United States and the three tax Acts which were currently in the Senate, one being the Marketplace Fairness Act. Last week, the U.S. senate voted 75-24 in favor of a non-binding resolution for an amendment to support the Marketplace Fairness Act in its 2014 budget plan. In doing so, the United States has taken another step towards taxing eCommerce transactions.

What do you need to know about the Marketplace Fairness Act? We answer a few questions on the topic below…

What exactly is the Marketplace Fairness Act?

The Marketplace Fairness Act is an online sales tax bill which would allow all states who participate to collect sales tax from eCommerce transactions that take place online. The main purpose of the Act is to create a “fair” playing field for all retail transactions by taxing all purchases regardless of the purchasing channel.

Under the Act, each state has the choice to set up their own tax requirements or they can partner with other states to create specific tax criteria which would apply to all of the states who collaborated on the effort. Businesses with revenue of $1,000,000 or less in total annual out-of-state sales would be exempt from the Marketplace Fairness Act, meaning the main target of the Act is larger eCommerce companies.

Getting consumers to visit an eCommerce site is a task within itself – retailers spend thousands on e-mail marketing, SEM campaigns, and display advertising in hopes of driving traffic to their eCommerce site. Site designs are practical and finding products is easy, yet the shopping cart abandonment rates are at an all-time high of 72% and are expected to increase in 2012. Consumers are visiting eCommerce sites but are not “pulling the trigger” on purchases, especially when they are new to the site, and combating this behavior is becoming more difficult.

How can retailers deal with rising cart abandonment rates? To find out more information on the topic we sat down with cart abandonment expert and eCommerce strategist, Doug Mitchell…

What are some current tactics retailers are finding effective in combating cart abandonment?

Re-targeting e-mails are easily the most effective way to curb cart abandonment, but adding a persistent cart to a site (where items remain in the cart after a customer exits the site) is also important. Throughout the site adding a cart icon with the number of items currently in the cart is also a good tactic as it makes consumers aware they have items in their cart, especially if they are returning to the site and may have forgotten about the items.

With the launch of the new kate spade new york site, many media outlets are focusing on the “Shop or Play” design of the site, where approximately half of the site is content-based with minimal focus on the eCommerce storefront…

Advertisers and marketers are always looking for new ways to get their products in front of their audience and in 2010 a new marketing tactic called “re-marketing” emerged. The increase in re-marketing throughout the eCommerce landscape can be primarily attributed…