Even though I would consider ChannelAdvisor somewhat of a webinar expert, I am still surprised at times about how some topics can really strike a cord with online retailers (unfortunately my proposed series on tragic German literature figures of the 12th century has been postponed indefinitely).

Our July Amazon webinar (click here to download a recorded version) is a case in point. At the conclusion of the webinar as well as the next few days following it, Tim Mirick from Amazon, our in-house Amazon expert Jonathon Davis and I fielded many questions from merchants on the overall opportunity, the Amazon Webstore and Fulfillment By Amazon products, and strategies for really hitting it out of the park.

In response to the many inquiries I am going to start an Amazon De-Mystery Machine series of posts reviewing the most common seller questions (aligned somewhat with the sales life cycle). Note that while I will tragically skip my Holiday 2007 Amazon wishlist I will also not review if and when it makes sense to look at Amazon as part of a multi-channel portfolio - there are not many online retailers that can afford NOT to market their products to the 75+ million convenience shoppers that turn to Amazon for their online shopping needs.

Last, but not least, I need audience participation so please send me any and all Amazon-related questions that you have and I will try to reply directly or through a blog post. Without further a due, let’s kick this off: (more…)

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Well, we’ve just about (but not quite!) recovered from the first ChannelAdvisor Insite event of 2007 which took place yesterday in central London.

Over 30 UK online retailers joined ChannelAdvisor and Google (who were Platinum Sponsors) for an information-packed day of presentations, discussions and workshops about the current opportunities for online retailers in the UK.

The day started with a look at recent UK eCommerce Trends followed by an introduction to the fundamentals drivers of success on marketplaces (such as eBay and Amazon Merchants@), shopping comparison websites and paid search campaigns.

After lunch the group then split into two ’streams’ to dive into some more advanced strategies for optimising each of these channels in preparation for the rapidly-approaching Q4 busy season. Attendees also got the opportunity to hear first-hand from Aidan O’Curry and Richard Keelty from Google Europe about how Google Checkout and Google Product Search can drive more sales and reduce costs for online retailers.

A big thanks to our sponsors: Google (Platinum), PayPal (Gold), Cybersource (Gold) and FOEB (Silver) without whom the Insite series of events wouldn’t be able to happen. We look forward to the next events up in Manchester on the 5th September, and then on to Glasgow, Birmingham and finally Dublin.

If you were at the event yesterday - thanks for coming - we’d love to hear your comments!

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Amazon has pulled the curtains on its Flexible Payment Service (FPS) and launched it in limited beta. And it’s a beauty.

FPS is not so much a consumer payment solution with heavy marketing but more a payment platform that can be used by developers to build payment solutions in the spirit of Amazon’s S3 storage product (eCommerce enabler). Here’s what it offers:

1. Send and receive money using credit card, bank account or Amazon Payments balance transfer as payment methods.
2. Create “Payment Instructions” to define conditions and constraints desired for a given transaction, and programmatically obtain payment authorizations or “tokens” that represent these Payment Instructions from customers.
3. Execute one-time, multiple, or recurring payments on behalf of customers.
   Aggregate micro-transactions into a single larger transaction using Prepaid and Postpaid capabilities.
4. Build payment applications where you are neither the sender nor the recipient of funds. You can build marketplace applications that enable the movement of money between two third parties.
5. View account balances, transaction histories, and transaction details on the Amazon Payments web site.

(more…)

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Following yesterday’s rumors of Amazon’s upcoming new payment system (of course no comments from Amazon), PayPal launched this morning a new feature that could drive significant sales for online retailers. PayPal Pay Later allows approved U.S. online retailers to offer their buyers (PayPal and guest users) to make purchases with no payments for 90 days when they use PayPal Express Checkout at checkout.

From PayPal’s press release:

Financing options and deferred payments have been proven to deliver increased sales and higher selling prices for merchants. According to a study conducted by Northstar Research Partners commissioned by PayPal, 56 percent of PayPal users are more likely to purchase from a retail site if a PayPal deferred payment option is available.

You can sign-up here for this new service.

This is going to take some wind out of I4Commerce’s BillMeLater product as I expect PayPal Pay Later to be easy to offer for both online retailers of all sizes. More importantly, I am expecting (hoping for) a similar product from Google Checkout and promotional financing that will eventually match the appealing “pay nothing for 24 months” deals offered by Bricks-and-Mortar retailers around the holidays (unfortunately you have to complete an application that rivals War and Peace to take advantage of them — huge opportunity for driving more consumers online).

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Back by popular demand, we’re excited to announce the expanded 2007 series of ‘ChannelAdvisor Insite‘ conferences, taking place in cities all over the UK and Ireland this summer.

If you’re an online retailer, planning your strategy for Q4 and beyond, then take a day away from the distractions of the office, and come to one of these highly informative one-day events.

Join ChannelAdvisor and industry experts, and your peers as we focus on some of the most effective strategies and techniques for boosting sales and improving the profitability of your online business. We will cover topics such as eBay, Amazon Seller Central, Google Checkout, PayPal Express Checkout, Paid Search Marketing and Shopping Comparison engines and, with a combination of presentations and workshops, equip you with the tools required to go back to your business and make an immediate impact.

This summer we shall be visiting a total of six cities with the Insite event - starting in Bristol on the 16th August, then London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and finally Dublin in mid-October.

And, thanks to generous sponsorship by Google (Gold), Cybersource and the FOEB (Silver), we are able to keep the cost to a minimum - only £49 + VAT per person for a full 8-hour day of learning! I think you’ll agree this represents tremendous value-for-money - in fact, as we’re limiting places to 25 delegates per event, we expect all six events to be oversubscribed. So if you’re interested in taking your online business to the next level this Christmas, be sure to sign up straight away and reserve your place.

Here’s a link to the official Insite website where you can see more details on the agenda and register to attend. Hey, why not bring someone else from your company as well so you can bounce ideas off each other during the day and take action when you’re back in the office?

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