Omnichannel

Software Paradigms International Group (SPI) has completed another acquisition, nabbing Direct Tech Inc., to bolster the company’s omnichannel service offering.

Direct Tech is a 25 year old company regarded as an industry leader in merchandise and inventory planning software and services for direct-to-consumer retailers.

Chicago – Customer reviews are now an expectation, not an option, for e-commerce sites. According to a study analyzing the impact of user-generated content on consumer purchase behavior from ratings and reviews provider PowerReviews, consumers will abandon a site if it doesn’t provide the information they need.

Mountain View, Calif. -- Samsung Electronics Co. is making a major commitment to mobile payments with its agreement to acquire U.S. startup LoopPay, a mobile wallet solutions provider that turns existing magnetic stripe readers into contactless receivers. The acquisition will put Samsung up against mobile payment services, including Apple Pay and Pay Pal.  According to various reports, Samsung plans to integrate LoopPay's technology in one of its upcoming flagship phones.
 

Chicago - Restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) has moved its 25-year-old loyalty program to the Paytronix Rewards platform. LEYE opted to switch because Paytronix offers mobile and data analytics capabilities to support its transition from a card-based to a mobile-based loyalty program.

San Jose, Calif. - Mobile commerce is growing at nearly three times the rate of overall e-commerce. According to a new study from PayPal and Ipsos, from 2013-2016, the multi-country average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for mobile commerce is projected at 42%, compared to 13% for overall e-commerce (including mobile commerce).

New York – A majority of business websites are not ready for prime time, at least when it comes to global commerce.

According to a new survey from multilingual search agency Oban Digital, while 67% of business executive respondents say that internationalization is a key part of their growth strategy, only 20% of businesses have all of their current online communications adapted for local culture or language, a key driver of sales success.

Snowed in and need a shovel? If you live near an Ace Hardware, you may be able to get that shovel delivered.

That’s because the retailer is rolling out its latest pilot program: Express Delivery. The program allows customers to find the products they need on acehardware.com and have them delivered by a helpful associate from their neighborhood Ace the same day.

Armonk, N.Y. - Consumers headed online for their Valentine’s Day shopping this year. According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data, during Valentine’s week (Feb. 7 – 13) online shopping rose 10.2% from the same period in 2014.

In addition to overall sales, consumers ramped up their shopping efforts the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. Growth was seen in key verticals including: