SOLUTIONS FOR PURE-PLAY INTERNET RETAILERS

17 of the U.S. Internet Retailer top 100 are pure-plays (that is, they derive 100% of their revenue from the Web) – the lowest performing of which has more than $120 million in annual revenue! These players are serious businesses – many of them are publicly-traded companies, and unlike many of the circa 1999 eCommerce concerns, they're here to stay.

In sharp contrast to the dot-com era, today's pure-plays are delivering a quality shopping experience combined with a unique value proposition – and a level of customer service that has raised the "minimum" bar throughout online world. However, pure-play Internet retailers still remain early adopters – pushing the envelope on eCommerce technology, with great results.

The most successful pure-play Internet retailers have realized that they must employ great merchandising during every interaction with shoppers – engaging them every step of their journey, whether via email campaigns or search engine marketing (SEM), or by soliciting and publishing customer reviews.

Pure-play Internet retailers like Overstock.com are really good at constantly measuring, analyzing and adjusting merchandising strategies: what's selling and what's not? what's having the biggest impact on conversion rates? what are shoppers asking for most often? Because the pure-play Internet retailer depends completely on the online channel, Metrics Driven Merchandising™ is a strategy Mercado recommends.

Depending on requirements, budget and IT considerations pure-play Internet retailers might be opt for the flexibility and scalability of the licensed Mercado Ignition solution, or Mercado Ignition OnDemand if they're looking for a fully integrated hosted eCommerce solution with a storefront.