6 Key E-commerce Stories Worth Reading this Weekend

Another week is in the books, Big Thinkers. As you’re catching up before heading into Monday, be sure and check out these 6 e-commerce stories worth reading this weekend:

1. From the “Wow, you don’t say,” department, Marketing Charts posts a chart (you were expecting something else?) showing that friends’ social media posts influence purchase decisions. In related news, oxygen is important to most human beings and water is wet. Still, it is a pretty chart.
2. You know how I always say “it’s all e-commerce”? Turns out that’s darned near an understatement for the UK entertainment market, where eMarketer reports Internet-derived sales claim 60% market share.
3. Speaking of “it’s all e-commerce,” this weeks Thinks Out Loud podcast asked, and answered, the perennial question, “How Big is E-commerce Anyway?” The answer: Big.
4. Another post over on Marketing Charts shows that 1 in 2 US marketers “trust their gut” for marketing budget decisions. For your sake, I hope they’re your competitors.
5. Our Book Review of the Week-ish made its triumphant return, featuring a review of The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, the incredibly important book by MIT scholars Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. Fascinating topic and highly important to e-commerce and digital marketers of the future (which is to say, all of them).
6. Finally, you might want to check out these 7 fastest ways to improve your e-commerce effectiveness when you get a moment. Useful stuff.

Hey, speaking of e-commerce effectiveness, you may also enjoy these slides from another recent speaking engagement “Elements of E-commerce: How Digital Storytelling Drives Revenue and Results” here:

If you’re interested in learning even more about the future of e-commerce and marketing via the social, local, mobile web, register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You might also enjoy some of our past coverage of the social, local, mobile web and what it means for your business, including:

• What Your Customers Expect from Mobile and E-commerce in 2014.
• The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
• Should Marketers Really Trust Google in 2014?
• The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
• 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
• Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
• Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
• Your 2014 Internet Marketing New Year’s Resolutions – Thinks Out Loud Episode 56