This Week’s 10 Must-Read E-commerce/Digital Marketing Posts: E-commerce Link Digest

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for another round-up of the best e-commerce and digital marketing posts out there. There’s so much great content to explore, I had a tough time narrowing the choices. But, after giving it lots of thought, I was finally able to winnow the list down to these 10 must-read e-commerce/digital marketing posts. Enjoy:

1. Ori Carmel, a marketing manager for Twitter, explained how mobile is sparking seismic shift in holiday buying decisions, as discussed over on Mobile Marketer. I love Carmel’s discussion of “moments,” broken into four quadrants: planned vs. spontaneous, and big events vs. everyday. Very cool way to think about your content and your offerings for your customers.
2. BuzzFeed builds on this with an article that details Twitter’s commerce plans. I keep saying “it’s all e-commerce.” Looks like Twitter wants to play, too.
3. Another big e-commerce giant, Amazon, is now aggressively going after Google’s core business, according to Quartz. Always nice to see the AGFAM players (Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft) getting along so well, isn’t it?
4. Continuing on the e-commerce theme, the latest episode of my Thinks Out Loud podcast explores the game changer for mobile e-commerce announced earlier this week. Well worth a listen when you a moment.
5. That game changer for mobile e-commerce couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. New data shows that mobile e-commerce is now bigger than desktop. Clearly, mobile is going to play a hugely important role in your ongoing success, both online and offline. This latest data underscores that point.
6. Business Insider breaks down the e-commerce shopping habits of Generation Z, the youngest Millennial cohort. It probably makes some sense to segment Millennials into its constituent age brackets, and is worth the read if you sell to Millennials (and, if you don’t, you probably should).
7. Speaking of Millennials, eMarketer explains how to reach US female Millennials and why it’s not easy. A few key takeaways: be inclusive, not divisive; and seek to inspire. Great read overall.
8. Search Engine Land says that Google Analytics is rolling out new benchmark reports. I’ve worked with them a bit with several of my clients and, so far, think they’re pretty useful.
9. The American Marketing Association, MicKinsey, and the Duke Fuqua School of Business have released the results of their latest CMO Survey, which you can download via this PDF link here.
10. And, finally, here’s a quick reminder of why it’s important to dream big and keep your eyes on the prize.

And, if all that’s not enough for you, feel free to check out last week’s list of 8 digital marketing posts worth reading and the 7 most useful marketing and e-commerce blog posts from August.

As a quick reminder, you might want to check out a webinar called Digital Marketing Directions: Key Trends Driving Your Marketing Next Year that I’m presenting on Tuesday, September 16, 2014. You can read all the details here.

You may also enjoy this look at growing your email list and its importance as an e-commerce best practice as well as reviewing the slides from a talk I gave all about email marketing in an age of mobile:

And, if you’re interested in learning even more about how customers changing behavior shapes e-commerce and marketing, 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.

Finally, you might also enjoy some of our past coverage of the mobile, local, social web and how to make it work 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