Healthy Directions is in a business where trust and authority are crucial to engaging audiences and ultimately converting them into customers. Complicating matters is the fact that they operate in a regulated industry. Their new site delivers the credibility they’ve earned over the years, while at the same time cleanly connects consumers to the information and products they came for. For instance, user searches return products, but also articles, blog posts, and more. And once a customer becomes a devotee of a vitamin or supplement, using functionality WebLinc built, he or she can sign up for AutoDelivery, which ships products to customers’ doorsteps automatically, at intervals of their choosing.

Only WebLinc Direct was able to offer Healthy Directions the scalability and flexibility they needed to meet their requirements, which include but go above and beyond catalog functionality, reporting, content management, search engine optimization tools and more.

That being said, the Thanksgiving Day sales number is still a considerably lower number than Cyber Monday, which early results have as being up 20 percent from last year, and expected to exceed $1.5 billion.

How can eCommerce marketers benefit from these analytics next year? For starters, consider the timing of your sales and the marketing that goes with them. I know my inbox overflowed with offers from online retailers on Cyber Monday, but Thanksgiving was relatively quiet. Internet Retailer also suggests that traffic picked up markedly between the hours of 6pm and midnight. Think about enticing shoppers with limited, timed sales that occur after dinner. Don’t forget that many people are not shopping for themselves at this time of the year. Free shipping for purchasing from someone else’s wish list could drum up sales, especially since this is a time when many people are spending time with friends and family, and tablets and smart phones are making it easy to bring the online shopping conversation into the living room. Take a good look at your site’s analytics. Is there a spike in a spike in gift wrapped items? A spike in the type of items being gift wrapped, or the times those items are being purchased? Prioritize incentives using that knowledge to create meaningful promotions.

Lesson #1: This will be harder and more expensive than you think.

This lesson is particularly important for executives new to the online channel, many of whom have little perspective on the level of effort and investment required to build and sustain an online or multi-channel endeavor. It’s not just the technology. It’s the people, the design, the marketing, the analysis and the ongoing improvements. Many of the “rescue 911″ engagements I see are the result of underinvestment in critical areas of e-commerce.

Check out Sally’s blog for more.

Four out of six of Urban Outfitters’ eCommerce sites were developed by WebLinc (freepeople.com, freepeoplewholesale.com, BHLDN.com and the recently launched shopterrain.com). WebLinc also developed the Free People Mobile site. We are proud of our partnership with Urban, a client since 1998, and we look forward to what’s in store.

Their new site, built on WebLinc Direct and launched earlier this month, helps take the guesswork out of shopping online by allowing customers to easily compare similar products. Brides-to-be can create gift registries that synch with the retail stores, and wish lists provide an easy way to catalog your dream kitchen. The cart page lets you enter your zip code to estimate shipping costs before going through the process of setting up an account, and even if you don’t want to set up an account, you can still make a purchase using the guest checkout functionality.

WebLinc was involved in every aspect of this site launch, from technology to graphic design and production, to managed hosting to usability, and information architecture.

If you’re interested in setting up a specific time to talk, drop us a line.

I think the study paints a broad stroke, and social media’s impact on eCommerce is vast in some respects and limited in others. Having a Facebook presence simply isn’t enough to impact sales; it’s too often just another channel for one-sided marketing. However, giving loyal customers rewards such as referral credits for sharing your site, or creating social media contests, such as ideeli’s Twitter-based Flash Friday giveaways, seem to have a bigger impact on sales because of the engagement factor, and because a friend who recommends a site or product generally carries more weight than a marketer who’s hocking their wares to the general public.

Wal-Mart’s news comes on the heels of a major expansion from online grocery giant Peapod.com, and just a couple of months after Meijer, a Midwest retail chain, announced its plans to sell about 5,000 non-perishable products through their site.

Grocery shopping has long been a necessary evil for many –- one of those chores that comes with long lines, crowded aisles and very little in the way of convenience. Based on all of this recent news, this year could be the year that sees online grocery shopping break out in a big way. (Trader Joe’s, I hope you’re listening.)

What remains to be seen is how some of the mainstays of brick-and-mortar food shopping translates to eCommerce. For instance, will grocers find a way to accept coupons from the Sunday paper? Will they be able to double coupons? How will they prevent coupon fraud if manufacturers’ coupons aren’t collected?

Acquisitions can ultimately mean expanded reach and a wider range of services. However, it may come at the risk of current client satisfaction. Brian Walker of Forrester Research noted on his blog that the move could mean “that customers of GSI will find their key account management people laid off or even busier, placing their business priorities in further question.”

By all appearances, eBay has been on an acquisition streak, most notably (and arguably most successfully) with PayPal, but also with Skype (later sold to a private equity firm in 2009); online ticketing marketplace StubHub; brands4friends, Germany’s largest online fashion club; and  RedLaser, a barcode-scanning application for Apple’s iPhone.

Given the explosive growth in the private sale arena, it’s interesting to note that eBay will divest itself of 70 percent of Rue La La and ShopRunner, both of which the company says are “not core to its long-term growth strategy.” These assets will be placed into a new holding company run by GSI founder Michael Rubin.

In addition to wedding dresses, the site features vintage-inspired accessories, such as hair adornments, shoes and jewelry. Inspiration can be found throughout the site, and especially in the Nuptials of Yesteryear photo gallery. Brides who needs a little help defining their personal style can take the What Kind of Bride are You? quiz, which will provide them with a portfolio of product suggestions based on their answers. Links from dress pages will connect brides-to-be with BHLDN Stylists who offer advice, reassurance, and second opinions.

The new site fills a void for brides looking for something other than cookie-cutter, but less costly than couture. Its launch has been covered in depth across the media landscape, including CNN, Women’s Wear Daily, InStyle, The Huffington Post and others.