“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” OK, so perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but having spent the last several months thinking about the holiday season ahead (much like you, I imagine), it’s good to officially launch the 2010 eHoliday Study with our partner, BIGresearch. I’m calling all retailers to participate in our annual pre-holiday survey, this year featuring 14questions across marketing, promotions, site investments, Thanksgiving weekend, and shipping and fulfillment. You can find more information about the eHoliday Study on our site.

As always, all retailers who complete the survey by the deadline will receive a complimentary copy of the aggregated results in October, along with the results of the pre-holiday consumer survey that we’re running simultaneously. Bonus: all retailers who complete the eHoliday Study will also receive a complimentary copy of the 2011 Holiday Strategy & Planning Guide when that is published early next summer.

The deadline to participate is end of day Friday, September 24 – but knowing how busy the next few weeks will be, why not start as soon as you receive your survey participation invitation via email.

If you haven’t received your survey invitation via email by the end of this week, please let me know and I will get you that information. In the meantime, enjoy the Labor Day weekend, and thank you for supporting Shop.org research!

As soon as the August 13 application deadline for the Shop.org Think Tank expired, the Judging Committee (comprised of 5 volunteers from the Shop.org Board of Directors) set straight to work, poring over the many applications to identify the 12 candidates – 6 from retail and 6 from associate member companies – who would become the Charter Members of the Shop.org Think Tank.

Congratulations are due to the 12 winning candidates, but not before thanks are extended to the Judging Committee. The number of applications we received was over twice what we were expecting, effectively doubling the workload of our volunteer judges. So say a special Thank You to each if you cross paths with them at the Annual Summit in a few weeks:

Judging Committee

• Miki Berardelli, Chief Marketing Officer, Tory Burch
• Pinny Gniwisch, Co-Founder & EVP Marketing, Ice.com
• Richard Last, Vice President and Director, New Business Development, JCP.com, JCPenney
• John Lazarchic, Vice President, Ecommerce, PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.
• MJ Murphy, Senior Director eCommerce,Cole Haan

The Think Tank application required applicants to explain how they are uniquely qualified to uphold the Think Tank’s mission, which is “to harness the vision of industry leaders – both digital retail business operators and the those who develop products and solutions for digital retail – to provide guidance, credibility and innovative ideas to help Shop.org members tackle the most pressing strategic issues facing their organizations and the industry today and, more importantly, over the next ten to fifteen years.” After reading and scoring all the applications, the Judging Committee identified the 12 applicants who will now be pressed into digital retail thought leadership service:

Shop.org Think Tank Charter Members

•  Jeanie Bunker, Alibris
• Catherine Davis, The Container Store
• Fiona Dias, GSI Commerce
• Lauren Freedman, the e-tailing group
• Kirthi Kalyanam, Santa Clara University
• Jeremy Liebowitz, Jarden
• Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research
• James Okamura, J.C. Williams Group
• Elaine Rubin, Digital Prophets Network
•  Matthew Siegel, Ann Taylor Corporation
• Adam Silverman, Musician’s Friend
• Paul Zaengle, Columbia Sportswear

Congratulations, Think Tank. We’re looking forward to your insights, ideas and instigations.

It’s a topic that is on the forefront of every one of our agendas: mastering the art of cross-channel optimization.  Whether you are a big box retailer or a specialty chain, we are all confronted with the same core issues of delivering seamless customer experiences across our channels of business.  I’ll be tackling this topic during a session at the upcoming Annual Summit (Optimizing the Cross-Channel Experience for the Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace Consumer) along with industry notables, Lou Ramery, SVP Customer Relationship Marketing with Sears & Kmart and Lou Weiss, CMO of The Vitamin Shoppe.
We’ll be sharing some new dimensions of cross-channel retail as well as investigating some areas in need of improvement, revealed through some fun secret-shopping videos. But the heart of the program is focused on digging into the topic from every direction–from the role of mobile to customer service, coupons and loyalty programs. In preparation, we want to hear from you to make sure we cover everything you’re interested in regarding this white-hot subject matter.
Please drop me a line (daveselinger@richrelevance.com) and let me know what aspects of this topic you would like to see covered.  If you have a specific question, I want to hear it so we can make sure it gets addressed in the context of this panel.
Thanks for taking time to contribute to this important discussion and I look forward to seeing you at Summit!

This year’s Shop.org summit is just around the corner. Judging from the impressive line-up of speakers and sessions, it promises to be packed with valuable insight and collaboration with your peers. Here are just a few tips to ensure you make the most out of your trip to Dallas September 27-29.

1. Plan

It sounds like a given, but take time on the Summit website to plan which panels, speakers and exhibitors to check out. Winging it guarantees that you’ll miss valuable information and networking.

• Which topics are the most relevant for you and your business? What would be most valuable to bring back to your team?
• Which vendors in the exhibit hall address your current pain points? Who has intriguing new technology?
• Attend competitors’ panels or visit their booths. In addition to understanding how your competitors are positioning themselves, it’s always great to have friendly relationships in your domain. The Shop.org summit is about bringing together people in the industry to address topics that are important to all of us.
• Schedule meetings if possible so you don’t have to rely on luck to make the right connections.

2. Dive in

If you have multiple attendees from your company, divide and conquer. Go to different sessions and share your learnings with your team. If you travel in a pack, you’re not making the most of the opportunity.

Also, be open to last minute changes. Yes, a moment ago I told you to plan everything out, but you need to be flexible. One small shift to catch a speaker that everyone is buzzing about could be the best thing about your Summit experience.

3. See the Sights

Dallas is a great town – in fact, it’s my hometown. Take at least one evening to get out and eat at the Silver Fox Steakhouse just a few minutes from the Summit. Try the Chilean Sea Bass or the III Forks Salad. The Rangers are in contention at the moment, so we may get lucky and have the opportunity to catch a playoff game at the ballpark. Make sure to take advantage of your visit!

Have a great summit and I hope to see you in Dallas!

My name is Sara Greene and I had the pleasure of joining the Shop.org team as Director of Membership on June 7th of this year. Prior to this role, I was the Director of Membership Development for our parent company – NRF. In all, I’m getting ready to celebrate 5 years with our company (NRF & Shop.org) and couldn’t be more thrilled.

I have learned a lot from our members in these first 90 days, but most of all, I’ve learned that many of you are not taking enough advantage of your membership! The Shop.org community has a ton to offer its members – networking opportunities, connecting with colleagues via our blogs, staying up to date through our research, and much more. I would like to help you take advantage of at least part of your benefits by highlighting some of the ways you can maximize what’s available to your company:

Create a personal login on Shop.org and access a ton of member resources

• Download research such as SORO (State of Retailing Online), eHoliday, Quarterly Online Sales and much more
• Connect with other members once you are logged in! You can add others to your Network by going to “Get Involved” then “My     Profile” and simply choose the option to “add members to your network”

Join one of our dynamic committees

• Content Committee
• Research Committee
• Member Services Committee
• Marketing Attribution Special Interest Group
• Policy Advisory Group
• IT Council

Post a blog for your peers to read – visit our blog page often as we’re always posting interesting updates

I’ve saved the best for last. Shop.org members can take advantage of one of the greatest member benefits – a FREE pass to the Annual Summit! The deadline to claim your free pass is Friday August 27th. If this is your first time attending the Annual Summit, make sure to visit the virtual Member Center for additional details on how to make the most out of the event.

Finally, please contact me directly if you have any questions about membership benefits and/or have suggestions on additional benefits we can provide to your company. Remember, membership with Shop.org is company-wide, so share this information with all your colleagues!