A New Voice on Capitol Hill
August 16th, 2007 by Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org Posted in Marketing & Consumer Trends | Member Suggestions | Public Policy | Shop.org Events | Shop.org News
For almost 15 years, the online retailing industry has been part of the US economy. And, for the most part, our industry has stayed out of politics, which is quite a feat for an industry that will generate a quarter trillion dollars in 2007.
While many online retailers would prefer to continue to go about their business without meddling in politics (and I don’t blame them), there are certainly issues that are being debated in the U.S. Congress that will affect our industry. Instead of hiding from this reality, Shop.org is tackling it head-on.
With any maturing industry, the move toward advocacy becomes almost inevitable. As a result, Shop.org announced yesterday that it has expanded its mission to include a focus on advocacy. As a first step, we are forming a policy advisory group comprised of online retail operational executives from the Shop.org membership to serve as our “ear to the ground” for issues that will have the greatest impact on our industry.
There are two particular issues facing online retailers, in which Shop.org’s parent organization, the National Retail Federation, has been active, and that will be our focus as we enter the policy arena.
A “spyware bill” that has morphed into a general online privacy bill is being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives. It would essentially require consumers to “opt in” in order for retailers to collect any personal information on Web sites. Shop.org also plans to tackle credit card interchange, which requires merchants to pay a percentage of their sales back to the credit card company. This practice is especially damaging for online retailers who are required to pay “card not present” fees, which can be fifty percent higher than what traditional retailers pay. Despite paying higher fees, online retailers are rarely, if ever, reimbursed for merchandise shipped from order placed using a fraudulent credit card.
To learn more about these and other issues, I invite industry participants to join us for a policy brief at our upcoming Annual Summit in Las Vegas. The brief, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 19, from 7:45 – 8:45 am, features Liz Oesterle, NRF’s VP, Government Relations Counsel and Steve Pfister, NRF’s SVP, Government Relations and chief lobbyist.
Please feel free to reply to this blog with suggestions for issues that Shop.org should address on behalf of our industry.
I’m glad to hear that some more attention will be paid to these issues - interchange fees in particular have been largely unheard of up until now and are something that actually effects all of us quite a deal. I do some work with the MPC and any new light that we can bring to this will be a good step forward. Consumer education on this front is definitely needed as well anything else we can do to get some raised awareness of how rewards programs are really just encouraging these fees.
[...] Shop.org recently announced through a press release and on their blog that they are now expanding their industry reach and plan to become major advocates for public policy related to Online sellers, merchants and the industry as a whole. As part of the new jump into advocacy, Shop.org is creating the first ever Policy Advisory Group, comprised of online retail executives, designed to identify potential issues for Online retailers and provide guidance in advocacy efforts. Here are a few quotes from individuals who plan on taking part in this new initiative: The online retail industry needs a strong voice in the policy arena to match its growing economic force. Conversations about online retailers are happening on Capitol Hill and it is time that Shop.org became a part of them. Though multichannel retailers share many of the same concerns as other companies, the online community consistently faces a number of specialized issues that do not affect stores. By focusing on the specific needs of online retailers, Shop.org will be able to expand upon the work that NRF has already accomplished in this area. [...]