In this morning’s opening keynote, Sucharita Mulpuru, Senior Retail Analyst from Forrester Research, presented a vivid look at the current state of online retail. She not only outlined the new rules for ecommerce, she provided insight into how retailers should act on these rules to ensure success down the line.

Mulpuru opened with a cautionary tale about the Firestone family. A reality TV fan from the audience correctly identified a photo of Andrew Firestone from season 4 of The Bachelor. The Firestone tire company, founded around the turn of the twentieth century, was at one point highly regarded for its superior management. But the tides turned when Michelin introduced radial tires. Radial tires were cleaner, safer and lasted longer than Firestone tires. Instead of recognizing the need to embrace this new technology right away, Firestone made small tweaks to their existing product. Consequently, they lost market share and were purchased by Bridgestone. Today, Firestone heirs have gone into other lines of work. To boil it down – if you don’t embrace innovation you will be eclipsed in the marketplace.

Here are the new rules of online retail that Mulpuru shared with us today:

1. The web is no longer the underdog. Ecommerce now has a significant foothold in several retail categories.
2. Merchants are no longer the taste makers. Social networking has turned the old rules on their head.
3. YouTube is the new Google. Video provides the ability to communicate more emotion and the rich information that consumers want.
4. Green is the new black. 38% of consumers say they are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products. 31% of consumers are now shopping online more often due to high gas prices.
5. Cash is still king. Consumers like having options – such as echeck, PayPal and Bill Me Later – in how they pay for products.
6. 3G is the new T3. iPhones are “a religion.” Gen Y is more than twice as likely to go online from somewhere other than home or work than BabyBoomers or Gen X.

Mulpuru went on to outline her recommendations on how retailers should incorporate these rules into their multichannel marketing strategies.

1. Multichannel retailers need to think big picture. Rather than only trying to grow online sales, think of ways your ecommerce channel and brick and mortar stores can work synergistically for mutual benefit.
2. Pure plays can’t rely on being the cheapest game in town. If web sales taxes grow, sales will suffer. Price point can’t be your only strategy.
3. Embrace social computing. But first, figure out what your objectives are. This will help guide you to the best modes of social networking for your company. For example, if you want to energize your customer base, incorporate customer reviews into your site.
4. Prioritize content creation. Better content is key for increasing conversion. Content is often the last priority for retailers, but Mulpuru recommends rethinking this. Adding embedded zoom or videos are some options.
5. Consider the environment. Some ways to do this are embracing carbon footprint offsets and reducing paper mailings.
6. Embrace mobile. While ROI is still to be seen for the most part from mobile marketing, retailers should embrace this channel now. Some ways to do so include creating a unique mobile interface, making best-sellers easily accessible, incorporating easy-to-use address book integration, GPS capability to locate nearby stores and offering alternative payment options.

Mulpuru concluded her presentation with another interesting cautionary tale. This time, we learned from Red Lobster’s mistakes. The lesson – embrace innovation. It’s really the only option for success.