Online sellers take note -– New study research shows that up to 70 percent of online shoppers will abandon their shopping cart or purchase transaction BEFORE they click the Submit Order button. That’s a 70% Rate of Shopping Cart Abandonment, according to a company specializing in abandonment tracking software (SeeWhy).

Online wholesalers/retailers and e-tailers who face this online seller challenge also need to know that the rate of Lost Sales (abandoned shopping carts or incomplete purchase orders) has increased in 2009 over sales transactions completed vs. abandoned from 2005 to 2008.

Primary Reason? Buyers have more alternatives: Comparison Shopping Sites let buyers move easily between sellers, product sources, and search devices (smart phone, laptop, desktop) to comparison shop.

Top Ten Wholesale thinks every wholesale merchandise seller or online retailer can capture lost sales revenue and stop abandoned shopping cart pile-ups. Here are tips on Trusted Sites, Steps of the Online Buyer/Seller Process and Meeting Online Buyer Needs that say . . .

If you thought social networks and search engines were only for tweeting buddies and finding product suppliers anywhere in the world . . . guess again. The fact that people search for medical information online, and blog or Twitter about their flu symptoms even before they see a doctor, is now the latest way to track the spread of epidemics. Like H1N1, or swine flu.

Those lab workers at Shanghai Institute of Biological Products in China are developing possible vaccines that may protect people from the swine flu virus. But, before vaccines can be administered to the right people, the pandemic bug must be tracked down. Just like forecasting extreme weather.

Enter: Internet Detectives
Here’s where Internet Flu Watcher Programs come in, including Google’s Public Flu Trends System (see below), HealthMap’s automated hourly web crawler that searches for flu information in seven languages, and Maryland’s Resident Influenza Tracking Survey fed with voluntary weekly health reports sent over the Internet.

could rest on its record for bringing the largest product assortment across all industry categories to Las Vegas, by meeting business demands for one-stop product sourcing plus value-driven price points for nearly 50 years. “The Market You Can Depend On” should cover it.

just wrapped up its run at the Sands Expo and Las Vegas Convention Centers from August 9 to 12. And, we were there: Top Ten Wholesale wore many hats – ASD Media Partner, Wholesale Exhibitor, Trade Show Experts. What we saw at ASD Las Vegas was “A New Show … 50 Years in the Making.” From the Top Ten Wholesale point of view(s) … 

Value Plus Variety. For nearly 50 years, ASD Las Vegas has set the standard for merchandise trade shows by providing a cost-effective, one-stop shopping marketplace for Buyers.

ASD August 2009 exceeded the variety-plus-value marker with 6 SHOW SEGMENTS:

It’s official: Bing.com – Microsoft’s new search engine to replace its own 3rd ranked MS Live Search – passed former number 2 major search engine Yahoo! as of June 10.

bing Decision Logo

According to online user tracking by comScore, Hitwise and Stat Counter –

ComScore: With release of Bing.com at the end of May, Microsoft increased its share of the U.S. search market to 15.5% in only one week. That’s up almost 2% from comScore’s tracking data the week of May 26-30.

StatCounter: In classic horse-race lingo, StatCounter reported that Microsoft’s Bing had “overtaken” Yahoo Search for second place, with 16.28% of U.S. searches to Yahoo’s 10.22%.

Back at the horse track – MS Bing is now Place (2nd); Yahoo! Search is Show (3rd place). And, the winner? “Google still dominates the U.S. search market with 71.47% market share.”

Microsoft is now launching an improved search engine that upgrades the old Microsoft Live Search, while it streamlines consumer search into a buyer decision-making tool.

First public demonstration of the new search engine – code named Kumo in development – was at the D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, California the last week of May. Kumo SE now travels under the search engine name Bing.

“Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

The old Oscar Wilde quip, “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” — (Hellooooooo. I’m still here and kicking!) — could have come from the corporate mouth of Microsoft Corporation. You can’t pick up trade industry news these days that does not start with:

Microsoft ranks a distant third in Search Engine Wars.

Or: Almost 65% of all searches conducted in April 2009 were on #1 search engine Google (comScore). Yahoo! placed 2nd at 20.4%.

The Biggest Clearance is a European B2B Network and Marketplace. You can find wholesalers of Overstocks, Clearance, Liquidation and Excess/Surplus Lots, plus Bankruptcy and Salvage Bulk Lots Merchandise. In nearly a dozen hot-selling categories.

All open access: Free registration. Plus, open seller listings and transparent buyer bidding.

Benefits of accessing this European B2B Marketplace:

1. Select wholesaler merchandise listings by country.

25 listed countries or select: “All EU Countries.” Narrow your buyer search with the Country drop-down menu. Or, click on the flag of your choice …

Euro Countries - The Big Clearance

2. Select preferred category.

To search out overstocks, clearance and liquidation merchandise, select from categories:

Business & Office; Clothing & Accessories; Consumer Electronics; Computers & Networking; Hardware, Industrial Supplies; Health & Beauty; Music & Film; Jewelry & Watches; Sports, Gym, Fitness; Toys & Kids

· Conventional merchandise advertising channels, like metro newspapers and broadcast spots, are losing revenue to online marketing channels.

· Economic weakness, job losses and slowdowns in key industries caused disappointing Holiday 2008 sales and caution in consumer spending that ripples up the supply and demand chain.

But, what gets less play in economic bad news cycles is the unconventional results, such as:

· Online retail sales outperformed brick-and-mortar store sales for the 2008 shopping season. According to credit card network data on total sales for November-December, conventional store sales were down as much as 8% compared to 2007 … but online shoppers pulled back only 2% on their shopping.

· Citing Personal Electronics and Discount/Independent Merchandisers in particular, comScore (an online market tracker) concluded:

Right Timing. Right Pricing. Liquidation Expo gathers under one roof many segments of deep-discount merchandise sources for gifts, housewares, health and beauty supplies, POP impulse goods and seasonal items. And, in the current economy, this clustering of liquidation and closeout merchandise sellers offers buyers unique opportunities to leverage value-priced product sourcing … supporting retailer margins.

“By bringing many qualified exhibitors together, Liquidation Expo will consolidate this historically fragmented market, allowing retailers to take advantage of timely opportunities,” said Chris McCabe, Vice President of Nielsen Business Media’s Merchandise Group.

Observers who focus more on Individual Legal & Constitutional Rights (less on Fashion Trend Gossip) have other names for Baggy Pants Laws, including “Criminalizing Fashion” and “Racial-Ethnic Profiling via Clothes.” (See the link below to a blog post, Racial Undertones of Baggy Pants Laws.)

You With The Droopy Drawers, Halt! I’ve Got A Ruler.

Laws banning “baggy pants” include fines (up to $1,000) on Urban Wear “offenders.” Or they threaten jail time (!) on either youth who wear pants below their waistlines … or on their parents. (Apparently, for not supervising their offspring’s wardrobe “malfunctions.”)

Sunglasses buyers and sellers, wholesalers and retailers, certainly see the light! And, not only the ultra-violet beta kind. Besides blocking UVBs and protecting our eyes, sunglasses are all about making a statement.

Sunglasses say:

I’m a team sports fan or motorcyclist always leaning into the wind. I’m the Undiscovered Celebrity hiding from paparazzi or Trendy Club Crawler in these wrap-around designer shades. Would you believe Surfer Betty or Dashing Aviator, sporting minimalist oval lenses and wire-framed sunglasses to prove it?

Whether you’re looking to supply demand for uber-Cool Shades, Kiddie beach wear, haut couture look-alikes or genuine, imitation knockoffs from popular films and outer space, there’s a wholesale supplier who has pre-packs, display racks and discount-priced small lots ready to ship.

Here’s a look at hot sunglasses trends, buyer demands and niche market needs. Just in time for the big Summer Trade Shows.

When a potential Customer asks: “Do you take credit cards? Debit or check cards? Checks?”

Is Your Answer:
(a) “I don’t have my credit card terminal with me.”

(b) “We keep our prices low by not paying high payment processing fees. Cash, Certified or Letter of Credit Only.”

(c) “Certainly. But the Special Discount Prices can not be applied.”

(d) “Sorry. But, we do take PayPal or Cash.”

All the above are Buyer Deal Breakers.

Lowest-Cost Payment Processing for Retail Storefronts and Online Marketers … Of All Sizes

If you need lowest rate, secure credit card and payment processing …

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