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Some recent news and government actions affecting online retailers enrolling consumers in membership clubs warrants a follow up to my blog a few months ago about post transaction marketing.

In late January, NY Attorney General Cuomo made some strong moves in the battle against post-transaction marketing.  His office reached an agreement with Fandango, in which the online movie ticket retailer will no longer engage in any marketing practices that enroll consumers in membership/discount clubs – without the consumer’s approval.   Additionally, Cuomo launched an investigation into 22 well-known online retailers who deceptively enroll consumers in these membership clubs.  Continue reading "More Crackdown on Post-Transaction Marketing"

In the first half of 2009, e-commerce revenue amounted to approximately $64 billion of all retail sales in the U.S., according the U.S. Census Bureau.  While e-commerce sales dropped from the same period in 2008, the percentage of total retail sales increased slightly from 3.3 to 3.5 percent.  What this shows is that more consumers are finding confidence in online shopping.  This is good news for online merchants.  However, the rapid growth of e-commerce has created tons of new sales opportunities, including aggressive direct marketing companies who have found ways to target online shoppers. Continue reading "Post Transaction Marketing: Is It Worth The Risk For E-commerce Merchants?"