America’s Top Ten Retail Businesses ( Rank, Company, Web Sales Volume)

1. Amazon.com Inc. $14.8 B

2. Staples Inc. $5.6 B

3. Office Depot Inc. $4.9 B

4. Dell Inc. $4.2 B

5. HP Home & Home Office Store (Hewlett-Packard Co.) $3.4 B

6. OfficeMax Inc. $3.2 B

7. Apple Inc. $2.7 B

8. Sears Holding Corp. $2.6 B

9. CDW Corp. $2.4 B

10. Newegg.com $1.9 B

The top 10 converting retail sites for July 2008:

1. Office Depot 26.90%
2. 1800flowers.com 20.90%
3. FTD.com 20.30%
4. J. Jill 19.4%
5. ProFlowers 19.30%
6. QVC 18.20%
7. LL Bean 15.9%
8. Children’s Place 15.2%
9. Blair.com 14.9%
10. Zales 14.6%

New comers to the list include: J.Jill, Children’s Place, and Zales. Regulars to the list hat dropped off in July include: Lane Bryant Catalog, Eddie Bauer, VistaPrint and eBay. I think it is also interesting to note that FTD has done a great job staying towards the top of the list as ProFlowers seems to be dropping a bit.

The stats were offered by Nielsen Online / Marketing Charts.

See the graph below.

And the last part of the list

Oakley Inc.
Office Depot Inc.
OfficeMax Inc.
Omaha Steaks
One Way Furniture Inc
OneCall.com (Huppins Hifi, Photo and Video Inc.)
Online Sports (Game On Sports Inc.)
Online Stores Inc.
Onlineshoes.com
OpticsPlanet Inc.
Orchard Brands Corp.
Organize.com Inc.
Oriental Trading Co. Inc.
Overstock.com Inc.
Overtons.com (Gander Mountain)
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.
Palm Inc.
PalmBeach Jewelry (Seta Corp.)
Panasonic Corp. of North America
Paper.com LLC
Paragon Sporting Goods Co. LLC
Parts Express International
PartsAmerica.com (Advance Auto Parts)
PartStore.com
Patagonia Inc.
Payless ShoeSource Inc.
PC Connection Inc.
PC Mall Inc.
PC Universe Inc.
pcRUSH.com (Atman Inc.)
PCSecurityShield
Peapod LLC (a subsidiary of Royal Ahold)
Perfume.com (Live Current Media Inc.)
PersonalCreations.com (PC Acquisitions Inc.)
PersonalizationMall.com
Peruvian Connection Ltd.
PETCO Animal Supplies Inc.
PetMed Express Inc.
PetSmart Inc.
PetsUnited LLC
Phat Fashions LLC (Kellwood Co.)
Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Potpourri Group Inc.
Powell’s Books Inc.
Power Equipment Direct Inc.
Powercomplete LLC
PropertyRoom.com Inc.
Quixtar Inc.
QVC Inc. (Liberty Interactive Group)
RadioShack Corp.
Ralph Lauren Media LLC
RE Williams Contractor Inc.
RealPlayer Music Store (RealNetworks Inc.)
Recreational Equipment Inc.
Redcats USA
RedEnvelope Inc.
Replacements Ltd.
ReStockIt.com
Restoration Hardware Inc.
Ritz Interactive Inc.
Road Runner Sports Inc.
Rock Bottom Golf (TGIB Marketing)
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware
Rooms To Go Inc.
Roots Canada Ltd.
Ross-Simons Inc.
RoyalDiscount.com (Royal Distribution)
Rugs Direct (Winchester Carpet and Rugs Co.)
Rugs USA
Safeway Inc.
Saks Direct (Saks Fifth Avenue)
Sam Ash Music Corp.
Scentiments.com
Scholastic Inc.
Sears Holdings Corp.
Select Comfort Corp.
Select Shops
SensationalBeginnings.com
Sephora USA Inc.
Sheet Music Plus
Sheplers Inc.
Shoe Metro
ShoeMall.com (Mason Companies Inc.)
Shoes.com Inc., a subsidiary of Brown Shoe Co.
Shop PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)
Shop4tech.com
ShopNBC.com (ValueVision Media Inc.)
ShoppersChoice.com LLC
Shutterfly Inc.
Sierra Trading Post Inc.
Signal Group LLC
SimonDelivers.com
Skechers USA Inc.
SkinStore.com
Skymall Inc.
SmartBargains.com
Smith & Hawken Ltd. (The Scotts Co. LLC)
SmoothFitness.com (InternetFitness.com Inc.)
Softchoice Corp.
Sonic Electronix
SonyStyle.com
Spanx Inc.
Spiegel Brands Inc.
SportsGiant LLC
Stacks and Stacks
Standard Tools and Equipment
Staples Inc.
Super Warehouse (SWH Enterprises Inc.)
SuperMediaStore.com (Linkyo Corp.)
Sur La Table Inc.
Sure Fit Inc.
Sweetwater.com (Sweetwater Sound Inc.)
Systemax Inc.
Target Corp.
Team Express Inc.
Tech for Less LLC
The Betty Mills Co.
The Buckle Inc.
The Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc.
The Container Store Inc.
The Finish Line Inc.
The Great American Hanger Co.
The Guild Inc.
The Gymboree Corp.
The Hershey Company
The Home Depot Inc.
The Inside Store
The Knot Inc.
The Men’s Wearhouse Inc.
The Merrick Group
The Museum of Modern Art
The Neiman Marcus Group Inc.
The Orvis Co. Inc.
The Parent Co.
The Pfaltzgraff Co. (Lifetime Brands Direct To Consumer)
The Sharper Image Corp.
The Shopping Channel, A Division of Rogers Media
The Sports Authority Inc.
The Swiss Colony Inc.
The Talbots Inc.
The Timberland Co.
The Twister Group Inc.
The Vermont Teddy Bear Co.
The Wet Seal Inc.
The Yankee Candle Co. Inc.
Things Remembered
ThinkGeek Inc.
Thompson and Company of Tampa Inc.
Tiffany & Co.
TigerGPS.com Ltd.
TimeLife.com (Direct Holdings Americas Inc.)
Tool King LLC
ToolBarn.com Inc.
Toolfetch.com LLC
Toolup.com
TotalVac Inc.
Touch of Class (Parke-Bell Ltd. Inc.)
Toys ‘R’ Us Inc.
Tupperware Brands Corp.
Tween Brands Inc.
U.S. Auto Parts Network
ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc.
UnbeatableSale.com Inc.
Uncommon Goods LLC
Under Armour Inc.
Urban Outfitters Inc.
Venus Swimwear Inc.
Vera Bradley Designs Inc.
Victoria’s Secret Direct (Limited Brands Inc.)
Vintage Tub and Bath
VistaPrint Ltd.
Vitacost.com Inc.
VitaminShoppe.com (VS Holdings Inc.)
W.E. Aubuchon Inc.
Walgreen Co.
Walmart.com (a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
West Marine Inc.
Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Wilsons Leather Direct Inc.
Wine.com Inc.
Working Persons Enterprises Inc.
World Traveler (Kaehler Inc.)
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
Xoxide Inc.
Xtremez.com (Paintball Online Inc.)
YesAsia.com Ltd.
YOOX Group
Your Electronic Warehouse (1st in Video-Music World)
Zale Corp.
Zappos.com Inc.
Zazzle.com Inc.

Retailers are looking only for products that are ready to put on the shelves, and they expect their suppliers to handle both labelling and inventory. When making purchase decisions, global sourcing managers expressed that the Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) required by the exporter is often a barrier to purchase.

Retailers are trying to strengthen and capitalize on the loyalty factor because they realize that it is easier to expand profits through established customers than by developing new customers. With a loyal customer base they can use more “data-driven, shopper-insight” marketing.

Supply chain

Retailers are at the end of the supply chain . Manufacturing marketers see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy. Retailers are planning to expand shipment programs and private labels in the coming year but many have not aligned internal processes, or enabled their trade partners, to do so effectively. There is a clear disconnect between retailers’ business goals and the actual steps retailers are taking to ensure proper planning, automate processes and maintain a handle on cost.

Major retailers

Major retailers were also inconsistent in reassuring both the sender and the recipient about the implications of the forwarded message. Many don’t state specifically that the recipient isn?t being signed up for the newsletter as a result.

Categories

Major categories of specialty retailing include electronics, home-related items, office supplies, shoes, books, toys, pet supplies, sporting goods, apparel, jewelry and others. In other words, these stores are different from the traditional mass, grocery and club retailer that carry a wide assortment of products and categories.

Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate – June 2008

eCommerce Site*    Conversion Rate (%)
ProFlowers    28,4
Office Depot    25,6
FTD.com    24,3
1800flowers.com    20,3
Lane Bryant Catalog    18,7
QVC    17,5
Eddie Bauer    16,8
Roamans    16,1
Vistaprint    15,2
eBay    14,9