News/Press Releases		Features		Event Calendar

PA e-Comm News APRIL 12

Basically Useless Information – Where was Daylight Saving Time originally introduced? By whom? Why? (Answer later)

Microsoft is announcing Commerce Server 2002, new software for building e-commerce Web sites supporting the company's .Net strategy. This development is an essential tool for building Web sites supporting Microsoft's .Net software-as-a-service strategy. This will allow management of catalogs of products and services tailored to customers' preferences, as well as online buying and payment.

According to analysts, online consumer spending is predicted to increase this year regardless of economic conditions. Retailers that maximize their use of multiple sales channels and focus on investment returns will reap the greatest rewards. A recent Gartner G2 report indicated that the downturn in spending was in the business-to-business sector rather than business-to-consumer. Therefore, online spending will grow in the recovery. On the marketing front, e-tailers must spend ample time sustaining consumer awareness. E-commerce managers soon will look to fortify their ranks with new hires as the economy improves, particularly in project and program management, design and Web development.

The Federal Trade Commission has launched its first effort to protect consumers against Internet fraud and deceptive spam. This "International Netforce" was unveiled in Seattle where they announced they had prepared 63 cases in an increased assault on Web-based scams. The National Consumer League estimates that consumers lost almost $5 million to Internet fraud last year. Some of the most egregious include scams for alternative health treatments. More than 500 spammers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Canada suspected of running illegal chain-letter schemes have received warning letters. These spammers promise quick money to recipients who send $5 cash to each of four or five participants at the top of the list. The chain letter deceptively claimed the program is legal and urged recruits who question its legitimacy to contact the FTC.

To Report Spam or Web Scams: 

• Washington State Attorney General: www.wa.gov/ago/consumer/ 
• Federal Trade Commission: www.ftc.gov/ 
• To forward spam to the FTC: uce@ftc.gov 

Customer complaints are the least favorite task of contact center staffers; but as long as customers are complaining, they are still talking to you. Many companies make important discoveries by analyzing complaint data. Of course, even the most efficient and best-automated processes cannot compensate for defective products. However, even product complaints can highlight customer relationship issues. Many companies also make the mistake of spending lots of time, energy and money gathering complaint data and then doing nothing with the information.

Throughout 2001, the weak economy forced many organizations to impose budgetary cutbacks, especially for travel. So businesses searched for ways in which to conduct business as usual and many turned to Web conferencing to fulfill their presentation and data collaboration needs. Web conferencing vendors noted heightened interest levels of more than 50 %. Although these growth rates have slowed in recent months, they remain higher than pre-Sept. 11 values.

Industry experts project 15 million PDAs will be shipped in 2002, an 18 % increase over 2001, which had a growth rate of 18 % over 2000. This market is shifting toward color displays, more powerful processors and more storage capacity. In addition, wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, WLAN, and WAN are either being built-in or added-on to an increasing proportion of handheld computers.

A recent industry report indicates that more than 25 % of Americans use government websites to gather information. This is according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which indicates that 77 % of the Americans who use government online resources do it to find information about popular tourist attractions. Nearly 50 % of all visitors to government websites use them to find health or safety information and 70 % use them to gather information for school projects. The study also reveals that most Americans would like to be able to access their Social Security account balance online.

A recent Nielsen/NetRatings study reported that Yahoo draws the most online traffic in the US. particularly fueled by finance, music and personal finance searches. Yahoo was the leader in time spent on its branded Websites, while Microsoft Network and America Online closely trailed.

A new report from Penn State University indicates that Internet users are spending less time searching for sexually orientated material, and more time looking for useful information. From 1997 to 2001, Excite users shifted from searches about sex and entertainment to searches for information on business and travel. In 1997, 1in 6 searches were about sex; in 2001, the ratio was down to 1 in 12 and many of those queries related to human sexuality, rather than pornography. At the same time, the number of searches for information in the areas of commerce, travel, employment or economy rose. The study also indicates that Internet users are getting less patient when using search engines. In 1997, less than 30 % examined only one page of results per query; by 2001, the percent of single-page searches rose to more than 50 %, while 70 % wouldn’t go beyond two pages of results.

A few years ago, many dot-coms went online with no strategic business plan or customer service strategy. Now, experts agree that e-commerce is entering a newer, smarter era -- a multichannel era where companies view e-commerce technology primarily as a tool to solve business problems, by making transactions easier for the consumer. One example is Papa John Pizza which used its website to make pizza buying easier than ordering over the phone or going into the store. By tracking response, Papa John's discovered that customers who ordered over the Web purchased 12 % more than those who ordered by phone or in person. Why? Because order accuracy for online sales was much higher than other channels.

More men want to shop online than women and just as many women want to play video games on the Web as men, according to a recent survey by AT&T Broadband. When asked whether they are interested in purchasing products online, 58 % of men and 42 % of women said yes. Experts believe this is the result of men being the early adopters of the Internet and therefore having more online experience. Or is it really more related to the stereotype that many men hate to shop in stores? Another surprise is that men and women equally like to play video games online whereas at home on a Sony or Nintendo, the ratio of boys to girls who play can be as high as nine to one. Still, the ability for email is the number one reason people get online. The fastest growing activity was bidding in an online auction, which grew 83% in 2001 compared to 2000.

ANSWERS: France, by Benjamin Franklin, to try to preserve oil used in lanterns. 

TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The following is a listing of recently published technology procurement opportunities with various governmental entities. We hope our readers take the opportunity to investigate these postings and increase their business:

USAF - Air Force Materiel Command
AFRL - Wright Research Site
A -- A Software Protection Initiative (SPI)
Synopsis http://www.eps.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLWRS/Reference-Number-SPI-IND-DAY/listing.html

VA - VA Acquisition Operations Service
Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Operations Service
D -- VIRTUAL INFORMATION CENTER (VIC), INTEROPERABILITY PROOF OF CONCEPT Synopsis http://www.eps.gov/spg/VA/VAAOAS/VADC/93AF-02-Q-0018/listing.html

VA - VA Acquisition Operations Service
Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Operations Service
D -- Computer Incident Response Capability (CIRC)
Synopsis http://www.eps.gov/spg/VA/VAAOAS/VADC/101-21-02/listing.html

USPS - Supplies and Services Purchasing
Operational Equipment Purchasing (HQ)
D -- Self Service Platform
Amendment 03 http://www.eps.gov/spg/USPS/SSP/OEP/102590-02-A-0033/listing.html

USN - Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego
A -- System Engineering, Software Engineering, Analysis, and Advanced Technology Development for Current and Next Generation C4ISR Architectures Synopsis http://www.eps.gov/spg/USN/SPAWAR/SPAWARSYSCEN_San_Diego/
N66001-02-R-5005/listing.html

NEWS & NOTES is a service of the PA e-Commerce Association. Please forward this e-mail to anyone else who might be interested in the content or in learning more about the Association. Remember to visit our website @  www.paecomm.org or call 717-238-9366.

Networking Event Sponsored by:

Continuing Education and Workforce Development

The PA e-Commerce Association invites business owners to this informal networking event. Learn about the association’s latest initiatives, educational events and workforce development programs offered through Harrisburg Area Community College. Plus, increase your business opportunities by meeting business owners from the Lancaster area.

This event will feature PA e-Commerce Association member, Vertex Internet, a Lititz based e-commerce, web hosting and web site design company. For more information, visit www.vertexinternet.com

To register, please call 717-238-9366 or email to info@paecomm.org

1641 Old Philadelphia Pike Lancaster, PA  17602

Traveling East Rt. 283/30
Exit at the Greenfield Road Exit and proceed to traffic light.
At traffic light, turn left onto Greenfield Road. At next traffic light, turn right onto Old Philadelphia Pike. Campus on right.

Traveling West on Rt. 30
Exit at Greenfield Road Exit and proceed to traffic light.
At traffic light, turn left onto Greenfield Road. At second traffic light turn right onto Old Philadelphia Pike. Campus on right. 

Traveling from downtown Lancaster
Traveling East on King Street from downtown, proceed over the Conestoga River to the traffic light at the intersection – King St. (Rt. 462) and Pitney Road/ Lampeter Road.
Bear left onto Old Philadelphia Pike through next traffic light. Campus on left.

Newsletter Archives