Welcome to the Pennsylvania e-Commerce Association

3D e-commerce is a pair of jeans seen from every angle; it is the ability to mix and match shoes, dresses, coats or belts; to explore the nooks and crannies of an entire home; and to capture the most realistic, detailed view possible. Lands' End added virtual 3D model capability to its Web site two years ago so users could answer height, weight and facial feature questions to create a virtual model that could "try on" digitized Lands' End clothing. They also could change the colors of garments, choose different accessories or even view a model from different angles. The virtual model also could help determine the correct size. Lands' End has now reported that the 3D technology helped increase new sales by 26% and boosted the average customer ticket price by 13%. At its implementation, the cost to digitize the apparel collection neared $2,000 per item; now, according to analysts, that cost is closer to $90 to $200. So, now the Home Shopping Network, Lane Bryant and Glamour magazine all have signed deals to incorporate virtual model technology. Modeling technology is expected to take off in these new sites. So, maybe within the next two years we will all have a virtual identity. Retailers however are more likely to invest is zoom technology, which allows consumers to focus on one aspect of a product. A recent Forrester study showed that image zoom had the most penetration among retailers, with 84% of major retail sites offering the feature. Wider use of video technologies that "explore spaces" -- such as interiors of cars, apartments or homes – is also expected to increase as well as applications that provide greater sensory experiences, including touch and smell.

81% of small businesses that maintained an online presence during last year's holiday season reached new customers, leading to an increase in sales and profitability, according to results of a Harris Interactive survey released by Yahoo! Of those small businesses with e-commerce capability during the 2001 holiday season, 59% said being online allowed them to increase sales, with an average increase of 29%. More than 54% said it increased their profitability. The ability to reach new customers was the most important reason for having an online presence with 74% of respondents saying it was the reason why they took their business online. Respondents also said they were seeking higher visibility and increased sales. Competitive advantage and reduced costs were other, less important reasons cited for taking the online plunge. The approaching holiday season likely will serve as an added impetus for more small businesses to take the leap online.

Microsoft’s tablet PC initiative centers on a new version of the Windows XP operating system and a design for a lightweight version of a PC with which people interact by tapping the screen and hand-writing with a pen-like device. They will also let users wirelessly connect to the Internet and other PCs.

Cell phone advertising is becoming more annoying than the cell phones themselves. Verizon, Cingular, AT&T Wireless and Sprint have a constant presence on the airwaves or in print touting their latest features and price deals. They have not stopped pumping ad bucks into the otherwise-slumping U.S. media market, spending more than $2 billion for ads through June of this year because they are locked in battle for the growing wireless market. More than half a billion people use cell phones worldwide. So how do they differentiate themselves? Everybody is selling the same basic set of features, packaged slightly differently and priced slightly differently.

SAP has reported that it has won a three-year software contract with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service that, if fully realized, could generate $30 million in revenues for the business-applications maker. Under the contract, SAP will provide the tax agency with financial applications for accounting and budgeting. SAP plans to coordinate the project with Computer Sciences Corp., the lead contractor in a massive computer systems modernization project at the IRS. SAP said the new financial system will help the IRS gather timelier, more accurate financial data about its operations, as mandated by Congress and the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. The new system will also help the agency, which collects $1.7 trillion in taxes annually, with the tax collection process.

According to a survey from America's Computer Security Institute earlier this year, 90% of respondents, primarily large corporations, government agencies, banks, medical institutions and universities, admitted that they had detected a security breach in the past year. Of those, 44% revealed that the financial damage done to their businesses as a result was collectively $456 million. The most serious losses came from the theft of proprietary information.

Up to 78 million taxpayers will have the opportunity to file their 2002 tax returns online for free, thanks to an agreement signed between the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and a coalition of tax preparers that includes TurboTax maker Intuit and H&R Block. This agreement will allow tax software companies to offer online tax return preparation at no charge. So, taxpayers in January 2003 will be able to access free tax filing Web sites via irs.gov and firstgov.gov. Intuit has raised the cap on free federal filing to $27,000 and has added anyone who qualifies for the Earned Income Credit. The IRS noted that this agreement is in line with its goal set in 1998 to have 80% of federal taxpayers file electronically by 2007. While the agreement is in effect, the IRS has said it will not compete with electronic tax preparers by offering its own free e-filing services, but the agency also stated that the consortium of tax preparers must offer, in total, free services to 60% of all taxpayers. For consumers, the benefits of electronic tax filing include a faster refund and greater accounting accuracy (nearly 70% of taxpayers receive some type of federal refund.) At the same time, the e-filing process allows the IRS to achieve greater efficiency when handling returns.

Research is finding an increase among players of PC and console entertainment systems. In-Stat/MDR estimated that the game console market reached revenues of nearly $7.4 billion in 2001 with 31.8 million units shipped, and Strategy Analytics predicts global shipments of 41.9 million units in 2002. Sony's PlayStation 2 accounts for 63% of sales, followed by Nintendo's GameCube with 21% and Microsoft's XBox with 16%. By the end of 2002, 72% of global shipments will be PS2 systems, compared to 16% GameCube and 12% XBox. Jupiter Research found that roughly 10% of online adults currently own a game system and the average age of console owners is 23; 8% classify themselves as high-intensity users, spending 15 or more hours per week playing games, and this segment is expected to grow more than 40% by 2007. The majority (44%) are light users (2 to 5 hours per week), 24% are medium users (5 to 15 hours per week) and 24% are occasional users (less than 2 hours per week.)

Findings from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) indicate that major direct mailers are adopting e-mail in growing numbers, with 71% of direct marketers increasing their use of e-mail. The research found that most direct mailers either maintained or increased their mail volume during 2001. Cost-related factors accounted for most direct mailers' interest in the channel, with about 60% citing the relative inexpensiveness of online direct marketing as their main reason for adopting e-mail, plus a 35% increase in responses in 2001. Increasing postal rates and a challenging economy forced many direct marketers to test new strategies in search of innovative ways to communicate with customers. So, e-mail marketing has rapidly evolved from a relatively unsophisticated medium of mass promotion to a highly specialized medium used to drive revenue, deepen customer relationships, and influence prospect behavior.

Tuesday November 12th
from 8am until Noon
Complimentary Continental Breakfast Provided

Sheraton Berkshire Hotel
1741 PaperMill Road,
Wyomissing, PA 19610

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is your Network Secure from Intruders?
What is the government doing about Cyber terrorism?
How do you know if a hacker has gained access to your servers and critical files? What are Intrusion Detection Systems?
Does your company have a Disaster Recovery Plan? Has it been updated
recently?
Who do I call if my network is hacked? FBI? Local Police?

Presenters include:

Scott Sutherland - Special Agent,
"Criminal investigations and Laws on Internet Intrusions "

Jerry Smith - Chief Technology Officer,
IPR International
"Disaster Recovery should be part of your security process "

Ming Fu - RSA Security
"Smart Cards and Identity Management"

Tony Vintent - IDS Architect,
RipTech / Symantec
"Intrusion Detection Systems and
Real-time alerting"

Call Sandra Maguire@ 610-288-6200 to reserve your seat or
email Smaguire@wtci.net
Visit www.wtci.net for more information

The following are links to upcoming seminars and other events that our readers might have an interest in and/or other information related to e-commerce.

International Finance Breakfast Briefing and Seminar

November 14 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Comfort Inn Sherwood Knoll, Lancaster, PA

Arranging satisfactory financing is a common obstacle for companies beginning or expanding their exports of goods and services. A number of factors such as the long distances involved, overseas customs, exchange rates and business practices tend to make international business riskier and more expensive than doing business domestically. Join us for an informative seminar and learn the basics of export finance.

Sponsored by: World Trade Center Harrisburg

Call: 717-843-1090 Online: www.hwtc.org

Member $25, Non-Member $35

There is a new computer virus going about, W32/Braid, this virus was suspected to have originated in South Korea, it does have its own internal SMTP engine, full description is available here. http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99776.htm This virus has been seen by multiple large companies on it's vwall. The McAfee Dats will detect this as a generic exploit. This virus is also known as the Bride of FunLove, as it does drop a funlove infection when it infects the machine. Expect this virus to be widespread in the next day or two.

Scott Sutherland, SA, FBI
Coordinator, InfraGard
Central PA Chapter
717-213-2307
ssutherl@leo.gov

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 give us a call at 800-497-0809.