LaGarde goes bankrupt
Another one bites the dust. LaGarde has filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy protection — months after launching Phoenix, its new software-as-a-service platform. This is another example of the market consolidation that is underway among ecommerce technology vendors. Read more
Market consolidation continues
GSI Commerce (NASDAQ: GSIC) is buying another competitor. Innotrac (NASDAQ: INOC) will bring GSI 30 new clients and additional capacity for outsourced fulfillment and call center services. GSI is paying $52 million for the deal, after which it will boast nearly 5 million square feet of warehouse space and more than 2,000 seats in its call centers. In a similar deal, GSI acquired Accretive Commerce last year.
Mercado Software may be hanging by a thread. Reports from two separate sources today indicate that the company has run out of cash, and dismissed much of its staff — paring down to a skeleton crew to support existing clients. Mercardo president, Corey Leibow, denied the report, but only before hanging up the phone with a terse response, “It’s not true. That’s all I can say right now. Bye.”
The news gives further support to our assessment that a shakeout of the ecommerce platform market is now underway. Read more
MarketLive Takes Positive Step with New CEO
Mark Pierce, chief financial officer for MarketLive since May, has replaced Terry Austin as chief executive officer. Mr. Pierce brings to his new role a 15 year background in ecommerce. He held earlier positions at Pinnacle Rock Associates (acquired by Fry, Inc.), Proctor & Gamble, Accenture and USWeb/CKS.
The action is sure to be welcome among clients. It is a good step toward more sure footing in the market. With the change, MarketLive is softening its decision to end support of versions 3 and 4. Read more
Mind the URL for Storefront SEO
SEO takes work. It’s both an art and a science. When you finally achieve prominent page rank for great keywords, it’s essential to maintain that position long-term. But what if your URLs aren’t portable? What if you can’t take that page rank with you, when you switch technology providers?
Consider the case of Demandware clients, many who accept the URL generated by default. Retailers like Barneys New York, House of Fraser, Bare Escentuals, Sanrio, and Playmobil have their storefront URLs stuffed with non-essential elements, including the Demandware brand. Here are some examples: Read more
Catalysts, Ecommerce Platforms for SMB’s
Everyone starts somewhere. Many small and mid-size retailers need a new, affordable ecommerce platform. While they may have a recognized brand, not everyone has the immediate potential to drive $5 million in online sales. So where do they turn?
Catalysts are designed specifically for the small- and mid-market. Unlike enterprise solutions that demand a million dollar software investment or tens of thousands every month in hosting fees, catalysts deliver a far more limited feature set with ultra-easy deployment options at an ultra-low cost. Some open source options are even free!
Here are more than 50 SMB ecommerce platforms that won’t break the bank:
Not all these vendors are alike. Some, such as Onestop and Virid, offer a full range of professional services. Others, such as ChannelAdvisor and NetSuite, offer ecommerce as a bolt-on to their core services. Amazon, Yahoo and ProStores are extensions of massive shopping portals. And packages solutions like osCommerce and Magento are virtually free software you download, install, and custom-configure on your own server.