Reuters
Google unveiled major changes to its shopping business that will likely prove controversial in the e-commerce world.
San Francisco - Google unveiled major changes to its shopping business that will likely prove controversial in the e-commerce world.
Starting in the fall, product search results for users in the United States will be influenced by how much retailers and advertisers pay, a company executive said. In the past, product search results were based mainly on relevance and the program was free.
Google, the world's most popular Internet search engine, will rename its service Google Shopping from the current Google Product Search.
“We are starting to transition Google Product Search in the US to a purely commercial model,” said Sameer Samat, vice president of product management at Google Shopping. “This will give merchants greater control over where their products appear on Google Shopping.”
Google has been in the product listing and search business for about a decade. During that time, it has provided merchants with free access to shoppers. The company made money by running paid product search ads along with the organic, or unpaid, product listings, according to Eric Best, CEO of Mercent, which helps retailers sell through Google and other e-commerce websites such as Amazon.com and eBay.
“Today, that model goes away,” Best said. “It's a very big deal.”
The changes may ultimately help Google extract more revenue and profit margin from its retail advertisers, which account for up to 40 percent of Google's advertising base, Best said.
For retailers, there are upsides and downsides, he added.
“The downside is that retailers are going to have to pay for performance when it comes to e-commerce traffic and revenue driven by or through Google,” Best said. “The free traffic is disappearing.”
The changes may be controversial in the Internet community because Google's search results have traditionally not been influenced by money, Best said.
“Pay-for-placement to some degree is an alternative to purely organic relevancy results,” he said. “The fact that shopping results will be more closely tied to bid-for-placement will not sit well with all advertisers.”
The new program will help retailers make their products more visible to shoppers searching on Google. The old system was difficult for Google to police because retailers could list a lot of products for free. If they have to pay, it may reduce clutter, Best explained.
“Having a commercial relationship with merchants will encourage them to keep their product information fresh and up to date,” Google's Samat wrote in a blog on Thursday. “Higher quality data - whether it's accurate prices, the latest offers or product availability - should mean better shopping results for users, which in turn should create higher quality traffic for merchants.” - Reuters
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China’s Easing Grip on Gas Opening Door to North America Exports - Bloomberg
Chinese consumers may buy natural gas at more than five times current U.S. futures prices as the government eases control over domestic costs, opening the world’s biggest energy market to more overseas sellers.
Wholesale, or city-gate gas, in China’s Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, where the country is running a pilot program linking prices to oil, cost as much as 2.74 yuan (43 cents) a cubic meter since December, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. That’s about $12 per million British thermal units, or five times more expensive than benchmark U.S. futures in New York.
China plans to extend the pricing nationwide in two to three years, according to the official Xinhua News Agency, potentially boosting imports from North America, where Henry Hub futures contracts fell to a 10-year low in April. While China seeks to boost the use of cleaner fuels such as gas, retail price caps are discouraging energy companies from increasing supplies because they have to pay international rates and sell at a loss on the domestic market.
“The price reform helps to create an environment that supports a high cost of gas,” Gavin Thompson, a manager at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. in Beijing, said in a telephone interview May 30. “U.S. pricing will be attractive to the Chinese buyers. Looking at our view of delivered cost into east coast China and Henry Hub gas prices, U.S. Gulf Coast exports look competitive.”
Executives from the world’s biggest gas companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., OAO Gazprom and PetroChina Co. are likely to discuss the prospect of rising North American exports to Asia when they meet in Kuala Lumpur this week for the World Gas Conference. Shell Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser last month called gas “the fuel of the future.”
U.S. LNG
The U.S. may export about 40 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year by 2022 as low-cost supplies from shale deposits encourage shipments to Asia, Jen Snyder, a Boston-based analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said May 22. LNG is natural gas chilled to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 degrees Celsius), liquefying it for shipment by tanker.
U.S. exports will cost Asia buyers $9.35 per million Btu, based on a Henry Hub price of $3 and after accounting for freight rates, according to a May 29 presentation by Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG), the Houston-based company that’s developing the nation’s largest LNG export terminal in Louisiana. That compares to $11.08 per million Btu that China paid on average in April, according to customs data.
Price Slump
Gas futures slumped to $1.91 per million Btu on the New York Mercantile Exchange on April 19, the lowest price since September 2001. The contract for July delivery was at $2.348 per million Btu today in New York.
“China will be seriously importing gas from North America as it offers potentially lower prices compared to other sources,” Neil Beveridge, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said in a telephone interview May 30. “There is a lot of interest from Asian buyers, but the question is very much a political one in terms of how much the U.S. will allow to export.”
If China’s gas pricing reform is rolled out nationwide, retail gas prices could double to as much as 5 yuan per cubic meter, from 2.5 yuan currently, Beveridge said in a May 9 report. Wellhead prices would be three times those implied by U.S. forward price curves, according to Beveridge.
Import Surge
China may purchase an additional 10 million tons of LNG a year by 2030 from overseas markets, including North America, South America and Africa, on top of a further 10 million tons from traditional sources in Asia and the Middle East, Fereidun Fesharaki, the Singapore-based chairman of Facts Global Energy, said in a report last month.
China, which aims to double gas use in five years by 2015, increased overseas purchases of LNG by 31 percent to a record 12.2 million tons last year, according to Chinese customs. Purchases may more than double to 30 million tons by 2015 and rise fourfold to 50 million tons by 2020, according to Bernstein.
The nationwide implementation of the pricing system may make gas too expensive for some industries and reduce China’s competitiveness, according to Beveridge, who forecasts the country’s prices may rise by 50 percent in the next two to three years as the government extends the trial.
Gas in Guangdong and Guangxi is linked to a benchmark price in Shanghai that’s based on the cost of imported fuel oil and liquefied petroleum gas in the city, the National Development and Reform Commission said Dec. 27. Transportation costs are added to the Shanghai price to reach the final price for the regions, according to NDRC.
Political Sensitivity
While market prices in China may be attractive to overseas suppliers, exporting low-cost fuel to a strategic competitor may be politically sensitive for the U.S., said Thompson at Wood Mackenzie. China may also view U.S. LNG supplies as relatively risky because export terminals require government approval, creating uncertainty, he said.
While future gas demand will be met with supplies from shale reserves, U.S. exports are likely to remain limited to keep prices from declining, according to Christophe de Margerie, chief executive of Total SA, Europe’s third-largest energy company. De Margerie will be in Kuala Lumpur this week.
Consideration of licenses to export gas from the U.S. will have to wait until at least the third quarter, when a study is completed after a delay of several months, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The assessments were initiated after complaints from some U.S. lawmakers, who said sales overseas might increase prices at home.
To contact the reporters on this story: Winnie Zhu in Singapore at wzhu4@bloomberg.net; Dinakar Sethuraman in New Delhi at dinakar@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
Shopping and dining while having their lives saved! - Examiner
I was at the Coconut Grove Gallery Walk this past weekend and noticed a lady walking with an oxygen tank, it was unobtrusive except for the hose going up to her nose. I didn't ask, but after we engaged in conversation (we all do at gallery walks), she mentioned she was in Miami, visiting from Central America, because she was here for medical treatment. She was seeing an oncologist and getting treatment at one of the local hospitals.
What I found interesting was that while here, she was enjoying the art at the Gallery Walk and also visiting restaurants, shopping malls and spending money on a hotel stay while here for her treatment; and she had her whole family with her, all here enjoying what the city has to offer, spending money and having her live literally saved in the process!
Tourism was way up in Miami in 2011 thanks in large part to a 7.2 percent increase in international visitors to 6.5 million. But how many were here not so much to enjoy the sand, sun and fun, but for medical treatment? Many! That's quite a large chunk of the tourism budget.
Large amounts of money flood the area in the form of medical tourism and many people in the know, cater to these special clients. An unknown aspect of medical tourism is that the tourists pay for their own medical care, they don't use medical insurance, and in the process, they not only spend money on hospitals, doctors and medical treatment, but they spend money on hotel stays, restaurant, shopping and more and the patient usually has family members along for the duration.
Navigating the US healthcare system is no simple feat, even for us Americans. Patients needs much needed medical treatment, but how do they begin? This is where medical concierge companies come into play, like <a href="http://www.ornoa.com/">ORNOA</a> (Oncology Referral Network of America).
ORNOA is a patient navigation service developed by Miamian Maria Freed. They've treated over 500 patients in almost two years.
"We provide patient navigation services for these members, and also direct patients to non-members because the goal is to match the patient to the most appropriate provider in South Florida. In light of the continued loss of professional income and the impending 27.4% reduction in Medicare reimbursement , local private practice physicians are starting to pay attention to the international market," says Maria.
In the last 18 months, 70% of the patients have been insured, and 30% were self pays. Medical concierge services negotiate fees for patients that have no insurance. Physicians are attracted to international cases because they offer higher reimbursement than Medicare or Medicaid local patients. In Miami Dade 1/3 of residents have no insurance coverage.
International health insurance carriers are looking for value, and no longer automatically refer to the big hospitals in South Florida, because they deem their fees as too high and service offered to their patients is not optimum. Medical Tourism continues to evolve with many more patients seeking care in places other than the U.S. However, there are still more people who travel to the U.S. for healthcare yearly (approximately 3 million) than travel to any other country.
The strongest service lines for international patients coming to South Florida include oncology, orthopedic surgery, cardiovascular, general surgery and pediatrics.
The next time you're lying out at the pool and shopping at Dadeland, consider the fact that the person right next to you may just have had their life saved last week!
Chrysler stops taking wholesale orders for new Fiat 500 Abarth - detroitnews.com
Just over a month after the first models arrived in U.S. showrooms, Chrysler Group LLC has informed dealers that it is no longer accepting wholesale orders for the new 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth, according to company sources.
The high-performance version of Fiat's diminutive subcompact has been selling as fast as, well, an Abarth. And while customers can still find a few in dealer inventories around the country, those who place orders now will be put on a waiting list for the 2013 model, which is expected to ship this fall.
"I put my deposit down back in March and I found out today that I'm being bumped to the 2013 build batch and now have to wait until mid-September," wrote one disappointed customer on an enthusiast website.
The track-tuned Abarth went on sale in late April. By then, the company already had cash deposits from more than a thousand customers — about as many as it had originally planned to build this year. Fiat-Chrysler upped production to about 3,000 units, but sources said that is all the company's factory in Toluca, Mexico could handle.
Demand for the pocket rocket has been spurred by rave reviews in a number of leading automotive publications.
Most Americans had never heard the name "Abarth" before the automaker aired a steamy ad for the hot hatch during the Super Bowl featuring Romanian supermodel Catrinel Menghia.
Fiat sales were up a whopping 432 percent in the United States last month, according to Chrysler.
"Dealer orders for the Abarth, the ultimate high-performance small car, exceeded the production run of this model for the 2012 model year," the company said in a statement.
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Auctions In Motion Taps Sales & Marketing Director - Auto Remarketing
In addition to sharing with Auto Remarketing how its business model can benefit dealers, Auctions In Motion — a Southern California company giving dealers an alternative way to buy and sell wholesale units by blending mobile and “hybrid” auction sales — has brought in a new director of sales of marketing.
Tapped for the position is Travis Hacker, who has been in the business for more than 17 years and whose most recent post was as ADESA Los Angeles' assistant general manager.
Stepping into the new position at AIM, Hacker will be called to manage, direct and grow new and existing business partnerships with clients and vendors. Moreover, his duties include offering marketing and strategic planning expertise.
Hacker will participate in the development, approach and implementation of strategic marketing plans,
“AIM is adding another portfolio of skills to our busy team.” stated AIM president and chief executive officer George Pero. “Travis’ appointment further strengthens our competitive position within the industry.
“His in-depth understanding of the business, details about the markets and its competitive environment raises AIM’s visibility within the organization by bringing plans and strategies to the forefront,” Pero continued. “As we look to continued growth across the industry’s vast landscapes, we are excited to have Travis aboard, navigating through its challenges.”
Hacker added: “Coming to work with a dynamic and innovative company such as AIM is truly an exciting opportunity. I look forward to leveraging my experience and passion with the outstanding service and innovative products from AIM to create a truly unique experience for all buyers and sellers in the auction environment.”
Beyond Hacker’s appointment, the company also revealed that it has launched its new website, which can be found at www.auctionsinmotion.com.
So how does Auctions In Motion work? Pero talked with Auto Remarketing last week and explained the business model.
The company currently operates in four locations throughout Southern California, blending “mobile” sales — where within a 72-hour period, AIM sets up shop on dealer property, conducts the sale and has everything packed up and out of there — with sales that are at set, free-standing locations.
The latter are known as “hybrid” sales. Though different than the traditional brick-and-mortar auction, they are designed to offer the benefits of “mobile” sales and the traditional permanent auction sites, Pero explained.
Explaining more about its locations, AIM explained that the Thousand Oaks and Santa Ana locations are both freestanding, while Ventura is a completely mobile sale, utliizing tents and trailers. When it conducts sales in Pasadena, AIM holds the sale in the service drive and facility of the hosting dealers to simulate an indoor auction environment, the company explained.
“(AIM's business model) is designed to bring buyers and sellers together in a more neutral environment where they have an opportunity to get to know each other and establish relationships. They get to see the same buyers, same sellers week-in, week-out. And through that process, that instills a trust from buyer to seller — and sellers to the buyers — that the buyer can pay all the money for the car, and the seller is selling a good vehicle to those buyers,” he noted.
“And that’s really what the foundation of a good business relationship is about: getting a good product for a good value. The reason why we are successful at it is the neutral environment that we’re operating on is initially, when we start the sales, considered a mobile sale,” he said.
“We’re actually doing business on a dealer’s property. So these buyers are coming to a particular auto mall, a particular franchise dealer that might be located in an auto mall or close to an auto mall. Therefore, we have a critical mass of cars that are offered by a group of dealers in a particular geographic area. And the buyers are looking for those types of cars,” Pero continued, pointing out that nearly all of the vehicles involved in the sales are “fresh trades.”
He went on to explain more about what makes Auctions In Motion different.
“What we practice in our business model is the one-on-one approach. Every buyer pretty much knows every seller at most of our sales,” Pero shared.
Basically, one way to look at it, he said, is this: “The process that most used-car dealers have enjoyed in the past of having wholesalers or other car dealers – independents or franchised – come and purchase cars at the dealer’s location as a wholesale transaction, we’ve taken that process and put it on steroids by offering the auction process right on the dealer’s lot. We bring the auction to the dealers. And that’s pretty much the foundation of why our business makes so much sense to the dealers.”
With that model, he said, it can save dealers time, foster greater efficiency and save transportation costs.
Editor's note: Stay tuned to Auto Remarketing as we explore further how AIM works and its momentum in the auction business.
Improving Product Returns Presents Biggest Opportunity for Retailers ... - CNBC
RESTON, Va. and ATLANTA, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- While 86 percent of consumers are satisfied with the overall experience of shopping online, retailers still have significant opportunity to improve customer satisfaction and their competitive position by making the process of returning or exchanging items easier, a new study shows. comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, and UPS (NYSE: UPS) today released the Online Shopping Customer Experience Study, a report analyzing consumers' online shopping behaviors and preferences pertaining to the post-purchase experience.
(Logo:
) Drawing its analysis from a February 2012 comScore survey of more than 3,100 U.S. online shoppers and an online focus group held in January 2012, the report highlights which factors lead consumers to return items, to recommend online retailers to friends, their requirements for a smooth checkout process, and which shipping services they find most valuable. To download a copy of the report, please visit:
.
Convenient Return Process Critical to Customer SatisfactionFew factors figure more prominently in improving customer satisfaction in online shopping than an easy-to-understand and convenient returns process. A significant 63 percent of online shoppers look at a retailer's return policy before making a purchase.
Nearly half said that they would shop more often and recommend a retailer with a lenient returns policy, indicating its value in driving customer loyalty.
Hassle-free returns and exchanges rank above average in terms of importance for shoppers but rank low in terms of current customer satisfaction, showing a significant area of opportunity for retailers.
"The Online Shopping Customer Experience Study provides retailers with the insights needed to enhance the post-purchase online shopping experience, focusing on the factors which lead to customer loyalty and growth," said Susan Kleinman, comScore director. "While free shipping has tended to dominate the discussion regarding what provides satisfaction to online shoppers, the study shows there are several other factors critical to a positive online shopping experience. Retailers need a holistic understanding of these drivers if they hope to stimulate sales while maintaining healthy margins in this competitive retail environment." "This is important intelligence that can be put to use immediately," said Alan Gershenhorn, UPS's chief sales and marketing officer. "Online retailers of any size can win more business during this year's holiday season if they prepare now to offer a better shopping experience. UPS recognized some time ago that online customers are expecting speed, convenience and flexibility after they click to buy. That's why we've developed solutions such as the industry's broadest range of return options and UPS My Choice(SM) which lets consumers control the time and location of delivery." Two in Five Online Shoppers Abandon Shopping Carts Because of Delivery TimingConsumers are currently most satisfied with the ease of checking out, the variety of brands and products available and online delivery tracking ability.
They are least satisfied with the current level of flexibility in choosing delivery dates.
At least 42 percent of online shoppers reported abandoning their shopping carts because of delivery timing estimates. While two-thirds of shoppers choose the most inexpensive shipping option, more than 40 percent expect to see the availability of 2-3 day delivery and nearly a third want the option to choose overnight shipping. The need for speed is also important, with 48 percent of online shoppers not willing to wait more than 5 days for packages to be delivered. A third of shoppers said they most often choose to pay a fee for faster delivery.
Online shoppers also said they valued having tracking capabilities to know when their packages would arrive. 46 percent said receiving their orders when expected would lead them to recommend an online retailer. The ability to reroute a package and schedule a 2-hour delivery window is also important for shoppers in the delivery process.
Please follow this link to view an infographic highlighting insights from the study:
Additional Findings Presented at the 2012 Internet Retailer Conference and ExhibitionMs. Kleinman will present additional results at the 2012 IRCE in Chicago at the E-Commerce Technology Theater on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit:
.
About the Online Shopping Customer Experience StudyThe Online Shopping Customer Experience Study, a report commissioned by UPS, evaluates consumer shopping habits from pre-purchase to post-delivery. The study is based on a comScore survey of more than 3,100 U.S. online shoppers. For additional information on the report, please contact Susan Kleinman at skleinman@comscore.com.
About comScorecomScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit
.
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/comScore About UPSUPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.
SOURCE comScore, Inc.; UPS
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