Panel: Retailers Prioritize Internet

NEW YORK CITY-More traditional retail companies are figuring out how to better serve their customers on the Internet, as those consumers are making the choice to shop from their computers instead of at brick-and-mortar stores, said speakers this week at the Cowen and Co. Annual Consumer Conference. “It’s easier to shop online than it is to find a parking spot at a mall,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, a senior analyst at Forrester Research.

Mulpuru points to Federated Department Stores as a company that has prioritized online shopping as a major initiative on an executive level, which panelists say is the first step in becoming a leading Internet retailer. “The big thing that they retailer has to do is say ‘This is important to us,’” says Pat Connelly, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Williams-Sonoma.

Panelists agreed that one of the best ways for a retailer to make inroads online is by acquiring search terms that search engines like Google and Yahoo sell as advertisements. Those terms are valuable ways of driving traffic to retail sites, speakers say.