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Republican Governor Supports Democratic House Member’s Plan to End Internet Tax Exemption

In an interview yesterday morning, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds (R) announced his support of the Main Street Fairness Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) which would make it easier for states to charge sales taxes on catalog, mail order and internet sales.  One analysis of the mail order and internet sales tax exemption by the Brookings Institution found that the amount of lost sales tax in 2008 was $3.9 billion.

Zalemark to Launch New TV Shopping Network, LuxTV, This Fall

Zalemark Holding Company Inc., the California-based jewelry design and manufacturing company, plans to launch a new home shopping network September 1st, according to an exclusive story in National Jeweler (Jul. 28, 2010).  The network, called  LuxTV, will make use of the remaining assets of now-defunct multimedia retailer Gems TV, which Zalemark expects to purchase in the coming days.  Those assets include Gems TV’s former headquarters in Reno, Nevada, where the new network will also be based.  LuxTV will offer nearly all the Zalemark brands–Demeter, Steven Zale Beverly Hills, B. Smith and Paris Blues (Badgley Mishka and Seventeen jewelry will not be included)–as well as other jewelry lines, at steep discounts both on-air and on the Internet at ShopLuxTV.com.”  LuxTV’s initial market will be 40 million households in all 50 states through distribution on the Dish Network, DIRECTV and various cable stations.  The company will be run independently of Zalemark as LuxTV Inc., with Matt Chao serving as president.  Future plans call for an expansion of the network’s merchandise into branded shoes, handbags and ladies’ accessories, with an emphasis on celebrity-endorsed lines.

QVC Records Biggest Ever Christmas-in-July Sale

QVC has announced that last weekend’s Christmas in July event was its biggest ever with retail sales of $46.5 million, representing a 14 percent increase over the prior year. Anchoring the product line-up were several gift and Holiday decor big sellers, including the Bethlehem Lights Ready Shape 6.5′ Noble Fir Tree featuring, the Rubik’s Slide Signature Edition Electronic Handheld Game, Disney Princess & Me 18” Fashion Dolls and a Hello Kitty Plush toy. “Additional top selling brands included specialty gift bags, boxes and wrap from Isaac Mizrahi; home fragrance from Slatkin & Co; great gifts for the gourmet from Kansas City Steak Co., Mrs. Prindable’s Apples, Harry London Gourmet Chocolate, Harry & David and Godiva.” QVC Press Release Jul. 28, 2010

Lack of SEO-Optimized Video Hampering QVC’s Web Sales

With countless hours of video available on its website, QVC has only seven video segments indexed on search engines Bing, Google and Yahoo.  Overstock.com, by contrast, boasts some 56,000 hours of indexed video on Google alone.  QVC’s enormous cache of video content – unoptimized and untagged — represents a big missed sales opportunity given that the 100 best companies in Internet Retailer’s Top Retailers Guide report an average of 30 percent of their website traffic is search-engine derived.  ReelSEO (The Online Video Marketer’s Guide) Jul. 22, 2010

Glamour Jewelry Collection to Debut on HSN, August 18th

The Glamour Jewelry Collection — part of the Condé Nast magazine’s new merchandising push — will debut on HSN, August 18th, at 2am EDT, and will be offered for sale on-line beginning August 3rd.  In a statement released today, John Bosco, SVP of merchandising at HSN, said, “We are excited to offer our customers an exclusive jewelry collection from Glamour that captures this season’s must-have trends and styles … In working with one of today’s top fashion publications, we are confident this collection will appeal to HSN’s consumers and integrate seamlessly with our existing … jewelry pieces.”  The collection is the first deal HSN has struck with a publication to create a namesake line.  HSN Press Release Jul. 22, 2010

Pressure Mounts to Tax Catalog, TV and Web Sales

Influential tech columnist Bill Snyder advocated for an end to the sales tax exemption for catalog and web retailers earlier this month.  And in an editorial today, the Lincoln (NE) Journal Star seconded the motion.  Here is how Snyder put it, “The Internet is no longer a baby that needs to be cosseted and protected from the real world, and favoring Internet business over brick-and-mortar ones via a tax exemption is not fair.”  He goes on to suggest that the current fiscal crisis in many states may pave the way for passage of the Main Street Fairness Act (H.R. 5660), which was introduced this month by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.)

No industry wishes to lose out on tax breaks, special treatment or other favors from government, but non-store retailers should prepare for the end of this one soon.  It is wholly without merit, and there is a long list of government services to be paid for.

Ratings and Reviews Feature of ShopNBC Website Leads to Improvements in Product Presentation

ShopNBC execs are paying close attention to what customers are saying in the ratings and reviews feature of the retailer’s website.  Evocative color descriptions like “Sunset” are being fleshed out with additional descriptions, such as “burnt orange,” for example.  And because customers frequently have difficultly picturing the size of a watch on their wrists, the retailer is including .pdf file outlines of the watches it sells on its website, so interested customers can print them out and hold them up for comparison.  Carol Steinberg, SVP of e-commerce, marketing and business development at ShopNBC (who I think is wearing a “Sunset-burnt-orange” top at left) described the changes in an interview that led to an Internet Retailer story yesterday.

Scammers Luring Victims to Malware Site with Fake ShopNBC Email

In a drive-by download attack, scammers are luring web-surfing victims to a malware site with a bogus ShopNBC e-flyer (picture at left).  “Clicking on any of the links in the fake emails takes users to a website that attempts to load malicious JavaScript code. This code attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in outdated versions of popular programs installed on the visitors’ computers. Successful exploitation leads to a malware installer being dropped and executed on the system.”  One way to avoid the scam is to hover over the links in the e-flyer with your mouse to see where they actually lead before clicking on them.  Softpedia News Jul. 13, 2010

QVC’s Mike George Sees Web Accounting for 50% of QVC’s Revenue in Future

During a recent conference call with analysts hosted by investment firm Goldman Sachs, QVC CEO Mike George outlined a three-part strategy for the company’s continued growth.  First, QVC plans to increase the productivity of its existing customer base by improving its technology platform, and by expanding into new product categories and brands.  Second, the company plans to attract new shoppers, largely through social media and mobile commerce.  Lastly, QVC will continue expanding into new markets, such as Italy this October.  By that time, QVC’s worldwide customer base will exceed 200 million households.  Internet Retailer Jul. 7, 2010

ERA Announces Opposition to Latest Online Sales Tax Push

The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) — of which the major DRTV networks are members — has announced its strong opposition to H.R. 5660, the proposed bill from Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA) to require online merchants to collect tax on internet sales.  H.R. 5660 would allow the 24 states who have adopted the “Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement” to require out-of-state sellers to collect tax, whether or not they have a physical presence in the state.  In a prepared statement, Julie Coons, president and ceo of the association, said, “This misguided Internet tax scheme constitutes a heavy blow to online retailers by imposing significant new costs and regulatory burdens as they struggle to survive in these harsh economic times.”  Note the use of the word “scheme” to describe the efforts of lawmakers who — whether you agree with them or not — are doing their jobs.  Electronic Retailing Association Press Release Jul. 8, 2010