UK-based online rewards company Fotorama has launched a new programme for redeeming promotions online.

The e-redeem programme lets consumers redeem any on-pack promotions via the Internet or by SMS instead of sending in a till receipt or proof of purchase. They can then use the Internet to select their chosen promotional gift from the range.

The company claims that e-redeem can be used for direct mail, instant wins and trade marketing.

Malaysian Airlines System (MAS) is planning to attract younger passengers to use its services by launching an online ticket sales system.

The airline is aiming to address the needs of younger travellers who prefer to buy tickets online. The managing director of MAS revealed the plans earlier this week, and speculated about the amount of young people travelling with the airline's domestic competitor Air Asia which has an online ticket purchasing system.

In May this year, the MAS board of directors approved a budget of up to MYR60m annually to outsource its information and communication technology needs.

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has revealed that weekly digital music sales could exceed 1m for the first time and help determine this year's Christmas number one in the UK charts.

Weekly sales often exceed 650,000 and the demand for digital music players such as the iPod is expected to boost sales, while the BPI anticipates digital music sales will increase further in 2006. The BPI said download sales have achieved a 400% increase on 2004, reaching 23m already, and while downloads accounted for 25% of weekly singles sales this time last year, they now account for around 70%.

According to a representative of the band Nizlopi, prior to its JCB single reaching the current number one, downloads accounted for 24% of sales. The BPI said an increase in CD sales is expected during the week up to Christmas and/or the following week - Christmas singles are very popular as stocking fillers and 70% of singles are sold as downloads.

The 'That's My Goal' single from X Factor winner Shayne Ward is available as a download before it can be purchased in the shops and bookmaker William Hill has predicted the single will reach number one for Christmas.

online music subscription service that will enable consumers to download songs onto their mp3 players for $6.99 per month or a $60 annual fee, undercutting the prices of the current industry leaders by more than 60%. By encouraging consumers to become song renters instead of owners, Yahoo, Napster and Real Networks are pursuing a different sales approach from Apple's popular iTunes music store.

A MANAGER AT SHANNON PREcision Fastener, needed to buy a new LCD projector for a training class, he didn't head to Staples to hunt down a bargain. Nor did he go online to search out the best price on the product. Instead, the quality manager at the Madison Heights, Mich.-based Shannon put his prospective purchase up for bid on the Internet. The posting--the purchasing equivalent of a request for proposal--forced vendors to come to him with their best deals.

Internet-based sourcing is hardly new, of course. During the dot-com halcyon days of the late 1990s, it was generally assumed that E-markets would come to dominate the corporate purchasing scene. Some exchanges did take off, too, in vertical industries such as metals and plastics. But no B2B market emerged as the corporate equivalent of eBay--that is, an online market that's driven by bidders rather than sellers. And when the dot-com frenzy died off, so did many online trading hubs.

In recent years, though, a number of bid-based, online auction houses have popped up to service business customers. The sites appear to be gaining in popularity with those customers, who go online to solicit offers on everything from computers to consulting services. One finance manager, who declined to be named, told CFO that his company purchased 50,000 desktop computers in a virtual reverse auction (the same company also solicits bids for consulting services). Says Andrew Bartels, an analyst for Forrester Research, a technology research firm based in Cambridge, Mass.: "Despite everything that has happened over the past few years, it seems that old E-markets never die."

EXCHANGES--THE EARLY YEARS

Apparently not. Yet today's B2B Internet-sourcing environment is much changed from the late 1990s, when lavishly funded, industry-specific E-markets emerged to serve large businesses. Indeed, the concept of companies using online trading hubs to procure bids for big-ticket items like rolled steel is diminishing. Big businesses tend to buy from other big businesses, notes Bartels, eliminating the need for exchanges. "They can connect their systems and do their own sourcing directly, without the need for intermediaries," he says.

Thus, most of the E-markets that remain have shifted gears, focusing on more modest items. Typically, the exchanges enable large buyers to seek bids from small and midsize suppliers. On E-markets such as Quadrem, BuyerZone.com, Enpotion, and eWork Markets, prospective purchasers request bids on products or services. Some of these exchanges serve particular industries, some don't.

George Gordon, chairman and CEO of Enporion, an E-market that caters to energy companies, has witnessed firsthand the changes in online procurement. "The early years of online auctions were predominantly for hardware and commodities,' he says. Now, Gordon sees auction activity for services becoming an increasing proportion--more than 50 percent--of Enporion's auction activity. Gordon adds that most of his customers are very specific about the products and services they need. "They're not looking for a three-year contract for an indefinite quantity of computers," he says. "They're going out for a very specific buy."

The system can also help suppliers. "Finding a qualified, ready-to-purchase business buyer is challenging for any seller," notes Sam Zales, CEO of E-market BuyerZone.com. "They can do telemarketing and a lot of other expensive direct things, but we're placing a potential customer right on their doorstep."

For Shannon's Mroz, BuyerZone.com provided a fast and easy way to pick up a quality projector at a good price without scouring the Web or haggling with dealers. "I got five quotes in about 20 minutes," he recalls. "I was able to contact each bidder for additional details; then I made my purchase." Mroz estimates he saved about 15 percent on the deal.

Mroz says he regularly uses E-markets when purchasing a wide variety of supplies, everything from insurance to gauges. "Everything is laid out in front of you--the different costs, the different features," he says. "Plus, I have all the contact information I need to get more in-depth information."

LET'S BUY FROM THE MASSIVE POLLUTER!

While small or simple bidding sessions can be launched in just a day, larger, more complex auctions often require weeks to plan. When bids are sought for expensive products or customized services, companies often create formal RFQs that describe, in precise detail, exactly what they are looking for. "The most important thing is to identify, very specifically and very explicitly, what it is that you want to buy," says Enporion's Gordon.

That puts the ball squarely in the court of buyers, who must then check the market for available products, prices, features, and specifications before creating the RFQ. "You can't just say, 'We want to buy security lighting, so tell us how cheaply you can provide it,'" warns Andy Kyte, a research fellow who leads the procurement practice at technology consultancy Gartner, based in Stamford, Conn. "You don't want to enter the market blindly."

The Rx Depot, which facilitates the online Canadian drug trade through a number of storefronts, recently extended the deadline for its response to a Food and Drug Administration warning letter by some 30 days.

The FDA warned Rx Depot it was in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act on March 21 because it facilitated that Canadian online business. "Your [Rx Depot] actions also present a significant risk to public health, and you mislead the public about the safety of the drugs obtained through Depot," the letter read.

The letter alleged that Rx Depot mislead consumers by telling them they had access to "FDA-approved" medications through Canada. In response, Rx Depot changed the language on its Web site to read "Canadian medications are not FDA approved; however, they do meet [Canada's Health Products and Food Branch] standards" with a link to HPFB's site.

According to Rx Depot president Carl Moore, the comany retained legal counsel, Tulsa, Okla.-based Richardson & Ward, and planned to respond to the FDA's charges at length by mid-May.

"I can tell you this: we're going to contest every issue," Moore said. "The only thing in the warning letter that applies [to us] is the aiding and abetting," Moore explained, contending that his company played no part in physically importing Canadian pharmaceuticals to his customers, as the FDA letter alleges.

"And we are going to continue to aid and abet," he said.

"Our interpretation of the law is that it's not a criminal act [facilitating Canadian imports]," Moore said. "There's not one thing we do that you cannot do at the public library, not one thing."

The Rx Depot is also prepared to fight an injunction of its operations from the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy and the Oklahoma attorney general's office that as yet has not been served, Moore reported. "I wish they would [shut us down]," Moore said. "I hope we do have our day in a court of law so that we can prove our position. But all they do is rattle sabers."

And business could not be better, despite all the political rambling, Moore noted. The Rx Depot "chain" currently operates 21 storefronts across six or seven states. An Rx Depot typically occupies between 800 square feet and 1,000 square feet of space. Of those locations, 19 are directly owned by Rx Depot and two are affiliates.

Rx Depot affiliates do not enter any franchisee relationship with the home company, Moore said, nor is there any other financial relationship to Rx Depot. "We simply allow them to come under our master purchase agreement," Moore said, an agreement the company has with one of three Canadian pharmacies, the largest of which is Canada US Pharmacy. Canada US Pharmacy operates as Northgate Clinic Pharmacy in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The affiliated companies don't necessarily take on the Rx Depot brand, either. "We serve as their big brother throughout, in terms of keeping their database updated," Moore said.

And the chain hopes to open as many as 100 more locations by year's end, Moore said. Of those new storefronts, 30 would be owned directly by Rx Depot. "We weren't going to do that many, but we've gotten so many People now who want to get involved that we're simply putting up two to three per Moore said.

China Southern Airlines (NYSE: ZNH) has said that its commitment to e-ticket sales five years ago is paying major dividends for the carrier.

The airline is currently selling about 570,000 tickets each month to the Chinese marketplace via its Chinese website at http://www.cs-air.com, and calculates that at least 20% of its total sales are coming from Internet sales.

Li Kun, chief operating officer of China Southern Airlines, said that since the airline first launched e-ticketing in China five years ago it has been reaping vast sales from the technology. The airline also said that with the large volume of Internet ticket sales China Southern Airlines has saved about USD12m in operational costs.

SALES SUCCESS: SOMETIMES, THE KEY TO LANDING A SALE LIES IN CLEARING AWAY THE OBSTACLES THAT CAN MAKE YOU MISS THE MARK.

RECENTLY, I HAD A CONVERSATION with Rich Machowicz, a former Navy Seal, martial arts black belt and the author of Unleash the Warrior Within (Marlowe & Co.). He explained to me that he prefers to substitute targets for goals. As a Seal, he always had a specific, tangible target he was trying to hit.

Many times, however, various obstacles got in Machowicz's way, and he had to clear them before he could achieve his objective. As long as he kept that target within his sight, however, he could get over, under, past or through any barriers that might present themselves.

The same kind of concept applies to sales. Think of every sales deal as a specific, tangible target. Sometimes, to hit your target, you have to simply clear away the clutter that can get in the way of your path to success. Here are five practical and effective strategies to do just that:

1. CLEAN HOUSE. If you're like most people, you're probably overloaded with mounds of paper--on your desk, in your files and in your briefcase. It's time to clean up. Clear your desk. File or throw out anything that is not of immediate concern. Take care of everything else immediately. Always keep in front of you only those things that are of top priority.

2. STOP SELLING AND START SIGNING. It's possible to sell yourself out of a sale, and that's what will happen if you don't focus on how to get the deal signed. Ask the customer "What do we need to do to get the purchase order signed?"

3. CREATE A HIT LIST. Keep a list of your most important "targets"--prospects and customers--in your wallet and on your wall so they're constantly on your mind. That way, even though you may not be consciously concentrating on them, you'll discover new ways to reach them.

4. BUILD A CRITICAL PATH. This is a visual reminder of your target and the connections needed to reach it. Write it down, and look at it often. It will probably have a hub in the center (representing your target) and spokes coming out in many directions (representing the key means of moving forward). This kind of visual will help you stay focused and determine the best path to success.

5. GATHER YOUR RESOURCES. Do you have everything you need to make the deal? Is your product as good as it can be?

Are you at the top of your game? Make sure you have as many resources as possible to give you the confidence you need to achieve your objective.

Remember, to hit the target, you must clear away everything that's in your way so you can go straight for it. You're going to have to make sacrifices. Your belief has got to be as strong as if your life were on the line. Once your belief starts faltering, everything else will come down with it. Learn how to push yourself, and ignore that voice inside that says you can't do it. In the meantime, keep your target in sight and your aim true, and you will succeed.

RELATED ARTICLES: QUICK PICK

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WASHINGTON -- After topping the $100-billion mark just three years ago, online sales will soar to $200 billion this year, according to the 2006 State of Retailing Online study conducted by Forrester Research and Shop.org. The study found that this year's online sales, including travel, should rise 20% to $211.4 billion, and will reach $138 billion, excluding travel.

Online holiday sales in the US are expected to reach almost USD20bn this year, with consumers returning to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and using fast Internet connections to place orders.

The Monday following the Thanksgiving celebrations has become known as 'Cyber Monday', with sales and discounts introduced by online retailers to generate traffic, the online equivalent of 'Black Friday'.

comScore Networks said consumers are expected to spend about USD19.6bn through US Internet sites during November and December, for non-travel goods, representing an increase of 24%, from USD15.8bn in the same period in 2004. The figures do not include sales on auction sites such as eBay Inc, or large corporate purchases, and account for under 5% of the US's total holiday sales.

According to Ernst & Young, the majority of people shop online at work, rather than at home, due to the faster connections often available. Traditional retailers have invested in their websites and many allow online purchases to be returned to physical stores for return, an issue which has overtaken security as a concern for consumers when shopping online.

A survey from Shop.org, an online retailer association, revealed that free shopping offers are a big draw for online consumers - in addition the avoidance of driving costs and queueing instore have encouraged online purchasing growth. Jupiter Research said many consumers feel they can find better choice and deals online, although it claimed sales and coupons can result in better instore offers.

Most enterprises that have an online selling channel would like it to perform better than it does. According to many analysts, the dismal 2.4 percent average customer conversion rate is directly attributable to a poor online user experience. This Macromedia white paper explores the reasons why customers so often abandon their shopping carts before their transactions are complete, and what online sellers can do to reverse this troubling trend. Find out how a new category of technology known as Rich Internet Applications can improve the overall performance of your e-commerce Web site by:

* Minimizing search time
* Improving conversion rates
* Increasing average order size
* Reducing shopping cart abandonment

There's really no deep secret about increasing sales through the Internet. You drive traffic by creating more sales leads. When these newbie shoppers show up, you engage them and convert their interest into a transaction. Presto: Better sales.
But all that's much easier said than done. Here are specific ways to build sales momentum and to make your online store crackle and then pop.

1.Seek out strategic partners. Question: What's the online retail equivalent of "location, location, location?" Answer: Links to your site in all the right places. You want to create awareness of your wares among customers. So the first step is to truly define your target buyer.

Thoroughly research your customer's profile and preferences. Next, develop come-hither offerings, teasers, interactive ads and must-read content for as many appropriate sites as you can manage and afford. "Small businesses can develop relevant content for other sites that drives traffic on a very low-cost basis," says Andrew Restivo, founder of GourmetFoodMall.com, a New Orleans-based online shopping mall for more than 150 specialty food companies.

In considering sites as partners or affiliates, don't forget professional organizations and associations, especially when you market services or business products. Try trading or paying for links with other small or midsize e-commerce marketers. But before making any deals, verify that your links add value on those sites. For instance, links to your boutique hotel might bring in business from local restaurant sites or a car rental agency or even a local chamber of commerce. But it would make no sense at all on a site selling computers.

2.Keep customers clicking toward the checkout page. Customers won't wade through faulty, bulky or clunky architecture. Broken links or haphazard navigation will only squander your hard-earned sales opportunities. Streamline all site paths and continually check that every click works. Rely on plain, instant gratification (HTML) text links to all products, services and registration forms.

"Graphics and Flash make your site look cool, but without text to encourage search results, customers may never even make it to your home page," says Michelle Jackson, spokesperson for Range Online Media, a Fort Worth, Texas, search marketing company.

Also, consider easy ways to get to the shopping cart and reliable site-wide product search functionality. When a shopper arrives with product specifics already in mind, you do not want to make that buyer work or wait.

3.Cross-promote like crazy. Don't make your online store a stand-alone orphan; make it work with other sales channels. Successful sellers have figured out that the Web is just one sales channel, like mail-order catalogs, phone orders or face-to-face contact. Everything must work together. That means customers being able to research one of your products online, buying it by phone, and picking it up at the offline store.

If you only sell online, you must make sure your branded URL is seen far and wide. That includes using it in every e-mail signature of every employee you have. Print the store URL on all brochures, catalogs, packing material, shipping boxes, shopping bags, delivery trucks, posters and postcard notices. If you attend trade shows or conferences, make sure your booth signage and promotional material also have a big, bold printed URL stamped on them. Don't miss an opportunity.

Also, register variants and misspellings of your domain name so customers who get it wrong will find you anyway. For instance, a company named "Baskets R Us" should also register "Baskets Are Us." Think about it: For a few hundred dollars in registration fees, you might net one return customer who buys thousands of dollars worth of wares over time.

4.Keep it personal. Customers will feel more valued and comfortable about buying online if you establish a bond. The more you're in touch and display a personal tone, the more your customer will relax. Some methods that work:
• Create an "About Us" or "Who We Are" page so that customers can learn about your background, the staff, and the history of the company.
• Create a blog (Web log) or feedback page so that customers can exchange comments. Or set up an email option-just absolutely make sure you have the capability of responding quickly. The worst thing to do is set up a channel for contact that gets ignored.
• Create a way for customers to log on to track their order as it's packed and shipped.
• Create a series of auto-responder e-mail messages, saying thanks for visiting, offering to answer questions or send a reward for buying and then confirmation of shipping.
• Create e-mail discount or news blasts to announce products or price deals. Or create an ongoing newsletter, which can be done more easily by using templates or services such as List Builder, Microsoft's e-mail marketing solution.

5.Be specific (and honest) about your product offerings. "The more detail you include, the better. People like to know the histories of what you're selling and who you are," advises Lynne Dralle, an eBay Power Seller who has sold more than 20,000 items at online auctions over the past six years (www.thequeenofauctions.com). "Always describe exactly what the buyer is getting. Be honest," she says. When selling her collectibles, Dralle mentions any chips or flaws, but she also tells stories, like how her Aunt Mary brought an item over from England.

High-quality photographs of products also are a must. If you don't have a digital camera, you might consider investing in one — they've come down in price and are worthwhile to have. But also know that, for a very low cost, Staples or Kinko's or the corner drugstore can scan images onto a disk that can be uploaded to your PC.

6.Set delivery policies that work for your business model. The great debate about whether free shipping boosts online sales is finally fading into individual solutions. While you still find advocates pro and con, it's now boiling down to a matter of your product pricing. "Free shipping costs can kill you if you can't include them in the price of the product," says GourmetFoodMall.com's Restivo, whose company regularly surveys online consumers on such issues.

But if you jack up your price to accommodate free shipping on commodity items that only sell at the lowest price possible, you lose. In those cases, customers expect to pay a reasonable amount for shipping, Restivo says. On the other hand, high shipping prices are a big detriment to sales of perishable or premium products, presumably because it's easy to forgo those items when they don't feel like a "bargain." Restivo's tip: Rely on second-day-air shipping. "You can build $3 to $5 into the price. Costs are much cheaper than overnight and customers are satisfied."

7.Spruce up your site and service. The goal is to get customers to return and to spread the word among friends and family that your online shop is worth a visit. So do everything you can to make the experience fast, fun and fabulously better than your competitors.

Explain all your policies, upfront. Promise 100% money-back guarantees with no strings attached. Offer free samples. Quickly respond to every query or comment. Invest in a live chat function so that customers can get answers to product questions immediately. Create reasons to return to your site with a loyalty club or contests or email games and discounts. Make connections with customers and don't let go.