New Online Retailing Award "Oscars" Announced

NEW YORK, May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Open to merchants and solutions providers worldwide; organizers say "not for bricks-and-mortar biz"

A new awards program for online retailers has been announced this week.

Billed as "the Oscars of online commerce," entries to the 2012 E-Commerce Awards are invited from online merchants and software vendors from all over the world.

Awards organizer Robert David said: "The 2012 E-Commerce Awards are open to everyone who delivers an excellent service online.

"It's an awards program for this decade and the next, not for last century's business. It's an awards program for forward-thinking organizations which have embraced the digital economy - whether they have an offline presence or not.

"The sad fact is that one day these bricks-and-mortar businesses are picking up yet another award at a glitzy awards ceremony, and the next they're laying off staff and folding.

"Retailing has changed. To reflect that, the E-commerce Awards 2012 is an awards process like no other, and it's completely online.

"The internet is the modern tower of Babel. And although we've a way to go making the program completely accessible for everyone, there are no global boundaries to who can enter. And there aren't any artificial limits on what you can be awarded due to the size of your business.

"Where we receive particularly strong entries from more than one region, we'll give credit to each. So while a German start-up might not have the clout of its established stateside equivalent, if it's got the technology or the happy customers, we'll give it credit too.

"We're accepting early applications now, from online merchants and e-commerce software vendors, and will keep taking them over the course of the next few weeks. The awards are the Oscars of online commerce. They're brand new, but there's never been anything quite like it before, and we're seeing a lot of buzz already. Take a look at the awards website, and see if there's a category that fits."

The 2012 E-Commerce Awards are open now. The closing date for all entries is Friday 7 September 2012.

Awards for e-commerce merchants

• Best Multi-Channel Retailer
• Best International E-tailer
• Best Small E-tailer
• Best Checkout Experience
• Customer Satisfaction Award
• Delivery & Fulfilment Award
• Best Marketing Campaign
• Best M-Commerce Strategy

Awards for e-commerce solutions providers

• Best E-Commerce Platform
• E-commerce Usability Award
• Payment Innovation Award
• Best E-Commerce Design
• Best Software-as-a-Service
• Best Enterprise Solution
• Best Small Business Solution
• Best Plugin or App

For more information, please visit the awards website at http://www.e-commerce-awards.com.

Notes for Editors

About the E-Commerce Awards

The E-Commerce Awards aims to identify and promote excellence in the sphere of electronic trading and commerce. The awards program is open to international entrants and includes individual awards categories for independent software vendors and solutions providers, and online merchants. The awards are open for businesses with an offline presence, but must conduct at least part of their business online.