Online retailers must look to consumer behavior data to understand the evolution of e-commerce and improve their online presence.

One of the newest and most important players in the sports world isn’t a soccer phenom or an NBA all-star — it’s a multiplayer video gaming platform known as eSports. The universe of eSports relies heavily on data analytics, but the surprising twist is the role of social science analytics in this world of virtual contests between far-flung players. Counterpoints talks to eSports analytics guru Tim Sevenhuysen.

Few business websites offer features that simplify transactions, create deep customer relationships, and drive sales growth. To succeed, they need to personalize and customize their online selling process through high-performance technology and customer-centered business models.

Three principles show how successful retailers are responding to digital disruption and using insights to improve customer experience — not just in the end-of-year rush, but year-round.

E-commerce and omnichannel retail strategies have revolutionized the way consumers buy products, but maintaining consistent pricing across global markets can be an obstacle for organizations. By harnessing a focused data science strategy, organizations can avoid pricing pitfalls.

Today’s retailers need to adopt a data-driven view — with the goal of understanding how website features and advances in AI will affect consumer behavior.

Treating analytics as a strategic asset at the senior level has enabled a fashion-focused startup to innovate. Rent The Runway, an online service that rents occasion dresses, caters to its fashion-forward clientele through unique services such as on-call stylist advice and customer’s “style moment” photos. These services, driven by data and analytics, are what set Rent The Runway apart from its small pool of competitors.

More than half of managers surveyed strongly agree that their organizations need to step up analytics use, according to a 2013 global survey by MIT Sloan Management Review and SAS Institute. In addition, survey data suggests that in companies where analytics has improved the ability to innovate, managers are more likely to share data with partners and suppliers.

Studies show that online ratings are one of the most trusted sources in e-commerce decisions. But research suggests that these ratings are systematically biased and easily manipulated. The heart of the problem lies with herd instincts — natural human impulses characterized by a lack of individual decision making — that cause us to think and act in the same way as other people around us.

A surprising number of high-profile Western companies have stumbled in e-commerce in China, including Amazon and Google. This article offers a list of workable strategies to succeed in Chinese e-commerce, gleaned from U.S. companies’ experiences.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, in a market like China’s, where local knowledge and culture are crucial to success, more thought should be given to how to better serve local customers and adapt in a rapidly changing market.

A review of 1,500 websites for user experience finds that only 3% of sites earned a passing score. The rest had problems ranging from text legibility and use of space to task flow and links to privacy and security policies.

“As a company,” says Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, “one of our greatest cultural strengths is accepting the fact that if you’re going to invent, you’re going to disrupt. A lot of entrenched interests are not going to like it.”

Social web platforms don’t thrive by magic. They can succeed only if they attract the right individuals, motivate them to act in the right ways and empower them to know and trust others in the network. That’s where online reputation systems come in.

The benefits of engaging customers in product development, product support and related activities are increasingly visible. Having the right technology-based system can enhance the customer experience and help companies improve both their innovation and customer relationship management capabilities.

Many large and mature firms — which still form most of the economy — have difficulty analyzing the opportunities and difficulties created by the Internet. Here is a planning process, validated at several established companies, that puts e-business into perspective and helps make it manageable. “Using our e-business planning process,” write the authors, “senior management in established companies can identify attractive e-business initiatives, analyze their functional scope and assess the sustainability of the benefits.”

Online retailers must distinguish themselves in three aspects of a transaction: customer interaction with the Web site, delivery of the product and ability to address problems when they occur

The benefits of Web services will be profound, but not easily or quickly obtained. Building application-to-application links will require not only excellent technologists but skilled managers and leaders as well.