Fanfare and silver bullets

Thanks Jacques for bringing this article to my attention:
ComScore: Online Sales Up In January, Concerns Linger
"E-commerce sales grew 2% in January compared to a year ago, offering online retailers a glimmer of hope after the unprecedented 3.5% fall-off in business during the holiday season, according to a new comScore survey. "

Two things are interesting for me here:
1. Amazon grew in a industry where others declined over Christmas.
2. There is still a lot of slack to be taken out of traditional retail. ("Fulgoni pointed out that while e-commerce went up 2% in January, offline retail sales declined 6% to 14%...")

It really got me wondering about how to out-compete your rivals in these economic times. All good and well that online is growing, but is it simply "price" driven by "operating efficiencies"?
Being the optimist that I am, I have to believe that customer intimacy has something to do with it. By offering direct incentives (coupons online) to consumers via websites as apposed to traditional media, brands are growing even closer to understanding what their customers view as value in tough times (A/B testing and offer generation in real time). Dynamically shaping the offer to fit a customer's idea of value is my definition of customer intimacy.

The next step has to be a more networked approach between brands to share this knowledge and find portfolio solutions. As someone one said, in tough times the enemy of my enemy is my friend.