(Length: 17 pages)

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Interest in hosted commerce platforms continues to grow as brand manufacturers without eCommerce expertise go direct, retailers look to explore international markets with less risk, and small and medium-size online sellers push vendors to offer more competitive and sophisticated solutions. The result? A cacophony of hosted commerce platform vendors touting the latest and greatest features, industry expertise, and lower price points — all inevitably on demand. It's hip to be on demand in a day when time to market equals time to revenue, but as vendors cash in on the new catch phrase, they create an increasingly complex landscape of solutions for retailers to navigate. To help narrow down options, sellers should first determine how they want to buy, deploy, and manage commerce platforms.