E-Commerce

Overstock.com to Launch New Consumer Portal
September 27, 2011

Overstock.com, which is in the process of rebranding its marketplace to O.co, announced the acquisition of the domain name O.info for a new consumer information website. The O.info site is scheduled to launch in March 2012.

Oscar de la Renta Plans Facebook E-Commerce Initiative
September 27, 2011

The fashion design house of Oscar de la Renta has emerged as one of the leaders in social media marketing within the fashion industry and, though best known for $4,000 cocktail dresses, plans to be a leader in social media commerce as well. "We expect Facebook will become a major channel of e-commerce," says CEO Alex Bolen, in a wide-ranging interview with Lauren Indvik for Mashable.

Bing Gets Into Daily-Deal Space
September 27, 2011

Microsoft search engine Bing announced that itโ€™s dipping its toe into the daily-deals space as well โ€” as an aggregator. Appealing to savvy shoppers who may have overstuffed their inboxes with too many deals, the search engine is taking a โ€œdecision engineโ€ approach to the coupon world. Bing Deals pulls together coupons from Groupon and LivingSocial, as well as retailers including Nordstrom and Target.

NFL Seeks to Boost Women's Apparel Sales
September 26, 2011

Pigskin, nachos, beer and cupcake decorating? With a newly launched site, Party Collection, and expanded women's fashion line, the NFL is hoping to make "homegating" as popular as tailgating and team-name purses as widespread as jerseys. The party collection, branded with NFL team logos of choice, runs the gamut from cheese boards to coasters to side tables.

10 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Live Chat Provider
September 26, 2011

While many people know that live chat can cut support costs and boost online conversions, estimates of live chat penetration are still woefully low. Bold Software's research with online shoppers suggests that one in five choose live chat as their preferred method of communication with a retailer. If youโ€™re interested in adding this communication and conversion tool to your site, youโ€™ll be faced with many choices. How can you select the right solution for your needs?

Americans Changing Shopping Behaviors This Holiday Season
September 23, 2011

People are changing their shopping behavior and will spend less overall this holiday season, according to a new survey from SteelHouse. More than four out of five (82 percent) survey respondents said their shopping behavior will change this holiday season. 

Target's Blunder With Designer Continues
September 23, 2011

Target is a victim of its own success. The discounter drummed up so much hype around its exclusive, limited-time line by upscale Italian designer Missoni that its website crashed and was down most of the day on Sept. 13 when the collection was launched, angering customers. More than a week later, some shoppers who bought the Missoni for Target line are posting on social media websites Facebook and Twitter that they won't shop at Target again because their online orders are being delayed โ€” or worse, canceled โ€” by the retailer.

The Psychology of Couponing: Where Ajilitee Went Wrong
September 23, 2011

Is a Groupon model the next big thing for B-to-B? Apparently not. Or at least not now. Chicago-based consulting firm Ajilitee used Groupon to offer $25,000 worth of consulting services at half price. It was the biggest deal Groupon had ever offered.