E-Commerce

Another holiday season is approaching, meaning another opportunity for retailers to increase sales, boost new customer acquisition and fatten their revenue totals for the year. Based on e-commerce spending trends so far this year, online and multichannel merchants are optimistic, always depending on the slippery road of economic recovery.

As part of its Common Threads Initiative, Patagonia partnered with eBay to launch a new storefront for customers to buy and sell used Patagonia gear. The Common Threads Initiative was created in order to help reduce consumption and be more environmentally friendly.

Best Buy, the electronics retailer whose business has been eroded by smartphone-carrying shoppers and price comparison websites, is fighting back by launching its own rival to online marketplaces such as Amazon’s.

Mobile coupons represent a small portion of digital promotions, but usage is growing at a fast pace. The popularity of mobile coupons extends the trend of searching for online coupons, which emerged as a widespread, money-saving activity during the recession.

Amazon cut a tentative deal with legislative leaders that would allow it to postpone collecting sales taxes from Californians for another year. The company in turn would drop its battle to overturn the state's new law that required it and many other out-of-state online retailers to collect the taxes.

Toys"R"Us is expanding its e-commerce business to keep up with the swift rise in online shopping. The toy retailer said it's enhancing its buy online, pick up in-store service that it launched a year ago. Now shoppers can designate an alternate person, such as a friend or family member, to pick up their order.

Every sale counts in this economy — especially if racked up online. That's what analysts say about value chain Dollar General's launch of its first e-commerce site. The company's dollargeneral.com site is slated to go live today.

Word on the street is that Amazon is testing out something new in Seattle and it's not the Kindle tablet. We're talking about lockers at 7-Eleven mini-marts that will let online shoppers pick up their packages while they grab a hot dog instead of waiting for the UPS man at home.

For days our inboxes have been filled with tips and screenshots about Amazon.com’s redesign, which offers a cleaned up homepage without the old site’s iconic blue and orange navigation. Instead, the new site features a much bigger search bar, bigger buttons, and less clutter — all changes that practically scream “tablet-optimized!”

E-commerce powerhouses Amazon.com, Walmart.com and eBay.com remain as the top e-retailers in the STORES Favorite 50. The fifth annual ranking of the industry’s top online retailers reflects the views of retailers’ toughest and most important judges — consumers.