E-Commerce

Daily-deal sites are proving to be popular shopping destinations this year for consumers searching for the perfect Valentine's Day gifts. According to a recent survey by Eversave.com, 92 percent of consumers surveyed in an online poll said that they would buy a daily deal voucher for a Valentine's Day gift. The survey also revealed that Valentine's Day isn't only about that special someone.

Endeca Technologies has announced the results of an e-commerce survey of business-to-consumer and business-to-business organizations. The survey of 430 B-to-C and 160 B-to-B professionals reveals business results for 2010 as well as areas of focus for 2011. 

With Groupon's and LivingSocial's success at securing hundreds of millions of dollars in financing and achieving hyper-revenue growth, who wouldn't want to copy their business models? To be sure, there's no shortage of clones.

Baynote surveyed 500 U.S. shoppers about their online experience this holiday season. Shoppers provided their thoughts on online retailers’ behavioral retargeting and privacy practices, mobile and social features, offers and promotions, and product merchandising approaches.

Luxury marketers have been given an around-the-clock opportunity to sell, as more and more affluent shoppers are heading online through computers and increasingly via mobile device to make purchases.

Some may say 2010 was the year of the "flash-sale" site. Given the economic climate, it's no surprise these sites caught on — the majority of them offer members limited-time deals at drastically discounted prices. In fact, the three most visited flash-sale sites, Hautelook.com, Gilt.com and ideeli.com, all saw at least a 60 percent increase in traffic per month compared to 2009, one study found. And as of press time, Gilt Groupe was on track to hit $450 million in revenue for 2010.

As two out of nearly 50 retailers participating in Click It To Gift It Day, Staples and CHEFS relied on the power of the internet and gift cards to squeeze every dollar possible out of the busy holiday shopping season.

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and retailers are hoping consumers are using the old "How much does he love me? Let me count the ways" saying as motivation for earning brownie points with their loved one by purchasing Valentine's Day gifts this year.

There are many holy grails in online commerce, but one that's frustrated executives and engineers alike is how to produce better recommendation algorithms. Produce better recommendations, and you'll sell more stuff.

Canadian shoppers have a new friend on Facebook, as the world's largest social network launched Facebook Deals in Canada, bringing its location-based marketing technology north of the border.