E-Commerce

American fans of H&M are all breathing a sigh of contentment after the apparel retailer announced that it will be allowing online shopping in the U.S. early next year.

eBay will use an outside firm to sell and serve up ads on its marketplace and will embed ads into the site to avoid driving shoppers off-site. Triad Retail Media will manage all on-site display advertising for eBay.com and eBay Motors.

VibrantNation.com is the leading online community for baby boomer women, a site where they connect on issues unique to their stage of life. After more than two years of asking them to explain what that lifestage means, I can report one nearly uniform emotion they all share: they hate shopping in retail stores.

H&M announced that it will launch a plus-size collection, which will only be available at H&M online. Too bad H&M Online only exists in Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. 

Internet Archive recently released the beta version of its Wayback Machine, which allows users to browse through old websites that have been collected over the internet throughout the years.  

The days of managing your website based on page views and traffic statistics are over. From tracking which pixel on your main page holds the most interest for consumers, to understanding what a customer abandoned his cart — website and customer analytics are changing the way e-commerce site owners do business online. 

Yesterday we showed you the companies with the worst customer service, according to STELLAService. Find out which companies made the "elite" list with outstanding customer service.

Brands want to sell, shoppers want to buy. It may seem like a simple 1+1= 2 formula, but the digital shopping market is becoming more and more saturated with new forms of technology — e.g., social media, iPads, mobile phone apps. That, in turn, makes it even tougher for brands to convince shoppers to click and buy their products.

Some companies pamper shoppers with swift and attentive customer service. At other places, you can't find anyone who has a clue about how to resolve your complaint.

Apple plans to introduce services that would let customers use its iPhone and iPad computer to make purchases, said Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group.