Amazon.com

Some traditional retailers, seeking to compete with the efficiency and shipping speed of online merchants like Amazon.com, are finding new ways to tap their stores to fill online orders. Nordstrom and Jones Apparel Group are increasingly using their large store networks, in addition to big centralized distribution hubs, to ship online orders quickly to buyers nearby. New inventory management software, they say, helps them increase efficiency in part by using online orders to keep excess inventory from building up in stores.

Amazon.com Inc. said it plans to launch a publishing imprint that will produce English-language translations of foreign-language books. The imprint, AmazonCrossing, will acquire rights to books and hire writers to translate them into English before printing and selling them through Amazon's retail website, said Jeff Belle, Amazon's vice president of books.

To help shed some light on the packaging industry, and how it affects the consumer experience, JoAnn Hines, Packaging Diva, a consultant and expert on packaging, and Mark Mitchell, president of Tailford Mitchell, a branding and packaging design consulting firm, led a session on the topic at last month's National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in Orlando, Fla.

Q:"Shipping costs are eating me alive. Customers want free or very low shipping, but they have no idea what that means for small online retail stores. Do you have any strategies to deal with shipping costs and remain competitive?"— Carla Rose, owner, Green and Chic

In publishing, they're calling it "the Moses Tablet." Such is the potential seen in Apple's recently released iPad, the bigger version of the iPhone — sans phone. But that potential extends to retailers too, and with its big, shiny, multitouch, high-definition screen, the iPad may be the best visual selling space since catalogs.

Will 2010 finally be the year of mobile commerce? While mobile has been the "next big thing" for at least the last five years, 2010 may actually be a banner year for the platform. Smartphone and iPhone usage has soared, and even older adults use phones to check the stock market, find the best deals at the grocery store and price insurance policies.

The Labor Department reported that 36,000 jobs were lost in February, in addition to the 8.4 million that have vanished since the Great Recession began. The unemployment rate still sits at 9.7 percent. But not every big company has been hunkering down and waiting for the economy to recover--some are expanding right now to gain market share while their weaker competitors flounder. Looking at data from publicly traded companies, Forbes created a top 10 list of publicly traded companies that added the most workers organically in 2009. It includes blue chips like Amazon.com, Comcast and Lowe's. The group is a window into where the recovery will take place.

Brands endear themselves to their customers by creating products that become part of their customers’ lives. Products endear themselves to customers by making their lives easier, simpler or better in some way.

Amazon.com Inc. pulled the plug on its marketing affiliates in Colorado after the state enacted a law that imposes new sales-tax regulations on online retailers. On Monday, Amazon sent an email to members of its associates program, who earn a fee for providing links to the online retailer on their own Web sites. In the email, Amazon informed them it was ending its business with them as of that day. "As a result of the new law," Amazon said, "we have decided to stop advertising through associates based in Colorado." The Seattle retailer added that it would continue to sell to Colorado residents and advertise through other channels.

With an April 15 tax deadline looming, now is the time for businesses to address their tax responsibilities. Here are five tips to help make this a painless - and possibly profitable - experience.