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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: online shopping

online shopping stories: 17 news summaries

Holiday Shipping Costs Get the Heave-Ho-Ho

Charges ditched as online competition heats up

Nov 17, 09 1:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Free shipping is quickly becoming the rule instead of a bonus as online and catalog retailers seek to lure holiday shoppers. Many shoppers searching for deals now abandon Internet shopping sites as soon as they find they must pay shipping costs, analysts are finding. Some 57% of retailers are offering... More »

MORE ABOUT:
shipping • retail sales • holiday shopping • online shopping • e-commerce • Amazon.com

 How You 
 Can Shop 
 —and Help 
 the World 

A list of retail strategies to do good while you buy

Jun 24, 09 7:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Want to do some shopping and do some good—at the same time? Sandy Stonesifer, writing for Slate, offers some ways to buy for the betterment of humanity:
  • Go for products that donate a portion of proceeds to charity—like Product (Red) iPods, which give to the Global Fund,
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
philanthropy • shopping • eBay • iPod • charity • online shopping • retail shopping • Gap • Product (Red) • Goodshop • TOMS • Nest • Aid to Artisans • Global Exchange • women's issues

(Newser) - Online shoppers have discovered "a world beyond Amazon," Ben Parr writes on Mashable. Now they can swap advice, start up shops, and even get to know designers on sites like:
  • Pikaba. Post requests for purchases ("I need to buy a new laptop for $500"), receive
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
social networking • Facebook • online shopping • Twitter • Jay-ZTV • social media

 Nintendo to Launch
Videos for Wii 

Service will begin in apan in 2009

Dec 26, 08 5:31 AM CST
(Newser) - Nintendo plans to launch video programming for the blockbuster Wii game console, reports AFP. Players could access original programming online to watch on their TV sets. The service will  be aimed initially at the Japanese market and expand to markets worldwide. Rival Sony already uses its popular PlayStation for online... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Nintendo • Sony • online shopping • videos • Sony Playstation • movies • Wii • Dentsu

(Newser) - Manufacturers have gone on the offensive to stop discounters from selling their products for less than the minimum advertised price they set, reports the Wall Street Journal. But companies like eBay and Costco are pushing for laws to ban the minimum prices. Some retailers, like Circuit City, use workarounds to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • Costco • online retailers • price fixing • online shopping • retail businesses

 Slashing Prices Online 
 May Kill Etailers 

Price wars sure to kill off some struggling e-tailers

Nov 20, 08 10:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Online retailers’ response to their first dreary holiday season is a price war so fierce many won’t see the new year. Web shoppers are trained to search for deals, and 75% say they would leave a site that doesn't offer free shipping, the New York Times reports. Fine for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • online ads • shipping • holiday shopping • Kmart • online shopping • holiday sales • Amazon.com

 Michelle Bares 
 Fashion Splurge: 
 J. Crew—Online 

Candidate's wife talks to Leno on Palin's wardrobe, husband's chances

Oct 28, 08 4:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - With all the hoopla surrounding Sarah Palin's pricey wardrobe makeover, Michelle Obama has some fashion secrets of her own: she shops J. Crew—online. "Ladies, we know J. Crew. You get some good stuff online," she told Jay Leno last night. But she understands the pressure Palin is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama • Jay Leno • Tonight Show • online shopping • wardrobe • Election 2008 • Malia Obama • Sasha Obama

GLOSSIES

 Tips to Avoid Online Scams 

Guidelines for safe e-shopping are necessary even on eBay

Jul 17, 08 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - If it looks too good to be true, it might be. Counterfeit goods are no stranger to sites as mainstream as eBay, so you'll want to take a few precautions to avoid forking it over for a fake. Forbes outlines tips for a safe and reliable e-shopping spree.

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • eBay • online auction • scam • online shopping

Fashionistas Chase Fleeting Bargains Online

Sites court shoppers with flash sales on designer brands

May 1, 08 6:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - New online shops are hooking up high-end customers with discount flash sales on luxury goods such as designer bags and shoes. Alerting members via text message, the members-only sites sell items in private sales that often begin immediately and can last just hours. The created frenzy works: Customers of one... More »

MORE ABOUT:
luxury goods • online shopping • fashion designer • Internet sales

OMG, Txt Msg Shopping!

Amazon's new service lets consumers buy and compare prices
on the go

Apr 2, 08 12:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ruling the computer shopping world wasn’t enough for Amazon. Thanks to its new TextBuyIt service, customers can search the retail giant from anywhere… including, just as an example mind you, brick-and-mortar stores. Is Amazon specifically hoping to pluck price-comparing shoppers out of real world aisles? “We think they’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • texting • online shopping • Amazon.com

 Search Feature Riles Retailers 

New search-within-search feature serves users well, but merchants are steamed

Mar 24, 08 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Google has some other companies up in arms with a new feature that keeps the search engine front and center even when results are coming from a merchant’s website, the New York Times reports. Google’s new search-within-search feature brings up a search box that keeps the user with... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • website • Google Apps • online shopping • online search

 Borders Tests More
 Covers, Fewer Books 

Space-hogging move will cut titles 5%-10%

Mar 13, 08 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Borders is betting you do judge a book by its cover, the Wall Street Journal reports. In hopes of catching more customers’ eyes, the nation’s second-largest book retailer will dramatically increase the number of face-out books it displays. The move, aimed at countering stagnant sales and distracted customers (elections,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
marketing • bookstore • Borders • retail sales • book • online shopping • Barnes & Noble

Amazon 'S3' Server Offline for Hours

Friday outage leaves businesses
in the dark with customers

Feb 16, 08 8:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Part of Amazon.com’s 2-year-old Simple Storage Service went down for several hours Friday, leaving some customers in the dark and unable to access their own files, reports PC World. The pay-as-you-go “S3” service is used by companies to run websites and warehouse large amounts of data. The... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • online retailers • online shopping • web services • Amazon.com

EBay Silences Sellers with New Feedback Scheme

System designed to prevent retaliatory feedback

Feb 7, 08 1:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Ebay’s new feedback system is leaving a negative impression on sellers. Noticing that many buyers were fed up with “retaliatory” feedback, the auctioneer has decided to prevent sellers from leaving feedback at all, Ars Technica reports. “The current feedback system isn’t where it needs to be,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • online auction • online shopping • feedback ratings • Power Sellers

IAC Numbers Plummet;
War for Control Drags On

Bad quarter adds to Diller v. Malone woes

Feb 7, 08 12:34 PM CST
(Newser) - The headlines being generated from the ongoing battle for control of IAC/InterActiveCorp between John Malone and Barry Diller took a backseat—briefly--yesterday as the company announced horrific fourth quarter numbers, taking a loss of nearly $370 million after being sideswiped by the subprime mortgage meltdown through its ownership of LendingTree,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
earnings reports • John Malone • Barry Diller • online shopping • IAC/InterActiveCorp

Shopping's Future Is High-Tech

Retailers urged to adopt new technologies

Jan 18, 08 11:43 AM CST
(Newser) - Retailers need to go higher tech, adapting to cell phone use and virtual world shopping, said speakers at the National Retail Federation's annual conference this week, Reuters reports. One speaker noted that high-tech shopping is already reality in Asia, where Koreans buy McDonald’s by phone (it rings when their... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • online shopping • retail shopping • retail technology • National Retail Federation

E-Commerce All Grown Up, Sales Growth Finally Slows

Internet sales set new records, but rise more slowly than last year

Dec 28, 07 8:39 PM CST
(Newser) - Online sales continued to out-pace traditional retailers this season, boasting a 19% spike, but fell compared to 25-30% growth rates in past seasons, the New York Times reports. While e-tailers beat the scrawny 3.6% sales growth of traditional stores, experts attribute the slowdown to the maturing of online shopping. More »

MORE ABOUT:
US economy • holiday shopping • comScore • online shopping • MasterCard Advisors • retail shopping • e-commerce • Amazon.com

17 Stories


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