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November 23, 2008 3:16:21 CST


online shopping

online shopping news stories

12 Stories

 Slashing Prices Online 
 May Kill Etailers 

Price wars sure to kill off some struggling e-tailers

(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 Amazon.com, but many small boutiques can’t absorb those costs. More »

More about:  Google Amazon.com holiday shopping shipping online shopping online ads Kmart holiday sales

 Michelle Bares 
 Fashion Splurge: 
 J. Crew—Online 

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

(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 under. "It's like being shot out of a cannon," said Michelle. "You're at the center of attention, and you want to look good." More »

More about:  Election 2008 Michelle Obama Jay Leno Malia Obama Sasha Obama Tonight Show online shopping wardrobe

GLOSSIES

 Tips to Avoid Online Scams 

Guidelines for safe e-shopping are necessary even on eBay

(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. Know what to look for: Before purchasing a pricey purse item, read a corresponding authenticity guide. Written by legitimate sellers, you'll learn what to look for, from genuine monogram placement to label fonts. More »

More about:  Internet eBay online auction scam online shopping

Fashionistas Chase Fleeting Bargains Online

Sites court shoppers with flash sales on designer brands

(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 site buy on average within just 45 seconds of logging on, reports the Wall Street Journal . More »

More about:  fashion designer luxury goods online shopping Internet sales

OMG, Txt Msg Shopping!

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

(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’ll use the product…wherever they happen to be,” said Amazon’s director of mobile payments. More »

More about:  Amazon.com retail text messaging online shopping

 Search Feature Riles Retailers 

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

(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 Google—which often shows ads from that site's competitors at the same time. More »

More about:  Google website online shopping Google Apps online search

 Borders Tests More
 Covers, Fewer Books 

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

(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, Olympics, Internet shopping), will gobble up shelf space, cutting titles by 5% to 10%. More »

More about:  book retail sales marketing online shopping Barnes and Noble bookstore Borders

Amazon 'S3' Server Offline for Hours

Friday outage leaves businesses
in the dark with customers

(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 outage was resolved by 7am Pacific Time for most users. More »

More about:  Internet Amazon.com online retailers online shopping web services

EBay Silences Sellers with New Feedback Scheme

System designed to prevent retaliatory feedback

(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,” explained eBay’s North American president. “Buyers are more afraid than ever to leave honest feedback.” More »

More about:  eBay online auction online shopping Power Sellers

IAC Numbers Plummet;
War for Control Drags On

Bad quarter adds to Diller v. Malone woes

(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, reports the Wall Street Journal. More »

More about:  earnings reports Barry Diller online shopping John Malone IAC/InterActiveCorp

Shopping's Future Is High-Tech

Retailers urged to adopt new technologies

(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 order’s ready) and Japanese shoppers scan groceries with their phones to check freshness. More »

More about:  cell phones online shopping retail shopping National Retail Federation retail technology

E-Commerce All Grown Up, Sales Growth Finally Slows

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

(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 Amazon.com holiday shopping online shopping retail shopping comScore e commerce

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