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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: e-commerce

e-commerce stories: 12 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

OPINION

 Happy 40th, Internet (Maybe) 


Sep 2, 09 7:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Forty years ago, two UCLA scientists exchanged data via computers, arguably making today the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. "It would be more accurate to say some important seeds of the Internet sprouted with that data transfer," writes Stephen Shankland on CNET, but no matter.... More »

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Iran • Internet • communication • UCLA • Myanmar • cloud computing • World Wide Web • e-commerce

 E-Commerce 
 Revs Up on 
 Facebook 

Dozens of storefront applications due to open in months ahead

Aug 5, 09 4:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Facebook is poised to become a major destination for online shopping as more sophisticated E-commerce applications appear, reports the Financial Times. Floral gift retailer 1-800-Flowers opened a Facebook storefront last week and the software developer behind it says at least 20 more retailers will open for business via Facebook in... More »

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social networking • Internet • Facebook • 1 800 flowers.com • Internet applications • e-commerce

RETAIL SALES

 No Christmas  
 Miracle for Retailers 


Even luxury sector sales in free fall

Dec 26, 08 1:57 AM CST
(Newser) - It was a bleak Christmas and promises to be a less than prosperous New Year for retailers with consumers tightening their belts and spending less, reports the Wall Street Journal. Retail sales dropped 5.5% in November and 8% in December, compared with the same months last year. Luxury goods,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recession • Macy's • luxury goods • holiday • retail sales • Christmas • Neiman Marcus • Victoria's Secret • MasterCard Advisors • Circuit City • e-commerce • gasoline prices • ShopperTrak RCT Corp. • J.C. Penney Co

Makers of Whizzinator Plead Guilty

Fake penis meant to scam drug tests could land pair in prison

Nov 25, 08 11:47 AM CST
(Newser) - The intrepid entrepreneurs behind the Whizzinator have pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy in US federal court, the BBC reports. George Wills and Robert Catalano sold the prosthetic penis, which helps customers pass drug tests by storing and heating fake urine samples, online for 3 years. They could face... More »

MORE ABOUT:
drug test • random drug testing • e-commerce • online sales

eBay Auctions: Going,
Going ... Gone?

Site making changes as one-click buying gains market share

Jun 4, 08 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - EBay is the Internet’s top auction site—which would be great if consumers still liked auctions. Long gone are days when consumers happily stalked their prey, which went to the top dog in frenzied bidding. These days, most prefer quick, one-click, fixed-price shopping—and eBay is scrambling to accommodate... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • online auction • e-commerce

EBay's Turnaround Bid: Users Not Buying It Now

Stagnant auction site's overhaul gets lukewarm reaction

Apr 16, 08 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - When eBay releases its first quarter earnings today, investors and curious onlookers will get a good look at the auctioneer’s turnaround efforts. But conventional grumbling has it that the changes haven’t done much. EBay overhauled its fee structure and tried to encourage sellers to improve customer service, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • earnings reports • John Donahoe • e-commerce

 Can New
 CEO Keep
 eBay on Top? 

Company faces slowing growth, competition

Mar 31, 08 2:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - As John Donahoe takes over from Meg Whitman as CEO of eBay today, he inherits a grande dame where Whitman oversaw the rise of an e-commerce belle. Still dominant in online auctions, the company has nonetheless faced slowing growth and stiffening competition. But analysts think Donahoe, the former eBay Marketplace... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • Web 2.0 • eBay • online auction • auction • Meg Whitman • John Donahoe • e-commerce • Amazon.com

EBay Finally Settles Patent Suit

Will buy three patents as part of agreement with MercExchange

Feb 29, 08 12:17 PM CST
(Newser) - After years of legal battling that escalated to the Supreme Court, eBay has settled a patent-infringement lawsuit by e-commerce technology company MercExchange. The companies aren’t revealing the financial terms, but eBay will buy the three patents that led to the suit. The auction giant said the agreement won’t... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • lawsuit • US Supreme Court • patent • patent infringement • MercExchange • e-commerce • patent injunctions

eBay Slashes Listing Fee in Half

Company hopes to drive growth with new policies

Jan 29, 08 1:33 PM CST
(Newser) - eBay is chopping its listing fee in half and will take a bigger chunk out of the price of sold items, a change that should lower risk for sellers and encourage more listing, the AP reports. The online auction giant is also changing the way its search results work, the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
eBay • online auction • Meg Whitman • John Donahoe • web traffic • listing fees • e commerce sites • e-commerce • Amazon.com

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

Google Flunks Privacy Probe

"Don't be evil" motto questioned after  search giant rated worst on web for user protection

Jun 11, 07 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Google ranks dead last among Internet sites for protecting user privacy, a new study by watchdog group Privacy International concludes. In its 6-month analysis of top e-commerce, social networking, e-mail, and search sites, PI singled out Google for what it called a "entrenched hostility to privacy," citing fuzzy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • Internet • web surfing • email • online advertising • privacy • online privacy • Privacy International • search engine • e-commerce

12 Stories


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