E-Commerce

Be disruptive in class, and you might end up in the principal’s office. Be disruptive in retail, and you just might become the teacher. That's the lesson traditional retailers will take away from a session during next week's Retail Marketing Virtual (RMV) Conference & Expo. Attendees of the session Retail Disrupters: Inside a Startup will be treated to a riveting discussion among four fabulous retail “disrupters” — i.e., those who have pushed the boundaries of retail so much that they’ll likely impact the industry as a whole.

Listen in as these movers and shakers discuss their digital retail startups and how they’ve broken through the boundaries of tradition.

A panel of retail and mobile experts will discuss how to determine the best mobile strategy for your brand.

Learn four ways online retailers can increase consumer trust and how that increased trust can lead to an increase in online sales.

Hear how BuildDirect used growth hacking, specifically conversion optimization, to increase revenues by more than $1 Million per month.

Learn best practices for omnichannel integration and how live video can bring the in-store experience to e-commerce channels.

Hear a study in short-term versus long-term marketplaces strategies and how one company has made it a driving force for their sales.

Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group recently invested in Jet.com, a soon-to-launch online retailer that hopes to challenge Amazon.com, multiple sources confirmed to Forbes. Alibaba's previously undisclosed investment came as part of Jet's $140 million round in February, which was led by Bain Capital Ventures and joined by the likes of Accel Partners, New Enterprise Associates and others. The Montclair, N.J.-based company also raised about $5 million last month in a filing disclosed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 2012, Amazon.com quietly launched AmazonSupply, the e-commerce company's foray into the unsexy but hugely lucrative world of B-to-B wholesale. By 2014, when Forbes covered the burgeoning business, AmazonSupply was already offering 2.2 million products for sale in 17 categories, from tools and home improvement to janitorial supplies. Industry insiders were already concerned about the potential impact of AmazonSupply on America's 35,000 distribution companies, almost all of which are regional and family-run. Could they compete with AmazonSupply's infrastructure and deep cache of consumer data?

Normcore? So last year. String bikinis? Most definitely over. Even interest in skinny jeans may be waning, if 6 billion fashion-related queries by Google users are any indication of this year's most popular trends. Instead, consumers are googling tulle skirts, midi skirts, palazzo pants and jogger pants, according to the company, which plans to start issuing fashion trend reports based on user searches twice a year. The new trend aggregations are part of the company's bid to become a bigger player in e-commerce and fashion beyond its product search engine or advertising platform.