E-Commerce

For years, retailers have put most of their stock in Generation X, people in their mid-30s and mid-40s. But consumer demographics in America are changing rapidly, and major retailers are

If I had a dime for every time I heard the question, "Isn't e-commerce taking over retail?" it wouldn't make me wealthy, but I'd certainly have a few hundred dollars more than I do now. Nonetheless, it's a question that's unfortunately misguided and has permeated our zeitgeist. The truth is that yes, e-commerce is growing — but physical retail is far from doomed. Let me take the two parts of that last sentence and address them separately. First, e-commerce is growing. Forrester just released the latest five-year online retail forecast and, to no one's surprise, the numbers are big.

Michaels has enhanced its online presence with the launch of its new site that enables shoppers to make online purchases from any computer, tablet or smartphone. The new site goes beyond the typical online shopping experience, according to the company, with project ideas and one-click shopping lists for projects all in one place. It also features "Favorite Pins" — projects and products that are trending on Pinterest from Michaels.com.

Amazon.com's commitment to competitive pricing and its willingness to operate as a break-even business has clearly changed the retail game. Although its business model isn't for everyone, a careful examination of its approach offers retailers insight and opportunities to beat the giant at its own game. At Manhattan's Momentum 2014, Forrester Research's Sucharita Mulpuru provided a deep analysis of Amazon's business model and offered some rays of hope to retailers hoping to compete with the company. 

Over the last few months, New York-based startup Birchbox has taken over the retail realm. In a little over three years, the subscription commerce beauty brand has grown to 800,000 subscribers, has 250 employees and has worked with 800 brands, amounting to $96 million in annual sales — not to mention its recent venture funding acquisition and plans to open a brick-and-mortar location this summer in SoHo. Birchbox Co-Founder Hayley Barna sat down with Retail Online Integration at last week's Women in Retail Leadership Summit to discuss how she and co-founder Katia Beauchamp came up with the business model, what their vision is for the future of Birchbox, and share her thoughts on expanding to other retail channels.

Rue La La, a leading online lifestyle shopping destination, has launched DressingRoom, a series of boutiques that offer members a one-stop shopping experience the features everything from necklaces and

In part one of this interview, Birchbox Co-Founder Hayley Barna discusses how she and co-founder Katia Beauchamp came up with the business model and what their vision is for the future of Birchbox.

FedEx is changing the way it charges to ship bulky packages, jolting e-commerce companies with price increases for delivering items as diverse as diapers, shoes and paper towels. Instead of charging by weight alone, all ground packages will now be priced according to size. In effect, that will mean a price increase on more than a third of its U.S. ground shipments. The big question now is whether UPS will follow the pricing move. Many analysts think it will. The two companies have historically matched price increases rather than seize the chance for a competitive advantage.

Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, explains that Mother's Day weekend and the weekend prior are the two busiest of the year for the company and gifting industry. The key to staying ahead of the competition is to focus on innovation through social media and mobile platforms and create a customer experience that's reminiscent of the physical gift shop. Whether it's a breathtaking floral arrangement or unique keepsake gift, 1-800-Flowers.com is the place to be for Mother's Day.

After months of anticipation, it finally happened: The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group filed paperwork on Tuesday in the United States to go public. The move is "an embrace of the global capital markets that represents a coming-of-age for China's booming internet industry." In the filing, Alibaba said it intended to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering — a figure used to calculate its registration fee. But the company is expected ultimately to raise $15 billion to $20 billion, which would make it the biggest American IPO since Facebook's $16 billion offering in May 2012.