E-Commerce

Vitacost.com, a cross-channel retailer of health and wellness products, unveiled a fresh new brand identity, complete with a new logo and corporate slogan, "take the cost out of healthy living." The company website will be revitalized over the next month with a cleaner look and feel and improved usability features.

If retailers displayed criticisms and complaints from their customers on their websites instead of hiding them they would benefit from consumers spending more time on their sites and improved conversion rates, new research has shown.

Groupon nearly killed Amy Kunkle's Philadelphia business, Food for All, when an ill-advised offer selling a $30 coupon for $15 drove her thousands of dollars into a hole. But this week, the internet helped to save it.

Staples announced the opening of a new e-commerce innovation center. The office will house teams responsible for designing and implementing innovative new e-commerce solutions for the business customers who shop Staples' websites and stores.

We're often asked by online retailers how using an online feedback solution is going to help them increase conversions and sales. On the surface, the question is quite reasonable. They know that providing the products and services their target audience wants, along with competitive pricing and a great user experience is the winning strategy in e-commerce. What will listening to their customers really add to what they already know about growing their business?

Yahoo Stores rolled out its first release of the year with a number of enhancements, including new ways to let customers know about its "Saved Cards" feature. Saved Cards lets customers go through checkout without having to re-enter their payment and billing address information every time they shop at a merchant's Yahoo Store.

Sometimes even the most romantic of men need a hint when it comes to buying the perfect gift for their lady love. Tiffany & Co. has introduced the "Drop a Hint" button now appearing on the famed jeweler's website, just in time for Feb. 14.

Groupon has partnered with SmartDigital, a technology company that makes interactive touchscreen kiosks, to offer daily and location-based deals through terminals in heavily trafficked areas. The deals will start appearing on SmartDigital kiosks today and be rolled out to more than 100 machines throughout Chicago over the next 90 days.
 

Marks & Spencer is working with NCR Corporation to test new multimedia zones in its stores that combine digital touchscreens, video walls and displays of actual outfits to provide shoppers with inspiration to select that essential something.

Paul Hurley, founder and CEO of flash-sale retailer ideeli.com, recaps his presentation from last week's National Retail Federation BIG Show, How the Flash Sale Killed the Business Lunch, in this video interview.