E-Commerce

Amazon has pulled back the curtain on yet another way it will be snagging purchases away from physical retail outlets. Starting Dec. 10, users of Amazon’s Price Check app will be able to score up to $5 off a purchase of any product if they use the app in-store.

When Keds sneakers were launched back in 1916, the world was in the midst of World War I. Finally, 95 years into its existence, Keds is branching out and trying something new: apparel.

The American Family Association has published a "Naughty or Nice" list to identify retailers that were "for" or "against" Christmas. The organization wants its members and those who support its cause to spend money with those retailers who are "for" Christmas.

Approximately 19 percent of footwear purchases occurred online in October and online footwear purchases are up 14 percent year-over-year, the 23rd month consecutive of double-digit growth. The online channel is increasingly influencing footwear shopper's decisions, leaving many footwear brands and retailers asking, "How do I best reach these shoppers online?"

Retailers spend billions on customer acquisition, but then spend very little time or money on the next step: getting customers to stick around. Most retailers have become extremely adept at getting their messages and promotions in front of prospects. But even when they succeed in acquiring a new customer, that person usually only makes up to two purchases per year. That equates to billions of dollars spent for very little long-term value.

A Santa-seeking stampede has led to the resignation of one of Santa's elves. Around 2000 families swarmed "Santa's grotto" after Groupon sent an email advertising its "winter wonderland" train ride — but the grotto doesn't have a train.

In a follow-up to its Shoppers Trend Report released prior to Black Friday, RetailMeNot.com issued updated information showing metrics that measure the online retail industry's performance and consumer purchase behaviors during the start of the 2011 holiday shopping season.

lululemon athletica's focus on e-commerce is paying off for the yoga-inspired apparel retailer. E-commerce now represents 10.4 percent of lululemon's total revenue, which rose 31 percent this quarter to $230.2 million.

For a decade, Target outsourced its website operations to Amazon.com. The retail giant began preparing two years ago to take control of the site when the deal with Amazon expired this August. Three weeks after the switch, the site crashed. It went down again a month later. Then again, and again.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, online retailers are fixated on the performance of their websites. By now everyone knows that a viewer's first impression of a website counts. This is even more true with an e-commerce site. The landing page is where the rubber meets the road.