E-Commerce

The Department of Transportation fined online travel company Orbitz $60,000 on Oct. 18 for misleading advertisements that failed to mention taxes and fees, and in some cases promoted fares which were no longer available.

Today in the online commerce world, return levels are quite high in some industries like fashion and retail. Levels in some countries in Europe are up to 60 percent. This means a lot of double transportation of goods from a warehouse and, depending of how complex the supply chain are for a particular retailer, back to the warehouse for examination and re-pack for a new customer if the goods is ok.

Michaels has launched MiDesign@Michaels, an online-based application that allows customers to create photo books, scrapbook pages, greeting cards and custom invitations.

Plus-size retailer Charming Shoppes said it's expanded its online reach globally, allowing worldwide online access to fashion brands Lane Bryant, Cacique, Catherines, Fashion Bug and Loop 18, as well as the more than 300 brands offered at the company's new plus-size shopping hub, Sonsi.com.

Impulse purchases require people to browse the aisles, but that’s happening less these days because web-savvy consumers often already know what they plan to buy and simply pick it up and leave, said Bill Martin, chief executive officer of ShopperTrak.  

The 18th Annual Survey of Third-Party Logistics Providers revealed that logistics companies experienced improved economic conditions in 2010, with 88 percent of companies surveyed in North America meeting or exceeding their revenue projections, as compared with only 50 percent in 2009. 

E-commerce is exploding as more consumers choose to shop online — a trend that's bringing multichannel retailers record earnings. E-commerce accounted for 4.6 percent of total retail sales during the second quarter of 2011, up from 4.2 percent of total sales a year earlier.

YouTube has announced the ability to sell merchandise, tickets and more via the site. Through a feature called the Merch Store, YouTube partners will be able to sell artist merchandise, digital downloads, concert tickets and other experiences to fans and visitors.

Say hello to LevisVintageClothing.com, the first-ever official website for Levi's vintage clothing. Not only will customers be able to find lists of local stockists, but the site also provides a historical peek behind the scenes at Levi's, which dates back to California Gold Rush times. 

Listen in as Tim Ash, CEO of SiteTuners and author of the best-selling book "Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions,” gives a sneak preview of some of the landing page optimization best practices he'll be discussing at the upcoming Conversion Conference in New York City Oct. 19-20.