E-Commerce

Facebook is tapping eBay's commerce platform to create new social shopping experiences for hundreds of millions of consumers. eBay is integrating Facebook's new Open Graph 2.0 functionality into its global commerce systems, which come under the umbrella of a new business unit called X.commerce.

After 17 years with Better Homes and Gardens, East Coast Editor Kristine Kennedy is bringing her design expertise online with inspirational editorial content for Wayfair.com, the new site that carries the largest selection of home products anywhere.

A new study commissioned by VeriSign finds that availability of e-commerce sites could be at risk — even for the largest e-tailers — due to domain name system performance issues. Considering that the busy holiday shopping season is just around the corner, any unavailability during this critical time can be devastating for businesses.

Columbia Sportswear said it's expanded its e-commerce operations by launching Columbia and Sorel branded sites in Canada and eight European countries. The new e-commerce sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Belgium and The Netherlands — combined with existing sites in the United States, Korea and Japan — give the outdoor apparel and footwear brand 24 localized e-commerce operations in 12 countries.

LUSH Cosmetics has selected the Demandware Commerce platform to power three new e-commerce storefronts in North America. LUSH Cosmetics' handmade products are sold online and in more than 700 retail stores across 45 countries.

Goupon’s deal counter will no longer accurately reflect the total number of Groupons customers have bought for each deal, the company said in a statement. Instead of showing the actual number of Groupons purchased, the company will display an imprecise count that has been reduced by between 0.5 percent and 19.5 percent.

eBags.com is collaborating with Fluid to define the next generation of social shopping, which launched recently on Handbags.com, the latest website from eBags.com. Social shopping facilitates social interactions while shopping online — e.g., inviting friends to offer opinions and suggestions on which products to buy when faced with many great choices.

With more consumers than ever planning to visit e-commerce sites in search of holiday gifts, now is the time for e-retailers to gear up in preparation for the year's most lucrative shopping season. Those retailers unprepared for a busy holiday season could lose out on sales, leading to the demise of their company. Clearly it's worth spending time planning for the season.

Google has launched Google Trusted Stores, a new pilot program that helps shoppers identify online merchants that offer a great shopping experience. The Google Trusted Store badge is awarded to e-commerce sites that demonstrate a track record of on-time shipping and excellent customer service. When visiting a qualifying store, shoppers can hover over the Google Trusted Store badge and see metrics on the store’s shipping and customer service performance.

U.K. retail giant Marks & Spencer has unveiled its latest multichannel innovation to make it easier for busy customers around the holiday period. The company has launched a new click and collect service, which allows customers to order the food they want online and then pick it up from the closest participating store.