E-Commerce

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.

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.

Etsy has launched three new shopping pages: Fashion, Kids, and Home and Garden. Etsy Spokesperson Adam Brown said the company's goal is to promote discovery through a blend of different features and tools for buyers and sellers.

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.

Minnesota company St. Croix, which makes the mock black turtlenecks that Steve Jobs famously wore, had a banner sales week. Sales more than doubled the day after Jobs' death, according to the Minnesota Business Journal, and some stores have run out of them.

Tesco is capitalizing on the 45 percent surge in its online clothing business by expanding this service to international markets. The U.K. multichannel retailer will deliver its range of clothing to countries in Europe through Clothingattesco.com, to be relaunched this month.

Gov. Bill Haslam confirmed a sales tax deal with online retailer Amazon.com on Oct. 6, announcing thousands of additional jobs and what he hopes will be the resolution of a long-running dispute within the business community.

Target has announced partnerships with several fashion designers for limited edition women's wear, handbags, lingerie, lounge wear and accessories. Target signed designer Josie Natori for its first limited edition collection of lingerie and loungewear.

Broken links, missing baby and wedding registries, and carts with a mind of their own are just a few of Target's problems six weeks after the retailer unshackled itself from Amazon. But irate customers unable to complete purchases and Facebook and Twitter feeds littered with angry comments, all during a period when nearly 40 percent of consumers are shopping for the holidays, may have Target execs wondering if its newfound freedom cost too much.