E-Commerce

New social commerce fashion website Shop My Label, is letting users curate an online boutique, which can be named after them and promoted via social media sites like Twitter. On every sale that's made, the shop owner gets a commission cut. 

It happens every year, the brief window of time when shoppers emerge in droves and raid the world of retail in search of the latest products and most attractive promotions. It’s the holiday shopping season, and in today’s multichannel environment the lines at brick-and-mortar stores are dwindling as more consumers transition to the digital realm.

Despite the struggling economy and high unemployment rates, consumers plan to stuff their holiday stockings a little fuller this year. According to ShopperTrak, national retail sales when compared to the same period last year, will rise 3.0 percent during November and December, while foot traffic will decrease 2.2 percent.

eBay's new Fashion Outlet is yet another destination for fashion on the auction site, alongside the company's Fashion Vault and Designer Exclusives. This is a "buy it now" kinda thing, so there's no pesky bidding. Instead, eBay tells you how many quantities are in stock for a given item. Meaning, there's more time to shop, and no need to battle it out in a bidding war.

Online home goods giant Wayfair (formerly CSN Stores) today announced that it's acquired Australian online home goods retailer Buyster.com.au. Wayfair already owned 50 percent of the company, but has now purchased the remaining 50 percent stake from technology investment firm, Netus.

After conquering online retail in diapers, soaps, beauty products and most recently pet supplies, Amazon-owned Quidsi is moving into its next vertical — toys. Quidsi is debuting YoYo.com, a toy e-commerce site that aims to provide recommendations and discovery tools to make kids toy shopping easy and fun.

It's no surprise that the majority of cross-channel retailers are focusing their attention online when analyzing the future growth of their companies. Consumers spent $165.4 billion online last year, an increase of 14.8 percent compared to 2009, according to the U.S. Commerce Dept. While certainly eye-catching numbers, that $165.4 billion accounted for less than 5 percent (4.2 percent to be exact) of total retail spending. So you can see why there's such excitement over the future of the e-commerce space — retailers have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the medium.

Online sales of luxury goods may climb 20 percent a year by 2015 as producers build networks of potential customers on social media websites such as Facebook, according to a study published today.

Patagonia, a designer and distributor of technical outdoor clothing, has announced the appointment of Dmitri Siegel as the company's new vice president of global e-commerce. As vice president of e-commerce, Siegel will provide strategic vision, leadership and operational expertise in directing Patagonia's e-commerce strategies both domestically and abroad, the company reported.

While dozens of e-commerce firms have recently sprung up to capitalize on India's growing internet use, they have a problem. Indians are not yet comfortable with shopping on the web, while many of them remain unwilling to use credit cards online. Therefore the Indian retailers have gone to great lengths to gain customers. Customers may pay in cash on delivery, and the company fields delivery squads to ensure shipments get to customers quickly.