E-Commerce

Gilt Groupe is expanding its e-commerce offerings by launching Gilt Taste, a culinary e-magazine and specialty food market. Gilt Groupe Chairman Susan Lyne and Ruth Reichl, Gilt taste advisor, weigh in.

Rue La La is poised to launch a deals site called Rue Local that caters to well-heeled shoppers in New York City. The site will launch this week in New York, which has become a lucrative battleground in the daily-deals space.

Gaming platform SCVNGR has teamed up with American Express and Levi's to create the first paperless daily-deal redemption system. SCVNGR's daily-deal platform LevelUp now features an option to sync your LevelUp account to your AmEx card. 

Vente-privee.com, a French company that created the online private-sales model later adopted by sites like Rue La La and Gilt.com, is entering the U.S. through a joint venture with American Express.

The digital and mobile payments pool is getting murkier with another big name competitor jumping in. Visa has announced it will be launching a viable e-commerce solution through its new “digital wallet,” which will enable consumers to pay for goods and services through their smartphones.

Bold Software and the e-tailing group's third annual release of comprehensive research on the effectiveness of live chat technology found that one in five shoppers prefers live chat more than any other communication method.

Love Gant but don't live near a Gant store? Well, now you can get your fix from the comfort of your own couch because Gant has launched U.S. e-commerce on its website.

Castle Megastore Group launched a newly revised CastleMegastore.com and entered into a new channel of e-commerce sales. The newly launched site is a softer side to online adult retail and offers a targeted selection of top-selling products for online consumers.

Express is packing its full e-commerce catalog, complete with credit card checkout, into its Facebook presence. The retailer believes it's delivered a tighter integration on the Express Facebook page than that of some other early social shopping stores.

Can your website hold an intelligent conversation with consumers each time they return to visit? Can it analyze their behavior individually and respond with appropriate navigation? Can its follow-up emails best meet their needs and objectives, and in a time frame short enough to keep their attention?