E-Commerce

Meijer is the latest retailer to offer free shipping for purchases made on its e-commerce site that are to be picked up at one of its 195 Midwest stores. “Order-to-Store” merges online and in-store shopping, the retailer said in a statement announcing the new program.

Marketers who are rushing to increase their social media spend take note: A new study says social media has almost no influence on online purchasing behavior.

InMobi, the world's largest independent mobile ad network, revealed that shoppers prefer browsing and buying goods and services from mobile devices over their PCs. The study found that half of shoppers still prefer hitting the stores, but over a third are now comfortable with shopping from their pocket.

Retailer websites are the first place consumers start researching or shopping, which makes digital shelf space on the retail site valuable real estate for brands that want to be seen where it matters most. The path to the digital point of purchase is longer than just the checkout screen at the end of a customer's transaction. The opportunities for brands and retailers to reach consumers along that path, while the consumer is in “buying mode,” are almost endless.

Thwipster, an online daily-deal retail community for geek and pop culture fans, announced the launch of its service and community featuring first-rate products from the diverse world of geek culture.

Hawaii lawmakers are looking for creative ways to tax online shopping, either by requiring internet sellers to hand over customer information to the government or by enrolling in a multistate program in which websites voluntarily collect taxes.

People who buy online coupons from LivingSocial are richer, younger and smarter than customers of market leader Groupon, according to a study by Nielsen Co. LivingSocial users are 49 percent more likely than the average American online to make at least $150,000 a year, compared with 30 percent for Groupon, according to the survey.

It’s an undisputed fact that a significant shift is occurring in the modern retail industry, with a substantial amount of consumer spending moving from in-store to online purchases. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce sales reached $165.4 billion in 2010. What's more, Forrester Research predicts that figure will reach $279 billion by 2015. When the experts point to growth of more than $100 billion in just five years, those involved in the retail ecosystem need to be prepared to effectively embrace this trend moving forward.

The building binge of warehouses and data centers sacrificed Amazon’s short-term profits to lift business over the long term, the company said when it released its first-quarter earnings statement.

Internal Branding is increasingly being relied upon to gain a competitive advantage by organizations hoping to address change management, enhance employee loyalty and engagement, as well as integrate their external brand promise into their corporate culture. Guilherme Dias, Director of Strategic Talent Management at Pitney Bowes Canada.