
E-Commerce

Finnish textiles, apparel, accessories and lifestyle brand Marimekko — perhaps best known for its iconic giant flower prints — will expand its presence this summer by launching a U.S. e-commerce site.
After a series of Super Bowl ads caused a wash of bad press for Groupon, the company has cut ties with the ad agency that it says was responsible for the spots. Groupon’s CEO Andrew Mason placed the blame for the commercials — one of which seemed to many to equate the plight of Tibet with saving money on dinner — pointedly on the shoulders of the advertising firm that created the spot, CP&B.
A tremendous shift is taking place in online advertising right now. Google is pushing its display capabilities to new levels, Project Devil at AOL is bringing art back into advertising and organizations like the Interactive Advertising Bureau are pushing the industry to innovate with new ad formats. However, regardless of creative execution, the holy grail of advertising is the ability to reach the right person with the most relevant story — whether it’s through rich media or custom sponsorships — at the right time. At the end of the day, ads have one simple goal: to influence and drive purchases.
It feels like we’re in a golden age of the web, led by consumer internet services and e-commerce. Just consider these stats: Facebook has over 600 million users; 25 billion tweets were sent last year;
Forever 21 donated 100 percent of its global online sales from March 18 to help the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. All of Forever 21's e-commerce sites participated in the initiative. A statement from the company said: "The time to take action and send help to those who need it most is right now. Forever 21 strives to put forth the first of its relief efforts by donating all online sales made on March 18 to deliver support."
eBay's changes to its fee structure will have a big impact on auction sellers — and they only have one month from the time of the announcement to adjust their auction-selling strategies. eBay will begin including shipping and handling costs into its Final Value Fees.
Google is making some changes to its data requirements and feed specifications in order to help Google Product Search shoppers accurately compare prices and learn more about the products they want to buy.
Gomez's second annual Best of the Web awards for the best performing web and mobile sites provide a benchmark for performance across six industries and highlight the leaders who provide superior web and mobile site experiences that enhance customer loyalty, reduce costs and increase revenue.
E-commerce in Canada generally sucks. The selection is crappier on the Canadian equivalent of U.S.-based stores, shipping is more expensive and the overall experience is much worse than in the U.S. And now, Zappos is shutting down completely in Canada.
Tax-free shopping is under threat for many online shoppers as states facing widening budget gaps increasingly pressure Amazon and other internet retailers to start collecting sales taxes from their residents. Billions of dollars are at stake as a growing number of states look for ways to generate more revenue without violating a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits a state from forcing businesses to collect sales taxes unless the business has a physical presence, such as a store, in that state.