E-Commerce

Mobile phone users will be armed and ready with their devices when they hit shopping centers and malls this year, according to a recent study from the Mobile Marketing Association. And that doesn’t even include making phone calls.

While Cyber Monday remains a popular day for shoppers, offering some of the best deals of the holiday season, the tradition of consumers shopping from work has changed. When shoppers were asked where they plan to do the majority of their Cyber Monday shopping this year, 87 percent stated that they plan to shop from home. The remaining 13 percent plan to do most of their Cyber Monday shopping at work.

eBay is launching a new version of its popular marketplace iPhone app, which allows users to browse, bid and buy from eBay auctions.

As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach, SLI Systems released its November E-Retail Index, lending important insight into some of the most popular items on consumer lists this year, based on the most commonly used site search terms.

Is Groupon.com ready to survive its first holiday shopping season as a major e-tailer? The fast-growing site, which sells discounted deals, faced a double-trouble traffic spike when mentioned on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

A few years ago, Thanksgiving was not even considered a shopping day, as most stores are closed. But this year, retailers are driving customers to the web with more specials than ever — door busters without the door — creating an online jump-start to the traditional Black Friday rush.

By number of shoppers and sales, packaged-goods e-commerce remains decidedly tiny. But Amazon's acquisition of Diapers.com, Soap.com and the newer BeautyBar.com for a reported $545 million in cash and debt has given the space some big-money validation.

Any time a visitor comes to your website, the one thing you want them to do is raise their hand and identify themselves. Them doing so enables you to continue communicating with them until they're ready to buy (or buy again).

In a deliberate collision between nerds and fashion mavens, Google has created a new e-commerce site that significantly improves how fashion is presented and sold online. The site, Boutiques.com, which is expected to go up this morning, may also change how people shop for clothes.