Marketplaces

Home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel announced today the launch of its Exclusive Marketplace, a curated marketplace offering consumers a broader selection of products based on Crate and Barrel's merchandising expertise. Available via the company's e-commerce site, the marketplace now offers customers an extended aisle of unique products, such as kitchen tools and other small…

In episode 61 of Total Retail Talks, Bob Kupbens, vice president, B-to-C and seller experience, head of global trust, eBay, discusses how the online marketplace's partnership with Sellbrite will enable a better experience for merchants selling on the platform. In addition, Kupbens talks about the future of online marketplaces and how eBay is positioning itself…

Update 12:25 p.m. ET: Alibaba broke its Singles Day sales record shortly before 8 p.m. in China, easily topping last year’s total with about four hours left to run. Happy Singles Day! E-commerce giant Alibaba is on track to smash its annual sales record for its shopping “holiday.” Consumers started off the day with a bang,…

Singles Day, the world’ biggest shopping day, is underway (at least in China, where it's already Nov. 11). Last year, Alibaba reported that $13.5 billion exchanged hands on its platform on Singles Day, and it expects to beat that amount this year. However, growth in new internet users is slowing in China, and experts say the…

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Amazon.com officially launched its Black Friday Deals Store, now through Dec. 22. In addition to offering new deals as often as every five minutes, Amazon is also featuring “holiday gift guides” to help shoppers find gifts without all the guesswork. Prime members are also eligible for additional deals, such as two-day shipping on more than 30 million…

Amazon has created significant turbulence in retail over the past 10 years. Most scoffed at the business case of buying books a better way, but no one is laughing now that Amazon has created a better way to buy just about everything. How can retailers win with so much disruption and uncertainty? The answer, strangely enough, can be found in Formula 1 racing. The key to winning is understanding the external conditions and tuning the engine and air foils to maximize performance.

Groupon announced yesterday that it will acquire one-time rival LivingSocial. The Chicago-based e-commerce marketplace didn't disclose the price it paid for a shrunken LivingSocial, but said, "the acquisition consideration is not material." Groupon expects the deal to close in November. LivingSocial said last month it was laying off half its employees, bringing its headcount to about…

The rise of online retail has led to the decline of brick-and-mortar shopping, as consumers choose the convenience of clicking and buying from their home over going to the mall. While e-commerce growth shows no signs of slowing, physical retail must shift into high gear to adapt to the reality of technology taking over the…

The luxury retail group LVMH said there’s “no way” it will do business with Amazon. Amazon has said that it wants to sell more high-end product on its marketplace, but LVMH doesn’t think it’s an appropriate place for its luxury goods. Currently, Amazon sells “accessible luxury” brands such as Kate Spade and Michael Kors. Total…