Amazon.com

2011 was the kind of year that tests leaders. So when Fortune set out to pick a Businessperson of the Year (and 49 runners-up), great stories were easy to find.

Washington, D.C. -- The NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation, has announced the top 10 retailers for excellent customer service selected by shoppers in the seventh annual NRF Foundation/American Express Customers’ Choice survey. The survey, which asked 9,374 shoppers which retailer provides the best customer service, was conducted by BIGresearch. According to shoppers, the ten finalists for customer service, in alphabetical order, are: Amazon.com J.C. Penney Kohl’s Department Stores Lands’ End L.L.Bean Newegg Nordstrom Overstock.com QVC Zappos The official ranking of each retailer in the top ten will be unveiled at NRF’s Annual

Amazon.com is seeking military veterans to fill the tens of thousands of permanent and temporary positions in its nationwide fulfillment network. Job opportunities include management positions in operations management, safety and corporate operations and hourly roles in picking, packing and shipping/receiving.

Wal-Mart has lower online prices on a selection of toys this month than Target’s website and Amazon, according to a Bloomberg Industries analysis. Prices for a group of about 80 toys are 1.8 percent higher at Target and 0.7 percent more expensive at Amazon.

Most retailers are well aware of the enormous benefit of selling products on Amazon.com. Far and away the most dominant e-commerce site, Amazon reported net sales of $10.88 billion in the third quarter, a 44 percent increase vs. the same period last year. Amazon is simply the most powerful selling tool for any online retailer — and its influence just continues to grow.

Wal-Mart competes with almost everyone in retail, but increasingly suppliers see the giant focused on a new and, to some, surprising rival: Amazon. Wal-Mart could use a bigger dose of what gave Amazon 44 percent top-line growth last quarter.

eBay has come out swinging against a new bill introduced in the Senate on Nov. 9 that would empower states to collect sales taxes from out-of-state internet and catalog retailers.

Wayfair, formerly known as CSN Stores, has grown from a microsite selling TV racks and stands into a 200-website home-goods company. The firm said its 5,000-plus products give it an advantage over big-box rivals and specialty brick-and-mortar retailers. "We only want to participate in categories where we can offer the customer the best experience," said co-founder and CEO Niraj Shah.

A proposal from a bipartisan group of 10 U.S. senators to allow state governments to collect sales taxes from out-of-state online retailers is drawing a mixed reaction from some major Internet businesses. The group is led by Sens. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. They announced Wednesday that they're introducing a bill to allow states that adopt the same administrative procedures to require online sellers to collect taxes. Under the bill dubbed the "Marketplace Fairness Act," state governments that don't accept the national standard could still collect sales taxes only if they agree to some

SEATTLE — Amazon.com announced that it supports the federal bill introduced this morning by United States Senators Enzi, Durbin, and Alexander, that would create a constitutional framework for collecting sales tax online. “Amazon strongly supports enactment of the Enzi-Durbin-Alexander bill and will work with Congress, retailers, and the states to get this bi-partisan legislation passed,” said Paul Misener, Amazon VP global public policy. “It’s a win-win resolution – and as analysts have noted, Amazon offers customers the best prices with or without sales tax.” If enacted, the Enzi-Durbin-Alexander bill will allow states to require out of state retailers to