Amazon.com

While the order fulfillment department of your cross-channel retail business isn’t the sexiest or most fun, it’s arguably one of the most important. Most customer complaints are centered around fulfillment issues, for example. And if your business has even the slightest fulfillment gaffe in today’s social media environment, it’s one tweet away from a public relations disaster.

Congress is wading into the roiling dispute between states and giant internet retailer Amazon.com over collecting sales taxes on online purchases. On Friday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced legislation that would require internet-only retailers to add sales taxes to customers' bills, just as their competitors with brick-and-mortar stores do. Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) plans to introduce a similar measure in the House.

Here's a checklist of some of the most important things you should do with your website to get ready for the upcoming holiday season

Although Amazon’s critics have identified a real problem, their solution is a mistake. They want an Amazon tax that replaces one type of unfairness with others and imposes costs on the economy out of proportion with any revenue it might generate. There’s a better solution, although not one that proponents of the Amazon tax like.

In this issue's Shop Talk department, we thought we'd share some 
"Letters to the Editor" we received over the past several months.

Seattle -- Amazon reported Tuesday that sales for the quarter ended June 30 soared 51% to $9.9 billion. Profits dipped 8% to $191 million from $207 million on surging operating costs, but still beat Wall Street expectations. The sales growth spanned geographies and categories, with worldwide electronics and other general merchandise sales growing the fastest at 69% to nearly $5.9 billion. Worldwide sales in the media category grew 27% to $3.66 billion. By region, sales in North America grew 51% to $5.41 billion while international segment sales grew 51% to $4.51 billion. “Low prices, expanding selection, fast delivery and

Amazon.com is poised to enter India and could start operations next year in a country where a growing middle class could substantially boost global revenues.

Amazon launched a new app to support AmazonFresh on Android phones. Users can shop complete grocery and selected Amazon.com aisles, choose home delivery times, view past purchases, and place orders. The app also enables users to scan the barcodes of products and automatically add them to a shopping list.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association may sue the state if officials don’t require Amazon.com to pay sales taxes when it begins using two distribution centers now under construction in Tennessee.

From Footwear News url=_footwear_news_amazon_beats_the_street_3735180_navSection_footwear_news; login=n; kw=; Clip Print A- A A+ Despite a slip in net income, Amazon.com Inc. beat analysts’ expectations. For the period ended June 30, net income decreased 8 percent to $191 million, or 41 a share, compared with... Read the full article by SUBSCRIBING today! Subscribe now to WWD.COM (now incorporating FootwearNews.com), the premier footwear industry resource providing decision-makers with the essential news and information to keep one step ahead of the competition. Subscription includes: Immediate access to breaking Footwear industry news 24/7, now via WWD Mobile. Downloadable PDF of FN weekly issues