Amazon.com

Wal-Mart employs more than 2 million people and controls about 13.4 percent of the consumer market in the U.S. But Amazon controls one-third of e-commerce sales in the U.S. and could put up a fight.

We all know that e-books are on the rise. If you had any doubts, Amazon squelched them with its recent announcement that the company's e-books sales surpassed sales of hard copies for the first time. E-books are definitely experiencing impressive gains, but even with that revelation, e-books only make up a small portion of total book industry sales.

In this exclusive interview, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel shows it's almost full-speed-ahead for the chain, in contrast to the jitters for many other retailers. Steinhafel's presiding over the company's record number of remodeled locations this year (about 400), the opening of smaller urban stores, plans for an expansion into Canada and an overhaul of its website, which will soon operate independently of Amazon.

Last week's Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in San Diego had a wealth of vendors and speakers relevant to cross-channel retailers. Here are some of the event's key takeaways:

Amazon announced that it could bring 5,000 new jobs and $300 million in capital investments to Texas over the next three years in exchange for a four-and-a-half year exemption from paying the state's sales tax.

In its continuing effort to develop its e-commerce capabilities, Proctor & Gamble announced it's launched Facebook stores for its Tide, Gillette, Olay, Gain, CoverGirl, Luvs and Febreze brands.

There's been no shortage of press on Amazon’s ongoing battles with states over internet taxation. As a quick refresher, a 1992 Supreme Court ruling delcared that states could require retailers to collect sales tax only if they have a physical presence, such as stores or headquarters, in the state where the buyer lives.

Sporting impressive growth numbers — from just over $1.1 million in annual revenues in 2004 to projected revenues of $26.6 million this year — ReStockIt.com hasn't only weathered the storm of one of the most difficult economic environments in 80-plus years, it's thrived.

Amazon.com sent notices to the owners of Connecticut websites saying the online retailer was ending cooperative sales agreements effective immediately, because the newly enacted state budget would require the online retailer to collect sales taxes.

The Texas legislature has acted to do away with any question that the mere use of a web-hosting company with a server in Texas might result in a Texas sales tax collection obligation. Both houses passed a bill that's now headed to Gov. Rick Perry, who's expected to sign it into law.