
Amazon.com

E-commerce in Canada generally sucks. The selection is crappier on the Canadian equivalent of U.S.-based stores, shipping is more expensive and the overall experience is much worse than in the U.S. And now, Zappos is shutting down completely in Canada.
Tax-free shopping is under threat for many online shoppers as states facing widening budget gaps increasingly pressure Amazon and other internet retailers to start collecting sales taxes from their residents. Billions of dollars are at stake as a growing number of states look for ways to generate more revenue without violating a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibits a state from forcing businesses to collect sales taxes unless the business has a physical presence, such as a store, in that state.
Millward Brown released a report entitled “Value-D: Balancing Desire and Price for Brand Success,” revealing that only 7 percent of consumers truly buy based on price alone.
Wal-Mart, Target and other large retailers are ratcheting up a political campaign to force Amazon to collect sales taxes, sensing opportunity in the budget crises gripping statehouses nationwide. The big-box stores are backing a coalition called the Alliance for Main Street Fairness, which is leading efforts to change sales-tax laws in more than a dozen states including Texas and California.
The young woman in the Zappos.com video wears little makeup with her hair in a ponytail. She's cute, but she's no supermodel. What she is: A Zappos employee chosen for her pep and "real people" look to wear and talk about shoes for sale on the company's website.
Many online marketplaces and e-commerce companies have set up pages on their websites to instruct users on how to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan through direct donations to charitable organizations or by donating a portion of sales.
How fast is e-commerce growing for consumer packaged goods? Fast enough that a new shopper-marketing agency has launched to focus solely on the channel. Packaged goods is now a $12 billion business across a host of pure-play e-commerce brands such as Amazon and drugstore.com.
Across the country, state officials struggling with big budget shortfalls are trying to get Amazon.com to take on a role it doesn't want: tax collector.
Amazon said it's severing ties with affiliates in Illinois, citing a law signed that imposes taxes on consumers who make online purchases. The affiliates — websites that send customers to Amazon through links — will no longer be paid for sales that result from the referrals, Seattle-based Amazon said in an email.
A group called Alliance for Main Street Fairness argues that by failing to collect sales taxes, online retailers like Amazon have an unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar stores that's costing jobs, killing businesses and contributing to state budget deficits.