Bill Me Later Inc.

Over the past two years, we've examined the activity of hundreds of millions of global shoppers to identify trends and measure the pace of change in digital commerce. Using this data, we produce a quarterly shopping index that describes consumer engagement with retailers. The most striking feature of the data — beyond digital commerce's continued growth — is…

Has e-commerce gobbled up brick-and-mortar? To answer that, let’s start with a brief history. eBay exploded onto the scene in a big way in the 1990s, and challenged some very long-held beliefs: Would people trust online commerce? You bet they would. People not only trusted e-commerce, but devoured it. Zappos, PayPal and countless others ballooned to $1 billion revenue businesses. By…

Sellers all over the internet were scrambling when payments went missing from their PayPal accounts for hours on Oct. 1. And it impacted not just sellers on eBay, but on Etsy, Bonanza and even people who transferred their money from one account to another. Sellers reported the issue on Wednesday morning on the Ecommerce EKG board beginning at about 12:30 a.m. EST: "Item shows paid in eBay but payment is not in PayPal." There was no sign of an acknowledgement on the PayPal blog, on the PayPal discussion threads or on the AskPayPal Twitter account.

Christmas comes in July for Superior Fireworks, an Orange Park, Fla-based online retailer of fireworks. After all, instead of the traditional Christmas busy season, more than 60 percent of Superior Fireworks’ sales are made during the run up to July 4. Furthermore, many of those sales are made via PayPal and it's Bill Me Later service. To find out why, I conducted an email interview with the founder of Superior Fireworks, Matt Pappas. Here are some excerpts from our conversation:

Local retailers face an uphill battle when competing against national brands. They simply don't have the money that the big guys do to spend on best-in-class marketing and business technology. In the last couple of years, however, many companies have started developing technology for small retailers that was once only available to large chains. Innovation in consumer financing technologies, payment card acceptance, e-commerce fraud prevention and loyalty marketing services is helping small businesses take on their larger counterparts.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys "R" Us Inc. will expand its layaway program and incorporate flexible payment options in order to spur holiday sales. The chain’s layaway program, offered at its Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores nationwide, in conjunction with a limited-time Bill Me Later service, will enable customers to make a series of smaller payments over time. The layaway program debuted in 2009 for big-ticket items such as bicycles and swing sets. On Oct. 15, Toys "R" Us said it will expand the program to include playthings – Barbies, Legos, etc. – in 450 of

Despite leaving the company five weeks ago, Shoebuy.com founder and former President and CEO Scott Savitz led a session at this week's eTail conference in Boston where he detailed the steps the online footwear retailer took to grow into one of the most successful online brands, averaging more than 8 million visitors to the site monthly and realizing gross margins in excess of 43 percent for those visitors.

Before integrating alternative payments into your website, determine and align your goals. While numerous alternative payment methods are available, understand the relevance of each method to your business. Read on for some tips to help you navigate the process.

For merchandise sellers not rooted online, alternative payment programs such as PayPal and Bill Me Later once carried the stigma of being designed primarily for consumers with bad debt. But as representatives from two major integrated retailers, American Eagle Outfitters and Orvis, noted during a session at August's eTail Conference in Baltimore, that's no longer the case.

It is not news that today’s women are busier than ever. In order to recognize and reward these Household CEOs, Bill Me Later Inc. and Zappos.com, have launched a nationwide contest to hear the Household CEOs tell what it takes to “fill their shoes.” The winner will be announced on August 10th and will receive a $2,500 shopping spree sponsored by Bill Me Later and Zappos.com. A new survey commissioned by Bill Me Later and Zappos.com of more than 600 women around the country focusing on career, lifestyle, and parenting topics provides a revealing snapshot of the life of the modern woman: While nearly 70% work outside the home, a clear majority still have primary responsibility for a range of everyday tasks, from cooking to the kids’ homework, in addition to having primary responsibility for retirement planning and car care.  A majority of women ranked the mobile phone as more important than significant others in managing both their household and professional lives.