Google

At an event in New York City today, Google announced Google Wallet, an app that will turn shoppers’ phones into wallets. The product will enable consumers to store their credit cards, coupons, loyalty and gift cards securely on their phone, so they can pay, redeem offers, and earn loyalty points — all with a single tap of their phone. It's in a field test now and will be available to all consumers this summer.

HealthWarehouse isn’t your typical pharmacy. Instead of physical stores, it relies on a website to sell and ship medications to tens of thousands of customers throughout the country. And while an online-only presence allows it to save on typical infrastructure and personnel costs, it also presents some unique challenges.

If you’re a retailer, you've probably seen the shopping results on Google.com and Google Product Search. These results are generally based on product feeds that retailers submit, for free, to the Google Merchant Center.

The online eyeglasses seller who terrified customers in the hopes of creating buzz about his website, and raising the profile in Google searches, pleaded guilty to two counts of sending threatening communications, one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud.

Volusion, an e-commerce software provider, released a report that includes 101 tips to help online merchants optimize revenues. Here are 10 of those tips:

Facebook and Google are separately considering acquisition or partnership deals with Skype, according to sources speaking to Reuters. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has been in discussions concerning a possible purchase, one of the sources indicated, a deal that could be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion.

When Emily McNish shopped for jewelry online, she was overwhelmed by the options while searching for “gold necklace” on e-commerce sites or Google. Then she found a website called JewelMint that she lets shop for her.

Recently Google announced the launch of +1 (yes, plus one, a name even more unfortunate than iPad), its version of the Facebook "Like" button. Google says +1 is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out," and that it's designed to help you "share recommendations with the world — right in Google's search results."

In today's cross-channel retail environment, a holistic approach to making any investment decisions — especially when it comes to choosing an e-commerce provider — is the name of the game. The process of choosing the right partner for your business can be a daunting one. H

Overstock.com announced the search engine penalty enforced on it by Google in late February has been lifted. "We understand Google's position and we have made changes to remain clearly within their guidelines," said Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.