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 Multichannel Retail & Ecommerce

Forrester: Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook dominate e-commerce

February 09, 2012

Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook will continue to dominate online business, but Internet retailers and marketers should tread carefully in partnering with them, according to a Feb. 7 Forrester report.
 

Amazon billed by Arizona for $53 million in sales taxes

February 03, 2012

Amazon claims that the state of Arizona has served the online company a tax bill for $53 million for uncollected sales tax.
 

Staples to launch tablet-optimized e-commerce site

February 02, 2012

Office supply retailer Staples is launching a new e-commerce site that optimized specifically for shopping on tablet computers.
 

Staples to open e-commerce innovation center

January 27, 2012

Staples will open an e-commerce innovation center in Massachusetts in May that will house teams "responsible for designing and implementing innovative new e-commerce solutions" for Staples' business customers, the company said in a Jan. 26 statement.
 

Netflix revenue jumps 47%

January 25, 2012

Netflix said Jan. 25 that it saw $876 million in global revenue in Q4, a year-over-year increase of 47%, although it spent nearly 60% less on marketing in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the same period of the prior year.
 

Neil Ashe joins Wal-mart as CEO of global e-commerce

January 17, 2012

Marketing executive Neil Ashe has joined Wal-mart Stores as president and CEO of the company's global e-commerce business. Ashe is replacing Eduardo Castro-Wright, who is retiring but who will assist in the transition, the retailer confirmed Jan. 17.
 

Zappos data breach exposes names, email addresses

January 16, 2012

A criminal accessed Zappos consumer account information, the online retailer said in a Jan. 15 blog post.
 

Urban Outfitters replaces CEO

January 11, 2012

Urban Outfitters Inc. appointed Richard Hayne CEO after Glen Senk resigned on Jan. 9, the retailer said on Jan. 10.
 

Lowe's buys online retailer ATG Stores

December 29, 2011

Home improvement retailer Lowe's acquired online retailer ATG Stores, the company said on Dec. 29. Lowe's spokesperson Karen Cobb said the acquisition closed yesterday afternoon but declined to disclose terms.
 

Study: Christmas Day mobile sales up from last year

December 28, 2011

More than 18% of Christmas Day online traffic was initiated on a mobile device, an 8.4% increase year-over-year, according to an IBM report. Transactions completed on mobile devices also grew, from 5.3% in 2010 to 14.4% in 2011. Christmas Day online sales rose by 16.4% compared with last year's sales figures.
 

Walking thru the PayPal Shopping Showcase

December 19, 2011

PayPal said to visit its Shopping Showcase for a big-picture look at its mobile payment plans.
 

eBay, retailers partner on shopping promotion

December 16, 2011

Retailers Toys R Us, Aeropostale and Dick's Sporting Goods have partnered with eBay to reward online shoppers with coupons to be redeemed in-store. The initiative launched Dec. 16 and runs through Dec. 19.
 

PayPal to launch mobile deals in 2012

December 14, 2011

PayPal will begin to roll out a mobile deals service in the "next few weeks," said PayPal spokesman Anuj Nayar on Dec. 14. The eBay-owned company is partnering with approximately 200 U.S. merchants for the service, which be will opt-in only, he said.
 

Netflix to contest class-action suit

November 17, 2011

The Netflix clash with consumers continues.
 

Department of Commerce: E-commerce spending up

November 17, 2011

U.S. retail e-commerce totaled $48.2 billion during the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 13.7% compared with the third quarter of 2010, according to Nov. 17 estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
 

Office Depot names new international division president

November 14, 2011

Office Depot promoted Steve Schmidt to president of the international division, the company said in a Nov. 14 statement. Schmidt will replace Charles Brown, who was fired in September for having an "improper relationship" with an associate.
 

Amazon supports, eBay opposes new Internet sales tax bill

November 09, 2011

Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and seven other senators introduced a bill Nov. 9 that would restore each state's sovereign right to enforce state and local sales and use tax laws. The "Marketplace Fairness Act" would also exempt online retailers with less than $500,000 in annual revenue from collecting and remitting sales or use tax.
 

Sears Holdings' marketing president to resign

November 03, 2011

David Friedman, Sears Holdings Corp.'s SVP and president of marketing, will resign his post in January. Imran Jooma, SVP and president of e-commerce at Sears Holdings, will manage the retailer's online, marketing, financial services and pricing business units.
 

Toys 'R' Us to launch integrated holiday campaign

October 28, 2011

Toys "R" Us will launch its integrated 2011 holiday advertising campaign on Oct. 30., featuring direct mail, email, social media and TV elements.
 

Amazon.com Q3 net sales, marketing expenses up

October 26, 2011

Amazon.com reported a third quarter net sales increase of 44% to $10.88 billion compared with the third quarter of 2010. Third quarter marketing expenses increased 53.5% to $370 million compared with Q3 2010.
 

Target.com president resigns

October 14, 2011

Steve Eastman, president of Target.com, resigned on Oct. 13, Target Corp. said. It is immediately unclear who will replace him.
 

Liz Claiborne sells brand portfolio to JCPenney for $288 million

October 13, 2011

Liz Claiborne Inc. agreed to sell the Liz Claiborne, Monet and Kensie brands, and completed the sale of the Dana Buchman brand, for total cash proceeds of approximately $328 million, Liz Claiborne Inc. CEO William McComb said during an Oct. 13 conference call.
 

Cola giants scurry to attract younger 
consumers in decades-long turf war

October 01, 2011

At first glance, the marketing strategies of Coke and Pepsi — the two ubiquitous, global players that have dominated the soft drink market for decades — might appear more similar than different.
 

Rockport names Hunt head of e-commerce

September 29, 2011

Kimberley Correia Hunt has been named head of e-commerce at Adidas-owned footwear brand The Rockport Co. Emmanuelle Accad, director of global PR and events at The Rockport Co. confirmed the hire to Direct Marketing News. Hunt will report to Tobias Reiss-Schmidt, VP of global retail at Rockport, effective Oct. 11.
 

Sexy dumb girls: JCPenney's go-to-market strategy

September 29, 2011

JCPenney thinks all girls are brainless sex objects and men are horny slobs.
 

Cabela's names Williams CMO

September 28, 2011

Cabela's Inc. named Scott Williams its EVP, chief marketing and e-commerce officer, the outdoors product retailer said in a statement. Williams will report to Cabela's CEO Tommy Millner.
 

Office Depot exec ousted for 'improper relationship' with associate

September 27, 2011

Office Depot has terminated Charlie Brown, president of the international division, for having an improper relationship with an associate, the company said in a statement. A replacement was not immediately named.
 

Q&A: Jeff Hassemer, VP of product strategy at Experian Marketing Services

September 16, 2011

Jeff Hassemer, VP of product strategy at Experian Marketing Services, discusses his company's upcoming digital catalog app and how brands can leverage marketing technology to build customer loyalty.
 

Candyland: The Shop.org Annual Summit '11

September 15, 2011

Where the world's top retail minds reminisce on their successes.
 

Brands should avoid overuse of flash-sales sites: Shop.org 2011

September 14, 2011

Retailers should only use flash-sales sites periodically because overuse can be detrimental when they unnecessarily discount products that aren't excess inventory, said Ben Fischman, chairman and CEO of Rue La La.