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A consumer groups web site aims to improve online credibility Description: A consumer groups web site aims to improve online credibility Yonkers, NY-based Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine and operates ConsumerReports.org, will
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A contender in price and selection, Reel.com sweeps the content category Description: For customers who already have a movie in mind, finding it on Reel.com is a snap. The powerful and fast search engine, accessible from every page in the site, allows visitors to scour the database by title, actor or director. Choosing the advanced search allows you to search by other variables, such as ratings, price, and format (DVD, laserdisc, or VHS). You also can browse the sites data-base of movies by genre, such as action, animation, classics or comedy.
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A convenience store chain turns to the web to manage its gasoline supplies Description: A convenience store chain turns to the web to manage its gasoline supplies Convenience USA, a Durham, NC-based convenience store chain, is moving its fuel supply chain to the
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A crescendo in sales in the first movement Description: A crescendo in sales in the first movement Web sales at cataloger Musicians Friend Inc. increased 12.7% to $59.7 million in first quarter 2006 from $53 million during the same
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A customer survey leads to a tweak in Cooking.coms assortment Description: A customer survey leads to a tweak in Cooking.coms assortment Long known as a preferred online shopping destination for higher-income shoppers looking for just the right cooking
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A data transfer glitch creates payment headaches for VeriSign gateway users Description: A data transfer glitch creates payment headaches for VeriSign gateway users A glitch in transferring data over the weekend from VeriSign Inc.s payments gateway service to PayPal
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A deal to guarantee e-RX delivery to pharmacies Description: A deal to guarantee e-RX delivery to pharmacies EcomXML Inc., a provider of underlying software solutions enabling the guaranteed business exchange of data within and between
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A different kind of diamond for Global Sports Description: In a surprise move that breaks away from its sporting goods base, King of Prussia, PA-based Global Sports Inc., a leading outsource solution provider for e-commerce, has agreed to buy Houston-based luxury goods retailer Ashford.com. Global Sports CEO Michael Rubin says the deal represents a way for the company to expand into new categories without building a start-up.
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A different kind of web portal: Garage doors online Description: A different kind of web portal: Garage doors online For those who think you can buy anything online, heres further proof: DoorMart, a Houston-based retailer of custom garage
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A dose of reality: Not all online liquidation auctions are created equal Description: The numbers are in on the economics of online auctions for retailers seeking to unload returned goods. Theyll potentially get as much as three times what theyd recoup by selling the goods to bulk liquidators, and receive 78% of their original cost of goods on average, according to Tim Konrad, vice president of research and development at Genco Distribution System. But after decades of handling retailers returns in the offline world, Gencos year in the online auction business for returned goods has taught it something new: those returnshigher than what retailers get when selling returned goods for salvageapply only to certain product categories.
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A dot-com survival guide Description: Under increasing pressure to buff up the bottom line, more than a few e-retailers would be delighted to find a little overlooked cash lying around, just waiting to be spotted and picked up. But $20 billion? A report by online retail consultant Creative Good says e-merchants will leave that much on the table this year by offering customer service experiences that arent up to snuff.
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A double play as Global Sports takes over two cosmetics sites Description: A double play as Global Sports takes over two cosmetics sites Global Sports Inc. continues to tackle new markets. After conquering much of the e-commerce space for sporting
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A double-digit increase in visits at 7 of the top 10 electronics sites Description: A double-digit increase in visits at 7 of the top 10 electronics sites Nine of the top 10 computers and consumer electronics sites experienced double-digit increases in visits in
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A drop in sales at Ashford is more than offset by cuts in marketing costs Description: A drop in sales at Ashford is more than offset by cuts in marketing costs Second quarter sales at online gift retailer Ashford.com reached $12.1 million, down $1 million from the
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A fashion retailer enters the music business Description: A fashion retailer enters the music business Under a partnership with Barber Entertainment Corp., Nordstrom Inc., No. 40 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web
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A faster way to get that caffeine fix Description: A faster way to get that caffeine fix Talk of a niche market on the InternetÑcoffee drinkers in Factoria, Wash., can now use their web-enabled cell phones to order and pay for a
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A focus on customer service keeps shoppers retuning to 1-800-Flowers.com Description: A focus on customer service keeps shoppers retuning to 1-800-Flowers.com Repeat orders it attributes to a continuing focus on customer service helped 1-800-Flowers.com strong Q4
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A focus on niche e-commerce keeps Neeps a breed apart Description: A focus on niche e-commerce keeps Neeps a breed apart Neeps Inc. likes breeding niche e-commerce sites almost as much as its core clientele likes adopting and breeding their
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A foreign affair Description: Web retailers span the globe in search of new customers and sales
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A fourth of Americans will shop online this holiday season, says new survey Description: A fourth of Americans will shop online this holiday season, says new survey More than 25 % of consumers will shop online for holiday gifts, says a new consumer survey from
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A free-returns policy boosts Altrec`s customer loyalty Description: A free-returns policy boosts Altrec`s customer loyalty A free returns policy at Altrec.com, a retail recreational sports site, has increased customer loyalty, Tim Shannon,
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A full service auction site in your pants pocket Description: A full service auction site in your pants pocket Mobile phones are ubiquitous: 195 million Americans carry one. For any of the millions of mobile phone users who wish to
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A gift to retailers: Registries that build long-term loyalty Description: Gift registries continue to pay dividends as customer loyalty and customer acquisition toolsparticularly for multi-channel retailers with a national presence.
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A good online marketer is hard to find Description: A good online marketer is hard to find With virtually every retailer trying to reach consumers through multiple channels, retail companies increasingly are engaging recruiters to
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A green light for BlueLight.com`s relaunch Description: The first phase of Kmart spin-off BlueLight.coms strategy was to corral mass-market shoppers by signing them up for free Internet access, something its done by the millions since April. Now, just ahead of the holiday shopping blitz, its delivered phase two: a revved-up web site that builds on the preview site it had earlier posted to give those new shoppers a destination.
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A green thumbs up Description: Garden.com is a perennial favorite. By sourcing plants from 60 different growers around the country, this virtual retailer easily one-ups any land-based nursery. Launched with about 2,000 SKUs, the site has blossomed into more than 16,000, including some 130 varieties of peonies.
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A growing Sears.ca will debut re-design next month Description: A growing Sears.ca will debut re-design next month Strengthening its multi-channel strategy with its fast-growing web site, Sears Canada Inc. will launch a re-design of Sears.ca
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A hamburger, fries, and a side of Wi-Fi Description: A hamburger, fries, and a side of Wi-Fi McDonalds Corp. becomes the latest retail operation to offer high-speed wireless access as it rolls out the service in 75 McDonalds
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A head for business Description: Office Depot stands apart in the paper chase for the tools and services it provides to its target audiencesmall and home-based businesses. Click on Office Solutions and you can download a slew of model documents, forms, policies and financial templates. Theres even a small business handbook where entrepreneurs can brush up on everything from motivating employees to controlling taxes and crunching budgets.
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A heads up on Internet slow-downs Description: A heads up on Internet slow-downs Keynote Systems is making its Internet performance alerts available to retailers and anyone interested in knowing when the Internet hits
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A high-style portal collaboration between Nieman Marcus and Vogue/W magazines Description: A high-style portal collaboration between Nieman Marcus and Vogue/W magazines Neiman Marcus, a name synonomous with upscale retailing, has created a partnership with CondeNet's
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A holiday bonus for Google Checkout merchants: a month of free processing Description: A holiday bonus for Google Checkout merchants: a month of free processing Google has extended through January its offer of free payment processing for online retailers that offer
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A home within a home Description: A home within a home Home improvement retailer The Home Depot Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to purchase Home Decorators Collection, which operates a catalog and
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A key marketing executive switches from fresh food to flowers Description: A key marketing executive switches from fresh food to flowers A well-known web retailing marketing executive is going from fresh food to fresh flowers. John Boris is the new vice
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A lawyer takes his crusade to collect online sales tax nationwide Description: A lawyer takes his crusade to collect online sales tax nationwide Chicago lawyer Stephen Diamond, who initiated suits against online retailers in Illinois for not collecting
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A liquidator launches a direct-to-consumer site for excess boutique goods Description: A liquidator launches a direct-to-consumer site for excess boutique goods Excess Technologies LLC, a Georgia-based surplus liquidation and auction services company, has launched
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A little education reduces returns by a lot, Gartner says Description: A little education reduces returns by a lot, Gartner says As much as 70% of computers and consumer electronics that customers return to retailers as defective are in fact
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A little planning ahead for time-sensitive deliveries pays off Description: A little planning ahead for time-sensitive deliveries pays off A distributor of movies to video shops is saving money on shipping costs simply by mapping out a distribution plan
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A little sting behind the seal Description: Dont mess with TRUSTe. Thats the message the online privacy watchdog wants to send to Web sites that inappropriately display its Trustmark privacy seal.
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A live wire for wireless commerce Description: A live wire for wireless commerce With more than 200 million subscribers nationwide plugged into wireless telecommunications networks and 63 million using their cells phones and
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A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and a good idea from Harvard Business School Description: Berglund is a third-generation Napa resident who hails from a grape-growing family. While wine may be in her blood, Berglunds expertise in direct marketing comes from consumer product marketing jobs with Procter & Gamble and the Clorox Co. and her stint in the Ivy League. A graduate of Harvard Business School, Berglund laid the groundwork for Ambrosia as part of her Harvard field study.
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A look at whos up and down among the 2007 Top 500 Description: A look at whos up and down among the 2007 Top 500 2006 will be remembered as a boom year for many online specialty retailers, but several web merchants in the personal computer
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A look inside SmartBargains Description: Because many e-retailers are privately held, its rare to get a glimpse of how well theyre performing financially and of their strategic plans. But if they file for an initial public offering of stock, as SmartBargains Inc. did last month, they tell how they operate, how theyre doing, and where theyre heading.
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A lot of fish are swimming by the lure; it`s up to merchants to get them to bite Description: The Internet is about change. And nothing has changed more in the last 12 to 18 months than the competitive online environment. Online merchants must adopt new methods to keep visitors coming back andeven more importantlymaking repeat purchases. When the Internet was new, consumers flocked to the Web just to see what was available. Now there are thousands of online merchants all trying to capture the consumers attention and dollars.
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A loyalty program that goes from web to store and back again Description: A loyalty program that goes from web to store and back again An online promotion isnt unusual. But how about a program that creates loyalty by driving consumers from the
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A luxury merger: Best Selections.com and NYStyle.com Description: A luxury merger: Best Selections.com and NYStyle.com BestSelections.com, a web site that features luxury merchants around the world, and NYStyle.com, the fashion-forward style
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A major expansion of web-based supplier collaboration at Sears Description: After testing with tire suppliers, Sears, Roebuck and Co. has found that web-based supply chain collaboration works and now is rolling it out to sporting goods, appliances, apparel and other products.
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A major pain from minor sales Description: Two Illinois liquor stores recently found themselves charged in neighboring Michigan for selling alcohol to a minor via the Internet. The stores, Sams Wine & Liquor of Chicago and Internet Wine and Spirits of Fairview Heights, were hit with misdemeanor counts of selling liquor to a minor, each punishable by 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
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A major systems upgrade still has Gap struggling with performance gaps Description: A major systems upgrade still has Gap struggling with performance gaps Gap Inc. has all three of its overhauled e-commerce sites back in action, but still only on a limited
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A majority of U.S. online teens have shopped on the web, Forrester says Description: A majority of U.S. online teens have shopped on the web, Forrester says 86% of U.S. online consumers ages 18 to 21 and 52% of teens under 18 have shopped online, according to a
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