E-commerce

Google unveils search tool for retail sites

Google introduced a new Commerce Search tool for retailers on Wednesday to try to make the online shopping experience easier for consumers as the holidays approach.

According to Google, Web users spend an "average of just eight seconds" on a retail site before deciding whether to stay. With that in mind, Commerce Search aims to improve search on retailers' individual sites.

With Commerce Search, shoppers can sort data by "category, price, brand, or any other attribute," Google said. Retailers can also offer special attention for specific products to draw consumer attention. The tool includes built-in spell-check … Read more

Amazon gets social with Twitter integration

Amazon.com this week rolled out an interesting new feature that allows Amazon Associate members to broadcast links to Amazon products via their Twitter accounts.

Amazon Associates is the partner program the company uses as part of its affiliate advertising programs, allowing customers to make money advertising Amazon products.

Associates can now simply click a link in the toolbar to send a link (replete with sales-y text) to Twitter as part of their shopping and selling experience. Amazon gets a sale, Twitter gets traffic, and the associate gets revenue share. What could possibly go wrong?

Linking to Amazon or other … Read more

Amazon laces up Zappos buy

Amazon's acquisition of shoes-and-more retailer Zappos is complete, the e-commerce giant said in a release Monday. The company in July had announced its intent to make the purchase, for about $850 million in cash and stock.

Zappos, which made a name for itself based on outside-the-box customer service principles, will stay independent from the Amazon.com brand and will continue to operate out of its Las Vegas headquarters.

Numbers released by J.P. Morgan Research in conjunction with the acquisition announcement predict that Zappos will post moderate, single-digit growth for the 2009 fiscal year after raking in $635 million … Read more

ICANN approves non-Latin domain names

The organization responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses has approved a new plan to allow non-Latin characters in Web extensions.

Known as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), the system is designed to globalize the Net so regions around the world can use their own local alphabet characters to surf in cyberspace, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, said Friday.

Calling IDNs the "biggest technical change" to the Internet since its birth 40 years ago, ICANN unanimously approved the plan on the final day of its six-day conference in Seoul.

IDNs … Read more

Amazon lets shoppers pay with a phrase

A simple phrase and pin code may be all you need the next time you pay for that book or CD at Amazon.

The online retailer on Thursday debuted a new feature called Amazon PayPhrase, designed to let busy shoppers store their name, address, and payment information in a single phrase and pin code. Instead of entering all that data at the online checkout counter, you type your phrase and pin number when it's time to cough up the cash.

PayPhrase doesn't just work at Amazon--it can be used at any online retailer that lets you pay via … Read more

Amazon suspends wine sales effort

Amazon.com is apparently shelving its planned effort to sell wine online.

A little more than a year after word of the effort trickled out, a senior Amazon account manager told wineries about the decision to cork it in an e-mail last week.

"As you know, we were excited to work with you to build the AmazonWine business," Dini Rao said in an e-mail first reported by WineBusiness.com. "For that reason, this was a very tough choice for us. Many of you took the time and leap of faith to really support us."

Amazon representatives … Read more

Amazon, Netflix earnings soar

You wouldn't know there's been a slowdown in consumer spending by looking at Amazon.com and Netflix.

Both companies have continued to grab customers at a record pace, leading to higher earnings and sales for their third quarters.

Net income for Amazon jumped 68 percent to $199 million, or 45 cents a share, in the quarter that ended September 30, compared with $118 million, or 27 cents a share, in the prior year's quarter.

Sales rose 28 percent to $5.45 billion versus $4.26 billion in 2008's third quarter, the company said Thursday.

Amazon's … Read more

B&N e-book reader reportedly in the works

Bookseller Barnes & Noble reportedly plans to release its own e-book reader to challenge Amazon.com's Kindle.

The wireless device, which is expected to have a 6-inch touch screen and virtual keyboard, could be offered for sale as early as next month, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday that cited people briefed on the matter. A price range was not revealed.

The device is also expected to run Google's Android operating system, according to a Gizmodo report that cited a source who claimed to be a mobile-application developer for Barnes & Noble.

A representative for … Read more

Amazon goes global with new Kindle

Amazon announced late Tuesday that it was introducing a new version of its Kindle e-book reader that can wirelessly download books in the United States and more than 100 countries.

The new device, which is expected to ship on October 19, is physically similar to the previous Kindle with a six-inch display. However, the new e-reader will be capable of downloading books and periodicals via wireless networks belonging to AT&T and its international partners.

"We have millions of customers in countries all over the world who read English-language books," Amazon.com Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos … Read more

5min inks video deal with Scripps Networks

Instructional-video site 5min announced on Monday that it has partnered with Scripps Networks to offer programing from the broadcast company on its site. Scripps Networks owns television brands HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, and Fine Living Network, among others.

Under the deal, Scripps plans to distribute some of its video content from its home and food channels to 5min. Scripps is currently offering content on topics ranging from work around the home to meal preparation.

As with any partnership, there is a financial side to this deal. According to the companies, Scripps will start offering its advertisers the opportunity to … Read more