Firms beef up online before holidays

 

latest developments

As Excite, Amazon, and other major online retailers lure more customers away from brick-and-mortar giants, firms like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are fighting back with revamped Web sites, hoping to halt a pre-holiday consumer exodus.

Competition building as Home Depot, Lowe's plan Web sites E-commerce start-ups are racing the hardware establishment to the Net, but Home Depot and Lowe's won't be caught napping. Wal-Mart to fight back with updated site The company hopes to blunt some of the increasing online sales competition from rivals such as Amazon with a revamped Web site, expected after Halloween. Net giants make room for little guy The race is on to get small businesses online, with deals being announced almost daily.