Content about Electronic commerce

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Women are increasing the time they spend researching products and are enticed by samples, according to the findings of a new report by Total Beauty Media Group, a digital publisher of beauty and health content.

The new report, entitled "Get Added To The Shopping Cart: How Brands Can Better Engage Women Researching Products Online," provides insights on female shoppers, demonstrating how they engage with brands online.

RESTON, Va. — Data released Wednesday by ComScore showed that holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 42 days of the 2011 holiday season is up 15% year over year. Through “Green Monday,” Dec. 12, $26.8 billion has been spent online.

The most recent week (week ended Dec. 11) reached a record $6.1 billion in spending, in line with the season-to-date’s 15% growth rate, according to the report.

Everybody talks about “Product Innovation,” but what do those words actually mean to the consumer? To make sure that retailer and supplier initiatives align with consumers’ definition of the concept, the DSN.TV cameras took to the streets of New York City in November for a series of man-on-the street interviews. The video — which added a new dimension to the retailer-supplier dialogue at the 2011 Drug Store News Annual Industry Issues Summit conference Nov.

RESTON, Va. — The holiday season-to-date has garnered $24.6 billion in online sales, a 15% increase above corresponding days last year, ComScore reported.

In addition to the 15% increase in spending recorded for the first 39 days of the holiday season, ComScore also noted that the most recent week (week ended Dec. 9) reached $5.9 billion in spending, an increase of 15% versus the corresponding week last year.

NEW YORK — The retail sector continues to tentatively edge toward recovery, buoyed by a strong start to the holiday shopping season; but several obstacles stand in the way of sustained progress in 2012, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s "North America Year-end Retail Outlook."

LOS ANGELES — Among those that have shopping-related applications on their smartphone, most of them will use this method to help save money when purchasing gifts this holiday season, according to a PriceGrabber survey.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — During Black Friday weekend, people were spending more money during an economy where that nasty word "recession" still is on the back of everyone's tongue. But was foot traffic down during the weekend because of the number of tryptophan-dazed consumers walking the aisles a day early to get the best deals? Or did consumers forsake the Black Friday shopping madness in exchange for the no lines/free shipping offered on Cyber Monday?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shoppers are just as promotion-driven as they have been since economists first coined the term the "new normal" economy — and that's not likely to change, according to a new "The Why? Behind the Buy" report released Wednesday by Acosta Sales.

There’s been discussion for years about the “moment of truth” and whether the ultimate — and final — purchase decision is made at the shelf. Shopper behavior in a store has been studied, analyzed, hypothesized and debated. Some would argue there is too much stimuli at the shelf, others not enough. Some may suggest that retail pricing is the key deciding factor. Perhaps it’s category assortment, in-stock condition or shelf-edge signage. Still others suggest competitive positioning is the key determinant.

NEW YORK — A coalition of retail organizations, including the National Retail Federation, the Food Marketing Institute and the National Association of Convenience Stores, have filed a lawsuit charging that the Federal Reserve failed to comply with a new law requiring it to reduce fees bank charge retailers when shoppers use credit cards.

The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, said that banks could charge a maximum of 21 cents when consumers use a debit card, down from an average of 44 cents per transaction.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — In line with the unveiling of its Cyber Monday offerings, Kmart parent company Sears Holdings announced the debut of enhanced features across its e-commerce and m-commerce platforms.

BOSTON — Almost 2-in-5 people plan to shop Cyber Monday — the Monday after Thanksgiving when online retailers historically offer steep discounts and special promotions — according to a Consumer Pulse study of more than 1,400 U.S. consumers conducted by Boston-based custom research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies that was released Friday.