It's never a good season to leave your online accounts vulnerable to hacking attacks or theft. And when the holidays roll around, the scammers aren't taking vacation: They're boosting their efforts just as you already face extra risks.
It was only seven years ago that some clever folks at Shop.org decided to promote e-commerce with its own version of Black Friday, and Cyber Monday was born. But in our smartphone- and tablet-powered world, holiday shopping is getting more "cyber" every year. Does online retail still need its special day?
Amazon has a new plan to get consumers to buy more: Its "Add-on" program enables the e-tailer to offer free delivery on "thousands of items at a low price point that would be cost-prohibitive to ship on their own." But wait -- isn't that just like Amazon Prime? Not exactly. Here's why.
When it comes to holiday shopping, there's one trend you can count on every year: Online sales will grow like gangbusters. But whether you're on a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone, it's important to remember that buying online carries extra risks of identity theft and fraud.
In a move designed to level the playing field for local retailers on the cusp of the make-or-break holiday selling season, Massachusetts is maneuvering to collect state sales tax from e-tailing behemoth Amazon.com, according to the Boston Herald.
Brick-and-mortar retailers have long complained that e-commerce sites enjoy an unfair advantage since they don't have to collect state sales taxes, allowing them to offer lower prices. The Marketplace Equity Act would change that -- and it's gaining momentum.
Don't have a secure mailbox or mailing address? No problem: Amazon still wants you as a customer -- which is why it may not be long before the online retail giant opens a locker delivery unit at a convenience store near you.
Facebook commerce? That's so 2011. Now it's Pinterest, the social scrapbooking site with a visual flair, that's striking a chord with shoppers.
International fashion retailer C&A thinks you'll like its clothes better if you know just how much other people like them. New hangers in its Brazilian stores include a digital display that shows in real time how many Facebook 'likes' a given item has gotten.
When is a bargain not a bargain? When the hidden costs of finding it outweigh the lower price. Costs like shipping, or gas, or your extra time. NetPlenish aims to solve all that for the real best deal, and eliminate the biggest hassle of online shopping, too: the annoying checkout process.
Once ballyhooed as "the Internet's largest marketplace for buying and selling all things automotive," eBay Motors' numbers have been slipping. But eBay's attempt to goose profits at Motors looks more likely to put them in reverse.
What really aggravates people about shopping online? Believe it or not, it's that it isn't easy enough to pay. Nearly 3 out of 5 people surveyed cited the annoyance of having to enter (and re-enter) their personal data as a major nuisance of buying on the web.
Cheap-chic retailer Target will discontinue the sale of Kindle e-readers and Amazon-branded products. It's easy to see why Target isn't keen on enriching the enemy. But it's not business, Amazon.com: It's just personal.
Old economy powerhouse Walmart is looking to pick up a little new economy shine from Google with the addition to its board of one of the dot-com giant's most visible executives, Marissa Mayer.
First, U.S. manufacturing collapsed under the pressure from low-wage labor overseas, leaving the landscape dotted with hollowed-out plants and gutted factories. Now, assailed factors from online shopping to the economic downturn, the retail sector is suffering too, bequeathing us an increasing number of abandoned -- some say dead -- malls.