online retail

The whole concept of online commerce hinges on convenience, particularly during the frantic holiday shopping season. Unfortunately, some well-known Web merchants left consumers seriously dissatisfied in the past year.

U.S. shoppers spent 15 percent more in online holiday buying compared to last year, after what may have been the busiest week of the season, said research firm comScore on Sunday. Shoppers have spent $30.9 billion online from Nov. 1 through Dec. 16, up from $26.9 billion at the same point last year, said the Reston, Va., company, which tracks Web use.

Watch out, Cyber Monday: Green Monday is gaining traction with shoppers. Consumers flexed their thumb-shopping muscles on Dec. 12, Green Monday -- the second Monday in December that's become another big day for online holiday shopping.

We all know that buying a fake Fendi is "bad" to the degree that selling such goods is illegal, and they hurt the companies whose good are being copied, and the economy overall. But it turns out that knockoffs are problematic in many other ways as well: Buying them can put your health and your money at risk.

After a holiday season that marked a return to some form of normalcy, merchants are bracing for a year of mild sales growth and more stable operations. Whether that momentum holds is an open question, given the state of the housing and job markets.

Although he says he's "not exactly certain what" Groupon's appeal is, Jason Child has plenty of possibilities. And he's certain that even given the online coupon company's explosive growth, there's plenty of room for further expansion. But don't expect an IPO anytime soon.

The online retail giant functions like two stocks: One is speculative and volatile, with unusually high valuations -- and high demands for returns. The other is for long-term investors, who get rewarded for buying and holding with capital gains and consistent growth.

A lot of music fans this year asked for Taylor Swift (pictured) but got Susan Boyle, while some Inception fans probably got Blind Side-ed. Otherwise, people pretty much got what they wanted in 2010, according to an Amazon poll released on Dec. 30.

In the latest of many recent successful Chinese IPOs, E-Commerce China Dangdang -- often called the Amazon of China -- saw its shares soar in its New York Stock Exchange debut Wednesday.

Online sales growth will outpace revenue at brick-and-mortar-only stores this holiday season, according to research firm ComScore. The company predicts online shopping will grow three times as fast as overall retail sales.