Articles by Clare Saliba

The traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season on Friday fueled a 27percent surge in online traffic from earlier in the week, according to datareleased Monday by Internet tracking firm Nielsen//NetRatings "Shoppers flocked to e-commerce sites the day after Thanksgiving,traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year forbrick-and-...

Further indicating that e-commerce is continuing to transform the traditional retail landscape,a new study released Tuesdayby business services firm Ernst & Young shows thatAmerican consumers will make nearly a third of their total holiday purchasesover the Internet in the coming weeks The company also found that the number of consumers doing at le...

Although many e-tailers are frantically ramping up their offerings andservices for the holiday season, 42 percent of consumers willnot purchase gifts online within the coming weeks, according to a new surveyby PlanetFeedback.com and BBBOnline, the Internet arm of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) While many e-tailers would be more than satisfied wit...

Asian Internet users are taking to e-commerce much slower thantheir American counterparts, according to a report released Monday by research firmNetValue The report, which analyzed the markets of Hong Kong, China, Korea,Singapore and Taiwan, found that between 58 and 63 percent of Asian Internet userslogged onto e-tail sites, as compared to nearly ...

One day after cash-strapped Buy.comannounced it will be shuttering its operations in Australia, thee-tailer surged past Amazon.com to secure the title of top onlineelectronics seller in ForresterResearch rankings The Aliso Viejo, California-based company's first-place showing was drivenin part by free shipping and quick e-mail responses, said resea...

Despite a string of well-publicized financial reversals, name-your-own price e-tailer Priceline.com has agreed to forgive a US$3 million loan it extended to a former top executive and will incur a roughly $3.3 million charge in the fourth quarter as a result According to published reports, the loan was made to Heidi Miller, who served as a senior e...

Ticketmaster Online-Citysearch, Inc. (Nasdaq: TMCS) has agreed to acquire Ticketmaster Corp. in a US$650 million deal that will join their online and brick-and-mortar ticketing and reservations businesses, the companies said Tuesday As part of the transaction, Ticketmaster Online will issue 52 million Class B shares to USA Networks subsidiary Ticke...

The amount of money that American consumers are losing to fraudulent Internet schemes is growing,according to a report released Thursday by the National Consumers League(NCL) The average loss per person rose from US$310 in 1999 to $412 during the firstnine months of 2000, the study found....

The escalating industry-wide penetration of business-to-business (B2B) exchanges will eventually give rise to a batch of legal uncertainties that businesses and regulators will be forced to address, according to a report released Wednesday by Forrester Research "As e-marketplaces and online trade become an integral part of how industries operate, b...

Cosmetics and beauty supply e-tailer Beautyjungle.com announced Wednesday that it is shutting down operations after failing to secure adequate financing. In a brief statement, the company said it lacked the necessary capital to make its investments grow profitably and will lay off most of its 30 employees in New York, Chicago and Indianapolis, Ind...

A new report released Tuesday by PC Data Online shows that traditional and catalog retailers are beginning to flex considerable muscle in today's super-competitive e-tail space As part of its "Top 20 Buying Meter Report" for October, the Reston, Virginia-based research firm found that Amazon.com retained its top ranking among online vendors for the...

High-profile Internet entertainment company Scour.com said Tuesday that it will shut down its controversial multimedia file-sharing and searching network within 48 hours in an effort to resolve pending litigation and smooth the progress of its assets sale in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles "We believe our unilateral decision to take down the e...

Internet grocer Streamline.com announced Monday that is winding down its operations after failing to secure an infusion of capital or find a buyer to acquire the troubled company The Westwood, Massachusetts-based firm, which delivers groceries and similar consumer products, said it plans to discontinue all services by November 22nd. Founded in 1993...

Just one day after the U.S. Postal Rate Commission recommended a 1-cent boost in the price of first-class stamps for traditional mail, Stamps.com said Tuesday it has the commission's endorsement to create a reduced rate for first-class mail sent using Internet postage "This recommendation is a huge vote of confidence for the emerging Internet posta...

Just one week after beleaguered name-your-price e-tailer Priceline.com issued a discouraging third-quarter earnings report and slashed 16 percent of its workforce, the company confirmed reports Wednesday that a high-ranking executive has departed amid questions about the viability of auto sales on the Web According to published reports, Maryann Kel...

Amazon.com-backed pet supplies e-tailer Pets.com announced Tuesday that it is shuttering its operations and laying off 255 of its 320 employees The cash-strapped company said it plans to sell off the majority of its assets, including inventory, distribution center equipment, URLs, content and the rights to its "Sock Puppet" marketing mascot.

Ninety-one percent of those who made an online purchase in the past year plan to conduct e-commerce transactions this holiday season, according to a survey released Wednesday by Deloitte & Touche and the National Retail Federation (NRF) Researchers compiled their polling results in the annual "Mood Survey: Retail Holiday Outlook," which gauges over...

European companies are not aggressively capitalizing on the potential of electronic marketplaces for fear that they might face legal problems, according to a new study from Forrester Research The report, "eMarketplaces Face the Law," advises participants in online business-to-business (B2B) exchanges to insist on contracts that guarantee confidenti...

Hoping to crack the lucrative Asian e-commerce market, Amazon.com launched a Japanese-language site Wednesday focused on its core business of selling books The Seattle, Washington-based e-tail giant said Japan already represents Amazon's largest export market, with nearly 200,000 Japanese customers ordering $34 million (US$) in products each year f...

Online superstore Buy.com and eBay-owned Half.com announced Monday the creation of a joint marketplace that will sell used CDs, videos and DVDs from both companies The co-branded site, dubbed the "Entertainment Marketplace," is slated to launch during the first quarter of next year. The cooperative venture will integrate Half.com's used and new ent...