Articles by Los Angeles Newsroom

PaymentNet Inc., an industry leader in outsourced e-commerce payment processing, announced that it has signed an agreement with EC Direct, under which the Web e-commerce services company will incorporate PaymentNet's enterprise-class payment processing services into its EConductorTM service offering EC Direct currently names NBC, Audio Highway, U.S

Net.Genesis Corp., a producer of Web site and e-commerce analysis software, announced that it will team up with the Net Perceptions Inc. to offer new e-commerce products and services. The e-commerce software solutions produced through this new partnership will allow large e-commerce sites to interact with customers on a one-to-one basis, to learn their preferences, and then to make specific individualized purchase recommendations to each customer in real-time. The behavior patterns of shoppers can then be analyzed, so that online merchants will be able to further tailor their operations to their customers' preferences...

High-tech news and information network, CNET has agreed to pay $14.5 million (US$) for the exclusive right to provide computer buying guides on America Online and CompuServe, for the next two and a half years. CNET will also initially be the exclusive provider of free-to-download software on AOL.COM. In addition, CNET's technology news will be integrated throughout the AOL branded services...

E-Commerce mega-portal site, Yahoo! announced on Wednesday that it is adding services targeted at small businesses in search of entry-level e-commerce solutions. The new offerings augment Yahoo!'s existing small business solutions, and indicate the company's emphasis on e-commerce driven revenue as a major part of its business development strategy ...

Amazon.com was faced this week with severe criticism over featuring books on its site which were paid-for placements posing as editorial picks. A New York Times article revealed that publishers paid $10,000 (US$) per book to be featured on Amazon.com's home page. While paid-for placements of products are commonplace, the issue was one of ethics in informing readers that moneys were paid, rather than the books being selected based on editorial merit...

Sneakers and sports apparel giant Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) announced that it began the first phase of its online sales strategy, with a new e-commerce area on the Nike.com Web site. Previously, Nike.com served as an informational and marketing showpiece but, as of this week, the company shifted its emphasis to "direct-to-consumer" selling of products...

As America Online gets further entrenched in its position as the world's largest e-commerce portal site, the company has wisely responded to online consumer confidence issues, by developing the AOL Certified Merchant Guarantee In a special area of AOL.com, the company outlines what it refers to as "Our 100% Guarantee" of customer satisfaction for a...

Sharper Image Corp. (Nasdaq: SHRP), the popular retailer of high-tech gadgets and gifts, announced this week that its online store has been completely redesigned in an effort to increase e-commerce revenues The truth is, we see these types of announcements every day now, especially from companies realizing they're behind the curve and missing out o...

Fujitsu Software's i-Flow division and DMR Consulting Group are offering a free U.S. seminar series for companies entering the e-commerce market. The series is designed to help large and mid-size companies integrate e-commerce into their existing business, in an effective and profitable way The seminar series, called "E-Commerce: Getting it Right T...

Investors who are interested in e-commerce stocks, but don't know where to begin, have a new option to consider. The John Nuveen Company (NYSE: JNC) now offers an "E-Commerce Sector Portfolio" that consists of 35 stocks. Investors can buy into the defined portfolio for a minimum initial purchase of $1,000 (US$) In an interview with the E-Commerce T...

Netscape Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: NSCP) announced on Monday that it upgraded its directory and security software, which is used for e-commerce transactions. Already, major companies like Lehman Brothers, Compaq, and Bell Atlantic have adopted the new Netscape technology, and many others are expected to follow suit. Adding security features to its suite of e-commerce applications is a necessary strategy for Netscape, which faces stiff competition from e-commerce software rival Microsoft...

New York City-based Internet consultancy eMarketer reported on Wednesday that the number of active business Web sites in the United States has grown to 339,658, of which only 43% are engaging in direct e-commerce activities. eMarketer plans to release the full report titled "eCommerce: B2B Report" next week The report indicates that despite talk of...

Internet community mega-site, GeoCities (Nasdaq: GCTY), announced on Wednesday that it will enable its 3.3 million personal Web page owners, known as "GeoCitizens," to earn commissions from products they place for sale on their Web pages The reselling mechanism will be handled by Be Free, Inc., a provider of online affiliate e-commerce network tech...

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) and Infoseek Corp. (Nasdaq:SEEK) announced on Tuesday that their new joint venture is ready for prime time on the Internet. The GO Network is another mega-portal that integrates and links to popular sites for e-commerce and online shopping, as well as news and information On the one hand, the GO Network looks like a s...

Micro System Designs today announced the release of WebFormFillTM, a software program designed to make buying products on the Web easier by automatically filling in user shipping and billing information The company claims that WebFormFill is compatible with any Web site. The program analyzes each form to determine the correct placement of name, add...

Online software seller Beyond.com (Nasdaq: BYND) and California-based ISP Virtualis today announced a deal to cross-market each others products and services The deal is of industry interest in that it represents an ISP marketing not only Internet access and e-commerce hosting capabilities, but also hawking the products of a specific vendor, in this...

GeoCities (Nasdaq: GCTY) today announced an agreement with InterWorld Corp. to license and integrate InterWorld's e-commerce technology into the next generation of GeoShops, GeoCities' online merchant sites, as well as its branded online commerce site, GeoStore This latest development indicates that GeoCities is increasingly interested in e-commerc...

America Online (Nasdaq: AOL) announced its plan to debut a new online drugstore in partnership with PlanetRx. This partnership will position AOL to compete against popular pharmaceutical drugstore chains, such as Genovese Drug, CVS Corporation, Rite Aid Corporation, and Duane Reade The new site will enable consumers to fill existing prescriptions a...

SkyMall Inc. (Nasdaq:SKYM) launched skymall.com, a wholly owned subsidiary that will focus on e-commerce, direct online sales, and distribution of its consumer products to online resellers. By late morning Thursday, the company's stock soared 30% on this news SkyMall is best known for its in-flight product catalogs. In addition, the company has mad...

The E-Commerce Times has entered into a news content and revenue-sharing agreement with Internet Wire, Inc. Under the agreement, the E-Commerce Times will provide co-branded pages containing daily e-commerce news headlines, to be linked from Internet Wire's main homepage and from Internet Wire's new Financial Center pages The E-Commerce Times and I...