Business

Amazon.com has taken its search for a revenue boost to the newsstand, announcing the launch of a magazine subscription store Tuesday. The magazine outlet launch comes just days before the holiday shopping season begins in earnest, later this week.

Hard times have come to the e-commerce software industry -- and they've come with a vengeance. "Everyone's suffering right now," Aberdeen Group analyst David Alschuler told the E-Commerce Times. "It's affecting every vendor. But really the ones with smaller market shares and less liquidity are go...

Beleaguered computer e-tailer Egghead.com, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since August, suspended all of its operations late last week and indefinitely halted all commercial activity. "Our plan had been to sell the assets of the business as a going concern and con...

London-based travel site Ebookers.com said Monday it has recorded its first-ever operating profit, a milestone achieved six months ahead of schedule despite the slowdown in business following the September 11th terrorist attacks. With one-time charges included, the travel site lost about $5.5 mil...

It's no secret that mis-targeted, misspent brand advertising dollars have gotten e-tailers into plenty of financial hot water over the past few years. However, there is at least one target audience for whom a large, consistent dose of brand marketing makes perfect sense. In fact, when it comes to...

Homestore.com (Nasdaq: HOMS), the No. 1 online real-estate company, said it will cut as many as 700 jobs, or about 20 percent of its workforce, as it trims costs and reorganizes its operations. The Westlake Village, California-based e-business, which works with the National Association of Realtor...

Whatever the future holds for online prescription drug sales, Drugstore.com is standing by its predictions of profitability by the year 2004, even after another quarter of reported losses. In fact, president and chief executive officer Kal Raman told the E-Commerce Times this week that his compan...

Continental Airlines said Wednesday it will no longer pay commissions on travel booked over the Internet, sending shares of online travel companies lower amid speculation that other airlines will follow suit. At Prudential Securities, analyst Mark Rowen downgraded Expedia and Travelocity, citing ...

Online auction leader eBay launched a local trading site in Singapore on Wednesday, beefing up a roster of overseas properties that have helped drive growth in recent quarters. eBay Singapore will be an English-language site aimed at both individuals and businesses, the company said.

Catalogs have proven to be a catalyst for online retail success. According to industry analysts, retailers that already had catalog operations in place have effectively adapted their offerings -- including known brands, sheer size and developed distribution networks -- to consistent success onlin...

Business-to-business (B2B) marketplace provider PurchasePro said Tuesday it will cut its workforce in half, slash management salaries and shutter offices amid a search for additional financing or a strategic partner. PurchasePro said the moves are part of the second phase of its "turnaround strat...

Almost half of U.S. consumers who bank online would have no problem consolidating their accounts at a single institution, though others continue to have concerns about using one bank only, according to a report released Wednesday by Jupiter Media Metrix. The trend toward single-source banking is ...

Drugstore.com said Tuesday that sales grew and expenses fell during the third quarter, helping the e-tailer post a loss of about US$15 million, less than half of the financial loss it recorded for the same period last year. Still, Morningstar.com analyst David Kathman told the E-Commerce Times th...

Expedia said late Monday that business recovered from the September 11th terrorist attacks faster than initially predicted, with the online travel company posting better-than-expected results for its fiscal first quarter of 2002, including earnings (before non-cash items and expenses) of US$15.1 ...

Consumers are a demanding bunch. And as technology gets exponentially better and cheaper over time, online shoppers are wanting better and cheaper access to what they are looking for. Forrester Research senior analyst Paul Sonderegger told the E-Commerce Times that users "are downright hostile to...