Spotlight Features

To say that eBay has a devoted following is like saying the Beatles were liked by some teenage girls. While true, the statement does not reflect the full scope of fans' zeal. But the adoration is not universal. Recurrent complaints of fraud, shoddy bidding practices, and poor search engine capabi...

In every quarter since the dot-com meltdown began, industry analysts and investment bankers have been predicting a tech comeback. But a seemingly unending string of disappointing earnings reports has forced overly optimistic forecasters to retract forecasts of imminent rebound. "When you hit the ...

Different experts' definitions of e-commerce might vary, but most agree on one thing: The sector represents a growing piece of the overall commerce pie, and its share is expected to increase steadily -- though gradually -- over the next five years. For example, Forrester Research figures show tha...

Interactive TV never exploded onto the scene in the way its promoters hoped it would, and the features it once promised -- ranging from movie selection to Web-based shopping and games -- have been co-opted by other technologies. What happened to this once-hyped technology? GartnerG2 vice president...

Enterprise cannot swing an optical mouse these days without hitting a Microsoft product. But despite the software giant's aggressive posturing, enterprise is hardly at its mercy when developing a blueprint for e-commerce. In fact, it is easy to avoid Microsoft altogether, Giga Information Group a...

Companies that create a sense of online community not only give like-minded people a place to call home, they also reap revenue. They achieve this goal by offering compelling content that builds trust and credibility with visitors and keeps them coming back. The most profitable example is online ...

Ask online marketing experts whether it is possible to build a brand strictly by using the Web; most of them will say it is. And almost all of them will move quickly to qualify their answer. "I think it is possible, but I'm not sure it's the most effective way to build a brand," David Rosenblatt,...

While scientists have been reaping the benefits of clustered computing for several years, using it to search for intelligent life in the universe and sift through vast amounts of data, business users have largely ignored this technology -- until recently. "In the context of e-business, there is p...

Shopping carts have become standard for online vendors. But software developers -- particularly those that make some of the larger off-the-shelf e-commerce packages -- are upping the ante by integrating additional features into their products. The best carts now provide uninterrupted interaction ...

The Internet economy is entering maturity, but not in the stock market or even in research and development labs. The dot-com sector is coming of age in a courtroom. "You can't underestimate the distraction factor," Giga Information Group analyst Laura DiDio told the E-Commerce Times. "When execut...

Increased productivity, made possible by new technology, has been responsible for many of the record-setting job cuts of recent years, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. CGC said its survey of U.S. corporations found that the most productive industries top its list of co...

Recently, Apple announced a new advertising strategy to lure consumers away from Windows. But the company is taking a more low-key approach to targeting corporate users, hoping that its Xserve technology speaks for itself. "We think we're going to have the best system ... but we want to make sure...

An economic downturn means fewer dollars for salaries, business resources and, in some cases, research and development. But is a poor economy synonymous with a dip in technical innovation, particularly at bellwether companies like Cisco and IBM? "Most companies are looking to streamline processes...

More than half of all U.S. retailers said their online sales operations achieved profitability in 2001, and growth could top 40 percent in 2002, according to a joint report published by the Boston Consulting Group, Forrester Research and Shop.org. The study predicted that online sales will grow 4...

Most people think of Web hosting and marketing outlays when they consider launching an e-commerce site, but a laundry list of additional costs are not apparent at first glance: merchant account fees, liability and fraud insurance fees, maintenance fees and transaction fees, and customer service, ...