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Today's Top Story
Two states think better of imposing sales taxes on e-retailers
Threats by retailers to end affiliate marketing relationships in states trying to tax online sales generated by affiliates have had an effect. The governors of California and Hawaii have vetoed legislation that would have imposed such taxes in those states.
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Payment processor Authorize.net gets back online after holiday fire
The payment processor for hundreds of thousands of merchants, including many e-retailers, was out of commission for 12 hours at the start of the Fourth of July weekend because of a fire in its Seattle office building, parent CyberSource says.
Groups offer online privacy guidelines, hoping to head off regulation
Four groups released last week voluntary guidelines for protecting consumer privacy when marketing to web users based on their web behavior. Consumer advocates say the rules are inadequate, and continue to demand new laws on collection and use of web data.
Sears makes it easier to sign in to its new online communities
Consumers can use their credentials from Google, Facebook and other popular web services to sign on to the MySears and MyKmart forums. Sears says it is the first major retailer to employ the OpenID standard for using credentials across web sites.
Furniture maker builds direct sales with rich web content
In a challenging year for furniture sales, made-to-order manufacturer Main Cottage finds the web a strong sales channel after deploying a mix of rich media content to help customers shop for products, chief marketing officer David Petersen says.
Barnes & Noble adds an iPhone app to its m-commerce operation
The multichannel bookseller's m-commerce site has grown rapidly during the last 12 months. As a result, Barnes & Noble has signed on for the next step in mobile retailing—mobile apps that provide iPhone and iPod users access to exclusive web content.
Best Buy gives mobile apps a try
The multichannel retailer is dipping its toe in the waters of the burgeoning realm of mobile apps. It has introduced the Best Buy Weekly Deals mobile app designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. But the app is not transactional—yet.
Better technology drives better content management at Nutrisystem
The switch to a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform from an outdated internal system is helping Nutrisystem develop better web site content. The diets products retailer has reduced from 10 days to one the time needed to create new pages and campaigns.
It's a tough time to sell a business, even if it's web-based
The number of web-based, business-to-consumer companies sold on BizBuySell.com in the second quarter dropped by 14% and the average sale price dropped by a third compared to the second quarter of 2008. The company connects business buyers and sellers via the web.
Social networks still have a ways to go in marketing products and brands
Although the majority of office workers who use the Internet are members of social networks, the vast majority are not friends or fans of brands or companies, according to a recent survey by marketing firm WorkPlace Media.
Novel 'for hire' eBay listing helps a professional land a marketing gig
A creative idea to post a 'for hire' listing on eBay helps a professional land a job—despite the ad being pulled after a few days.
E-commerce stocks slump in a less than dandy pre-holiday Wall Street week
Only three of the 25 e-commerce stocks in the Internet Retailer Online Retail Index made gains last week, as the index slipped 2.6%. The broader stock market did only slightly better.
Internet overseer gets more power to go after unscrupulous domain registrars
ICANN, which oversees popular domain names, will have more tools to fight shady web domain registrars. E-retailers will benefit if ICANN can put out of business registrars that provide bad service or collaborate with cybersquatters, says one executive.
Two out of three Internet users around the world visit social networks
A global survey by comScore shows about two-thirds of the world's 1.1 billion Internet users visited at least one social networking site in May. Russia topped the list of countries using social networks the most, with the U.S. ranking ninth.
iPhone users make a movie tickets mobile app a smash hit
Online movie ticket-selling giant Fandango's mobile app for the iPhone has proven very popular, racking up one million downloads in just three months. Fandango's goal is to be ubiquitous—and it's succeeding.
To view IRCE 2009 Hot Tip of the week - click here.
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