Tag archive: Online Shopping

Pinterest has become entirely unavoidable. In its mere 23-month existence, the site has managed to create (or rather, curate) a cult-like following of devoted, pinning-obsessed users. It was recently reported that Pinterest drove more referral traffic last month than Google+, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and MySpace combined. While there are plenty of users ready to worship at the Pinterest alter, skepticism remains. Isn’t the site, at its core,… Read More

PayPal  has long been a tent pole of e-commerce, a service integrated into nearly every online shopping experience. But that doesn’t mean it’s above the ire of the Internet. Lately something’s been amiss over at the site, and now complaints of shoddy customer service and poorly worded user policies are coming back to haunt it. First, in true holiday spirit, PayPal froze Regretsy’s charity campaign and a company representative dealt with the… Read More

Big box electronics stores are starting to look ancient. In an age where small, tailored outlets like Apple Stores have become something of a Mecca for fans, large tech empires like Sony are following suit, and Amazon has become a go-to for your every purchasing needs, the era of the gadget department store might be coming to a close. Best Buy could become the latest victim of our changing times. In a recent Wall Street Journal blog post,… Read More

Online retailers appear to have had a bumper Christmas this year with research firm comScore reporting that US online spending so far this holiday season is 15 percent up on last year. Looking at spending for the first 56 days of the November-December holiday season, comScore reported that so far a record $35.3 billion has been spent online. Last year spending for the same period stood at a shade over $30 billion. comScore noted that in recent… Read More

Aside from the actual breaking up part, what to do with the leftovers is arguably the worst part of ending a relationship. The tangible remnants of the relationship are everywhere, and they come in the form of sweatshirts, earrings, iPods, video games, you name it. Those odds and ends stick around after it’s all over and while others see them as shiny new toys, you don’t quite share the sentiment. A new startup wants to save these mementos from… Read More

The thing about shopping online these days is that it’s so darn easy to buy stuff. Websites bedecked with attractive product photos and tempting offers are a breeze to browse, and once you’ve performed the simple deed of opening an account with an online store, a purchase is but one click away. But, as highlighted by a New York Times report on Wednesday, there’s another little discussed factor that makes it even easier for some people to hand… Read More

It seems like Best Buy may have grinched some of its customers right before the holidays. The company has announced that it has not been able to keep up with the shopping demand and won't be fulfilling some customers' orders. “Due to overwhelming demond of hot product offerings on BestBuy.com druing the November and December time period, we have encountered a situation that has affected redemption of some of our customers'… Read More

By now, you've likely seen the customer video of a FedEx delivery man nonchalantly tossing a computer monitor over a fence — it's been watch more than 4.4 million times since it was posted on Monday. The video is an appalling confirmation of all our worst fears concerning shipping; that our stuff isn't safe with the very people entrusted to get it to our front doors. That when we aren't looking, our possessions are being… Read More

Racking up over one million YouTube views in approximately 24 hours, a YouTube user named Goobie55 posted a video (shown below) recording a FedEx employee chucking a Samsung computer monitor over a fence in order to deliver the package. The camera was mounted next to the front gate and pointed at the doorbell buzzer designed to view anyone visiting the residence. The video captures the FedEx employee removing the Samsung monitor from the back… Read More

The power of social media remains unrealized. Even Facebook is learning by trial and error, experimenting with this new medium while we simultaneously consume it. And because the industry remains constantly in-flux, the missteps are various and many. But a surprising contender is leveraging social platforms to its advantage. American Express has made a thorough and multi-faceted go at social this holiday season, using a handful of networks to… Read More

Not that long ago, the industry was labeling Cyber Monday nothing but a marketing myth. Skeptics said it was far from the biggest online shopping day of the year, that nothing would be able to trump Black Friday, and that it would be nothing but a promotional term. And now we know they were wrong. Cyber Monday has legitimized itself and then some this year, not only by trumping its own numbers, but by impacting Black Friday’s as well. According… Read More

You’re undoubtedly aware it’s Cyber Monday, and many of you have already been hitting the e-retailers pretty hard this morning. But it’s never too late to offer some friendly advice on how to keep your information safe while also making the most of the online sales. Credit, not debit When possible, opt to use your credit card. You’re protected by the federal Fair Credit Billing Act when you use your credit card so you can dispute something if… Read More

The holiday shopping season has begun, and now that Black Friday has come and gone, Cyber Monday is in full swing. We’ve already gotten the full feedback on this weekend’s numbers (which revealed most people decided to shop from the couch), but here’s an early peek at how online retailers’ favorite day of the year is shaping up. According to an IBM Benchmark report, e-sales are up 20-percent for this same time period from Cyber Monday 2010. Most… Read More

There are plenty of places to turn to when you want to shed your old Groupons. Sites like DealsGoRound and CoupRecoup have become the Black Market of the daily deals industry, giving consumers a place to profit off their less impressive purchases. But a new site is spinning that into a holiday appropriate idea that puts Grouponicus to shame. Presentify.me takes your unused Groupons and LivingSocial discounts and pretties them up into gift cards… Read More

The Internet is helpful for a million different everyday tasks, but one of the most helpful (particularly for those who hate malls) is online shopping. No matter what you want or need, with just a few clicks and a credit card you can have almost anything arrive on your doorstep within a day or two. This can be particularly helpful around the holidays when actual stores get crazy, or any time of the year should you never want to step into a mall… Read More