Beth Cox

ParaSoft Monday launched a new e-commerce solution based on Red Hat’s version of the Linux operating system. According to Parasoft, Internet Store is the world’s first fully automated, commercially affordable e-commerce system which can automatically update a retailer’s actual inventory in real time when an online sale is made. Whenever a retailer adds new items […]

Microsoft Corp. this week delivered Complete Commerce, a packaged electronic commerce solution for medium-sized to large enterprise businesses looking to host commerce-enabled Web sites through hosting service providers. Microsoft, working with Compaq Computer Corp. and Intel Corp., said it will team with 10 commerce-hosting service providers to offer customers an all-in-one hosting solution that covers […]

Patricia Fusco InternetNews.com Correspondent America Online Inc. and PlanetRx Inc. Wednesday formed a new multi-year e-commerce and marketing alliance that will net AOL $15 million. According to the terms of the agreement, AOL will receive payments from PlanetRx totaling $15 million over the next three years. In return, PlanetRx will be featured as the premier […]

Online holiday spending by Internet users rose from an average of $216 last year to $629 in 1998, a growth of 191 percent, according to a report from Zona Research Inc. The figures are from a study of more than 1,000 Internet users. The study was designed to assess consumers’ attitudes and experience after the […]

Of the top 15 sites that pulled the majority of online shoppers for the week ending Dec. 24, 1998, five of them were in the book/CD category, according to NetRatings’ CommerceTrack holiday report. The leaders were: Amazon.com (6.4% reach), Music Boulevard (3.9), Barnes & Noble (3.7%), CDNow (2.5%) and Columbia House (2%). Books/CDs as a […]

Digital Courier Technologies Inc. said that it has agreed to acquire Video Direct Corp. and its marketing, promotional and customer service affiliate, Total Marketing Services. Video Direct is an Internet and direct response marketer of special interest videos. The acquisition is expected to close by late January. Financial terms were not disclosed. Video Direct’s 13,000 […]

Despite some highly-publicized failures, the leading online shopping Web sites serviced holiday shoppers with performance and availability rates better than the industry-average business Web site, according to a study by Keynote Systems. On Dec. 17, for example, Amazon.com delivered its home page in an average of 4.9 seconds with an availability rate of 99.4 percent […]

eWallet signed agreements with online retailers Beyond.com and Presents.com in which consumers will receive $10 off of their first purchase using eWallet. eWallet is a program that provides automatic user information to a shopping Web site. Consumers enter their billing and shipping information in their eWallet just once and when they encounter a checkout screen […]

Minneapolis-based electronic software delivery company Digital River entered a distribution and marketing agreement with Kmart Corp. making Digital River the exclusive provider of downloadable software products on Kmart’s Web site. Digital River’s marketing and merchandising services also will be used by Kmart to offer special discounts on software sold through its online store. Financial terms […]

Enhanced Services Company Inc. in Los Angeles said that it has acquired privately held e-commerce firm BrandsForLess.com for $35 million. BrandsForLess.com operates an online department store featuring about 60 departments that it calls “e-partments,” selling name brand goods at a discount. The company also develops and administers various e-commerce stores appearing under the brand names […]

The founder of the Robb Report is launching Millionaire.com, an e-commerce and auction Web site that is expected to be active on or before Jan. 15, 1999. “We will be utilizing technology, popularized by companies such as eBay and Cybershop in order to connect buyers and sellers of luxury items including fantasy shopping, art, antiques, […]

Insurance sales site InsWeb received a $30 million investment from Japanese venture capital funds managed by Softbank Group, and announced a joint venture to be named InsWeb K.K., which will offer insurance products in Japan. “Providing insurance online has the potential to be one of the biggest opportunities on the Internet,” said Yoshitaka Kitao, executive […]