Beth Cox

eToys Inc. launched new Party and Hobby stores and introduced new merchandising features including a Holiday Hot List. The new stores and features are highlighted on eToys’ Welcome Page, where consumers can find a directory of the major shopping areas: Toys; Books; Video Games; Software; DVD, Music & Videos; Hobbies; and Party, as well as […]

Visa U.S.A. formed an alliance with security management solutions provider Internet Security Systems (ISS) to test Visa’s newly developed Electronic Compliance Monitoring (ECM) program. The ECM program aims to verify that e-merchants and ISPs meet Visa’s online data security requirements in order to protect cardholder data from hackers. The program is a component of the […]

Internet credit card company NextCard Inc. launched the next generation of its Concierge e-shopping service, combining its GoShopping! and Concierge tools into a single application. The company also announced a low-price shopping guarantee for cardholders who use the free comparative shopping app over the holidays. The new browser-based Concierge, powered by personal Web assistant company […]

E-tailing giant Amazon.com launched a Japanese-language site featuring 1.7 million book titles to serve Japanese-speaking customers in Japan and around the world. The company said Japan is its largest export market, with 193,000 customers and annualized sales of $34 million. Amazon said it would offer a discount of up to 30 percent on all books […]

Building upon the theme of helping small businesses work better not harder, Office Depot debuted a new professional business services and information resources section at its e-commerce site. This new section, titled Business Services, showcases Office Depot’s collection of pre-screened, “best-in-class” business services and information resources. Both Staples.com and OfficeMax.com, the principal competitors in this […]

Throwing its hat into a ring already crowded with political sites, Yahoo! Inc. launched an Election News Hub , offering visitors a one-stop-shop for political info from the local to the presidential level. Yahoo! said the hub combines all of the network’s tools in one place, enabling visitors to find comprehensive political news and information, […]

Just as local malls have often begun decorating for the holidays just after Halloween has come and gone, so the Association for Interactive Media will begin its SmartOnlineShopping.org program Nov. 6, three weeks earlier this year. The move is designed to give AIM and its partners, including the AltaVista Co., a longer time period to […]

Moving out of beta and into the Internet retailing spotlight, BlueLight.com marked its formal launch today with a new interface, more Martha Stewart merchandise and integration with Kmart stores for returns. The e-tail site, which has already signed up more than 4 million subscribers for its free ISP service, also features increased inventory, new search […]

Homestore.com Inc. is acquiring Cendant Corp.’s Internet real estate portal move.com in a $761 million deal that creates such a large online presence that the Justice Department will conduct an antitrust review before the closing. Homestore.com said the acquisition will create “the largest … marketplace for home and real estate-related products and services on the […]

Barnes & Noble Inc. and BarnesandNoble.com said they plan three major integration initiatives to accelerate their clicks and mortar strategy, linking 551 retail stores and its Web site through proprietary technology. First, the companies, which said their clicks and mortar strategy is succeeding financially, will install Internet Service Counters powered by Barnes & Noble.com in […]

AirNewco, an airline-led B2B initiative, and MyAircraft, a B2B exchange led by aerospace manufacturers, said they will combine their online efforts into a new, neutral, global e-marketplace venture for the aviation industry. The exchange, which will be open to all companies in the industry, will use the Internet to offer buyers the ability to link […]

Aiming to turn virtual tire kickers into informed online buyers, Amazon.com and its car information and sales site partner Greenlight.com have produced a step-by-step guide for researching, financing and buying a car over the Net. The free resource is called the Bumper-to-Bumper guide, and is available here by looking under “More to Explore.” New car […]