Archive

From coin shortages and curbside operations to contactless transactions, how consumers pay for their purchases has been completely transformed during the pandemic. Marketers expect that transformation to continue and expand. It is not just family staples that are seeing a jump in consumer digital pa...

An increasing number of consumer-packaged goods companies are shifting to the direct-to-consumer e-commerce model, thus bypassing retailers as middlemen. This raises questions of how manufacturers can meet customers' needs without jeopardizing relationships with their retail distribution partners. T...

This year's revised federal tax code plus new Covid-19 initiatives provide additional incentives for startup companies, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. If you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, you may qualify to have that indebtedness forgiven; and other tax incentives...

With an increasing amount of workers turning to part-time, freelance, and contract work for a variety of reasons, a growing number of businesses are now based on the gig economy model. The E-Commerce Times spoke with several experts familiar with the ins and outs of the gig economy to find out what'...

Microsoft has announced it is purchasing Nuance Communications, a natural language to computer processing company, in a deal valued at $19.7 billion. "Nuance's popular healthcare-focused products and services will provide Microsoft an instant revenue stream and relationships with existing Nuance cus...

Consumers and marketers alike see social media outlets as a middle ground between selling and buying. Now that shoppers have grown used to seeing product placements and promotions on social media, it is a natural next step for them to want to make a purchase without going to another platform or bran...

Major information technology providers opposed to the broadening of class action litigation related to consumer protections have taken their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The companies are hoping the court will strike down a lower court ruling which makes it easier for consumers to file class acti...

One of the most successful direct-to-consumer shopping outlets for China-based vendors outside of China's own Alibaba e-commerce platform is Amazon. This trend has been accelerating for years. China-based sellers represented 75 percent of new sellers on Amazon in January, according to a new report. ...

Collaboration between employees, teams, and clients is more important than ever before, and new technologies and platforms are available to facilitate communication and group work. The E-Commerce Times checked in with experts in collaboration software and technologies to hear more about how people a...

Consumer shopping patterns continue to settle into new options after holiday digital and e-gift card sales soared at the close of last year. Convenience was a large part of the changing consumer trend to favor gifts cards, along with the fact that more families are now living distributed lives. Both...

When it comes to marketing strategies, nothing is more important than analyzing and measuring every campaign's actual effectiveness, influence, and ROI. Without these measurements in place, how can you improve? How will you know if your budget has been well-spent?

The arts have seen a shift in the last year away from in-person gatherings, but that doesn't mean that performances, showings, and other creative activities have stopped. Rather, they've been transformed, becoming increasingly virtual and digital. We spoke with experts in the arts, design, and marke...

Half of consumers who originally planned to return to their pre-pandemic in-store shopping routines once coronavirus is under control now plan to stick with online shopping. That shift in preferences means that e-commerce merchants must keep up with trending ways to market, sell, and prevent fraud. ...

A new social media platform called Swell is based on voice messaging. According to its developers, Swell is the first social platform to focus exclusively on asynchronous audio conversations, where audio clips up to five minutes in length can be posted to the site. Any Swell member can host a conver...

Today, more than 60 percent of consumers start their online shopping searches on Amazon. That trend is unlikely to change, as consumers have grown accustomed to the new normal of digital purchasing. As we look ahead into 2021 and beyond, here is what will take place in the Amazon e-commerce ecosyste...