Last week’s start to the holiday shopping season marked the most social on record with 1.4 million tweets during the week leading up to Black Friday. However, sales in retail stores on Thanksgiving and Black Friday fell about $1.4 billion this year, with more consumers opting to pursue deals online. Black Friday saw a 14 percent increase in online sales over last year, for a total of $2.72 billion, while Thanksgiving online sales jumped 25 percent. Adobe estimates that shoppers spent $4.45 billion online Thursday and Friday combined. Continue reading More People Shopped Online Than in Stores this Black Friday

Shopify — known for helping small businesses create e-commerce websites — has launched a new mobile app called Sello that joins a crowded field of peer-to-peer commerce efforts. Sello resembles Instagram and provides easy-to-use functionality for individuals and small businesses to sell products online. It is free to list items, but the Sello app collects a 3 percent fee for each transaction. Sellers simply post a product photo and description, list payment and shipping options, and specify a choice of social platforms, such as Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Continue reading Shopify’s New Mobile App is Like Instagram for Classified Ads

On the first day of Variety’s Big Data Summit, the main takeaway was that data — from online, set-top boxes, smartphones and even retail sales — has become a tidal wave that threatens to overwhelm even data experts. The industry needs data scientists capable of searching through the mass of data to find nuggets of insight and actionable data, making them highly sought-after, or, as AOL Publisher Platforms global head Tim Mahlman said, “rock stars.” “You can get lost (in data) if you’re not smart about it,” he said. Continue reading Big Data Summit: “Data Is a Tidal Wave” Overwhelming Experts

The Entertainment Merchant’s Association is offering ETC members a 50 percent discount on registration to its Digital Media Pipeline conference, taking place October 14 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. This year’s event — which runs $198 with the discount — will focus on the delivery of digital entertainment, including electronic sell-through, transactional VOD, subscription VOD and ad-supported VOD. Studio execs, digital retailers and service and tech providers will discuss the latest trends in online entertainment. To take advantage of EMA’s offer, visit the Non-Member Registration page and enter Discount Code 904. Continue reading ETC Members Offered Major Discount on Digital Media Pipeline

Amazon made a bold move yesterday by announcing that it plans to stop selling Google Chromecast and Apple TV streaming devices by the end of October. While the online retailer sells the competing Fire TV, it is expected to continue offering Roku and other streaming devices. According to Amazon, the move is designed to prevent “customer confusion” since the Google and Apple products do not stream Amazon’s video content, offered through its Prime membership. “It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video,” said a company spokesperson. Continue reading Amazon Pulls Rival Streaming Devices to Prevent “Confusion”

The Entertainment Merchant’s Association is offering ETC members a 50 percent discount on registration to its Digital Media Pipeline conference, taking place October 14 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. This year’s event — which runs $198 with the discount — will focus on the delivery of digital entertainment, including electronic sell-through, transactional VOD, subscription VOD and ad-supported VOD. Studio execs, digital retailers and service and tech providers will discuss the latest trends in online entertainment. To take advantage of EMA’s offer, visit the Non-Member Registration page and enter Discount Code 904. Continue reading ETC Members Offered Major Discount on Digital Media Pipeline

Salesforce.com just introduced IoT Cloud, a service that will allow customers to monitor data relayed by smart devices. As the Internet of Things becomes more of a reality — sensors are now found in a wide array of devices and machines — companies need to gather and make sense of the data that those sensors generate. Emerson Electric announced its plans to use Salesforce’s IoT Cloud to combine data from its smart thermostats with weather forecasts to help its users manage their heating and air conditioning. Continue reading Salesforce Debuts IoT Cloud to Monitor Data of Smart Devices

Amazon announced it will sell its Amazon Echo device with office supply chain Staples; however, it will only be available online. The Echo, a voice-activated speaker with the ability to answer questions, dim lights, and play music and more will be available for $179.99. The decision to sell the product through a third party has received mixed feedback, because the device still lacks a retail presence. While Staples carries Kindles, Fire TV and the Fire tablet, the Echo will not be showcased in stores. Continue reading Amazon Offers Echo Through Staples, But Exclusively Online

As an alternative to scanning barcodes, fashion-focused app Craves lets users take photos of clothing and perform searches of similar fashion items that can then be purchased via the app. Co-founder Scott Cormier was inspired to create the app after watching his wife snap photos of clothing she liked with her smartphone so she could research the items later on Pinterest and Google. Craves also features a social component that allows users to follow friends and influencers, track trending items, and receive sale notifications. Continue reading App Offers New Approach to Fashion Discovery and Shopping

Amazon has opened a 46,000 square-foot photography studio in London that the company will use to add some 500,000 images of clothing to its sites every year. Amazon is looking to significantly ramp up fashion sales on Amazon.com and its other properties in the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. Amazon added 100 new fashion brands to its platform last year, with plans to compete in Europe’s busy online market amongst heavy hitters such as Rocket Internet and LVMH as well as startups Net a Porter, ASOS and Farfetch. Continue reading Amazon Ramps Up Fashion Efforts with London Photo Studio

Amazon unveiled Launchpad this week, a new platform designed to help hardware and physical goods startups market and distribute their new products on Amazon’s e-commerce site. Launchpad, which currently features more than 200 items from a wide variety of startups, will compete with similar services offered by Product Hunt, Shopify and Shyp. Amazon is going big with the new platform, positioning it as a global product with access to 10 international distribution portals, and working with 25 VC firms, accelerators and crowdfunding services. Continue reading Amazon Debuts Launchpad: New Marketing and Sales Portal

Amazon may open its first drive-up grocery store in Sunnyvale, California, where customers can pick up items they ordered online. Shoppers would place their orders and choose a window during which they could pick up their groceries. The model could provide a viable alternative to traditional grocery shopping for busy consumers, while also addressing some of the challenges faced by the AmazonFresh delivery service, which first launched in the Seattle area and has since expanded to parts of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City and Philadelphia. Continue reading Amazon’s First Drive-Up Grocery Store Expected in California

With over 10 billion interconnected smart devices, the Internet of Things is rapidly moving from hype to reality. Over the next ten years, the number of interconnected smart devices is expected to explode to tens of billions, and continue an upward trajectory for decades to come. What does this mean in terms of economic value of the IoT? With the seemingly limitless potential of monetizing interconnected devices, McKinsey & Co. tackled that topic, made more complex since the Internet of Things is still in its nascent stages. Continue reading Internet of Things Moves From Hype to Huge Potential Value

After months of anticipation, Jet.com, the online marketplace that hopes to challenge Amazon and eBay, has opened to the public. The members-only site offers tremendous discounts to its customers, under-cutting both retail and Amazon prices. Since a trial run began in March, however, the company has seen nothing but red ink. But the clamor hasn’t died down, and more investors are eager to add more capital to the Hoboken, New Jersey-based company, and its valuation climbs even as its revenues dip below the black line. Continue reading Online Marketplace Jet.com, Valued at $300M, Opens to Public

Facebook has taken a leap into commerce by building out shops within Facebook Pages, allowing businesses with a Facebook Page a chance to sell directly to consumers. Although the new move into commerce is in its testing phase, some shops already sport a “buy” button, which keeps the consumer on the page from product browsing to purchase. The “buy” button was introduced last year, but Facebook’s new aim is to make the shopping experience more robust and integrated. Facebook currently does not take a percentage of sales. Continue reading Facebook Steps Into Commerce, Building Shops Within Pages