Citing Rising Popularity, Groupon in Talks to Add a Cash Register Button

Groupon, the largest provider of online daily deals, is talking with cash-register makers about adding features that would make it easier for merchants and consumers to use its coupons, published reports say.  VeriFone Systems, the second-largest manufacturer of electronic-payment systems, is among companies in discussion with Groupon, a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg Businessweek.com. VeriFone would let merchants accept Groupons as easily as debit or credit cards from payments networks such as Visa, said the person, who declined... 

Report: Social Media Sites Driving Teen Retail Purchases

A new report says virtually all U.S. teens are using the Internet, far outpacing the total U.S. population. More importantly, many are counting on social media to influence their purchasing decisions, which may become a key factor in future advertising budgets and campaigns. By the end of 2011, eMarketer says 96 percent of American teens ages 12 to 17 will use the Web at least monthly, much higher than the 74 percent penetration for the total U.S. population. Teens will inch up to 97 percent in the coming years through 2015, then remain at that... 

Update: Consumers Shopping Again, But Maintaining Responsible Approaches to Spending

A new report about shoppers’ spending habits reveals that they are in fact out buying again, but the lessons of the recent recession have sunk in, and they’re being cautious about their purchases. Shoppers’ spending rose over the recent holiday season more than in recent years, bolstered by larger discounts from retailers and a fair amount of pent-up demand, and many industry watchers were quick to suggest consumers might finally be ready to open their wallets. Yet the latest findings of exclusive consumer research, conducted for the National... 

ComScore: Retail E-Commerce Spending Rocketed a Healthy 11 Percent in the 4th Quarter

ComScore Inc. has released its fourth quarter 2010 U.S. retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that online retail spending reached a record $43.4 billion for the quarter, up 11 percent versus year ago. This growth rate represents the fifth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and second quarter of double-digit growth rates in the past year, the company says. “Retail e-commerce had a strong fourth quarter, growing 11 percent versus last year as holiday-season spending was bolstered by an improving sentiment among some... 

Proposed Online Lottery Ticket Sales May Hit Small Retailers Hard

New Jersey lawmakers are in the midst of one of the largest reorganization efforts to the gaming industry in decades, with legislators now appearing set to rework the lottery system. In January, lawmakers approved legislation that would make New Jersey the first state to regulate Internet gambling. Online poker, slots, craps, roulette, blackjack, and other games would all be legalized if Governor Chris Christie signs the legislation. But in December a bill passed the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee that would allow gamblers to... 

Vigilance Pays Off as Fraud Rate Holds for Online Retailers

Fraud rates for online merchants in the United States and Canada remained steady at 0.9% in 2010 for the second straight year, according to a report released by CyberSource. Retailers reported losing $2.7 billion to fraud in 2010, down from $3.3 billion the year before, mostly because they rejected new orders, InternetRetailer.com says. CyberSource, a subsidiary of payment card network Visa, defines the fraud rate as the percentage of accepted orders that later turn out to be fraudulent. The vendor based its findings on 334 survey responses from... 

Finding: Consumers Spent More Online for Holidays Than Previous Year

Some 38 percent of consumers who shopped for holiday gifts online this past season say they spent more money with e-retailers than they did in 2009, according to a new study. The convenience of online shopping (69 percent) was the leading reason that drove consumers to spend more online this holiday season. More than half of those who spent more said online prices were better than prices inside stores. Some 29 percent of respondents said they were more comfortable with online shopping than last year, 26 percent said they had more money to spend... 

Online Counterfeit Sales Set To Cost Businesses Billions This Year

A sampling of only 22 brands has revealed that websites offering pirated digital content and counterfeit goods generate more than 53 billion visits per year, according to a new study released by MarkMonitor. The company, a leader in enterprise brand protection, said in its report that sites offering pirated digital content draw the lion’s share of the 53 billion annual visits, while sites selling counterfeit goods, including prescription drugs and luxury goods, generate more than 92 million visits per year. “In the online world, unlike the physical... 

Is Facebook the New Channel for Retail Growth? Some Think it Might Be.

Although retailers ranging from J.C. Penney to online clothing seller StyleQ have launched Facebook storefronts where consumers can make purchases on the social network, those efforts are only one piece of social commerce, says Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network, who oversees a team that works to build partnerships with merchants and other businesses. Beard was quoted in a story on Internet Retailer. “The future of commerce is social,” he says. David Fisch oversees a newly created group within Beard’s team that seeks to... 

Aftermath: Online Sales Rose Sharply This Past Holiday Season

U.S. online sales jumped 15 percent this holiday season, spurred by “aggressive” marketing by Web- based retailers, Businessweek reports. Online sales were $36.4 billion from Oct. 31 through Dec. 22, compared with $31.5 billion a year earlier, according to MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, a Purchase, N.Y.-based firm that measures retail sales by all payment forms., Businessweek said. Online apparel sales grew the fastest at 26 percent, while electronics were up 12 percent and department stores 11 percent. “It’s a pretty positive story,”... 

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