Looking at Google Trends for SOPA and PIPA, the majority of searches came from Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries (sopa de fideo con pollo sounds delicious) or people searching for the now famous sister of a famous new royal – until this week. This week as Google, Wikipedia, Reddit and other prominent sites protested SOPA [...]

Last year, we questioned whether Thanksgiving is the new Cyber Monday. This year comes word from benchmarking service Coremetrics that Thanksgiving Day online shopping rose by 39 percent over last year, with estimated U.S. sales of $400 million. And according to Internet Retailer, this is the first time Thanksgiving Day sales have beaten Saturday’s sales. [...]

Internet Retailer has a story today about Urban Outfitters’ continued growth online. In it, CEO Glen Senk says the chain is responding to what it sees as “a paradigm shift towards online shopping” and also mentions that they will continue to “invest heavily in e-commerce and mobile commerce.” Four out of six of Urban Outfitters’ [...]

Findings from a new report from Forrester Research and GSI Commerce are somewhat surprising, in that the study suggests that social media has very little impact on purchasing behavior. The results seem contrary to other reports with headlines such as Social Media Marketing Spend to Hit $3.1 Billion by 2014 and 5 Ways Facebook’s Open [...]

One of the big stories from last week is that Walmart.com is testing Walmart To Go, enabling consumers in its San Jose, CA test market to buy groceries online. While Wal-Mart has offered a similar service in the past, this is the first time they’re giving consumers the option of buying fresh foods (produce and [...]

Word came this morning from TechCrunch that eBay has agreed to buy GSI Commerce for $29.25 a share, or total consideration of approximately $2.4 billion. The news comes on the heels of Oracle’s November 2010 announcement that they are purchasing ATG, and the acquisition of Fry Inc. by MICROS in 2008, among others. Whether GSI, [...]

Valentine’s Day 2011 introduced brides-to-be to a whole new world of wedding glamour and style. BHLDN.com is the newest concept from Urban Outfitters, Inc. and features wedding gowns that range from $1,000 to $4,000, and event dresses $200 to $600.  Inspired by the Dutch word for “to keep,” BHLDN (pronounced “beholden”) is the fourth site from [...]

Congratulations to longtime WebLinc client Fanatics, Inc. on their acquisition by GSI Commerce. The deal, announced earlier today, is reportedly worth $277 million.  Founded in 1995, Fanatics offers the largest selection of officially licensed team and league products found anywhere on the web.  The company operates thousands of professional, college and university websites, including footballfanatics.com. All [...]

WebLinc would like to congratulate our clients Free People and LightsOnline.com on their inclusion in Internet Retailer’s 2011 Hot 100 list. This year’s list is a celebration of the best retail web sites featuring 100 outstanding retailers in eleven categories. Free People currently has 40 stores and is carried in more than 1,000 boutiques and department stores [...]

Sitting around the TV with my family on Thanksgiving this year, I noticed a trend: While the football games buzzed from the flat screen, instead of asking to change the channel or playing cards or playing with the dogs, my sisters sat on the couch with their laptops and shopped. One was looking for advance [...]