Social Commerce

News
Facebook Deals Another Blow To Small Business
December 01, 2014

Facebook deals another blow to small business as it announced yet another change to how it will decide what users see in their News Feeds. This change, according to Facebook spokespeople, will filter out posts deemed “too promotional.” Promotional, according to Facebook, consist of “less...

Mobile
A Startup That Gives Thanks
November 27, 2014

Here’s a nice way to share a little holiday spirit: Mobile payments startup HouseTab will donate five meals to Food Bank for New York City each time a new user downloads and registers HouseTab’s iOS or Android app until Jan. 3, 2015 — and the...

Cool
Wanelo Reinvents Shopping
November 26, 2014

It seems like social networks should go with e-commerce as naturally as peanut butter is combined with jelly to make the world’s most elementally perfect sandwich. Unfortunately, as it turns, out the graveyard of e-commerce is filled with many such pairings gone south. Writing about...

Merchant Innovation
The Latest Amazon Accessory: A Human Installer
November 25, 2014

Amazon is running a trial in three cities—New York, Los Angeles and Seattle—to offer installation and other services—including plumbing, electrical work, fitness instructors and even music teachers—along with germane products purchased. Once a shopper chooses one of a handful of Amazon “hand-picked pros” for the...

Connecting The Dots Between Payments And Retail Advertising
November 20, 2014

Retailers. Brands. Consumers. Each stakeholder, with its own objectives and interests, plays a key role in the rapidly transforming, increasingly tech-savvy retail industry. And at the intersection of all three sits Jingit, the first real-time events-based payments and engagement platform, says Jingit’s CEO Kate Bolseth....

Mobile
Ebay’s Shopper-to Shopper App Trial In San Diego
November 19, 2014

Ebay’s long history in E-Commerce (its Sept. 1995 launch made it one of the very first E-Commerce companies to launch, although Amazon’s July 1994 launch beat it by more than a year) has always been about consumer-to-consumer purchases. This week, it launched a geolocation-based app...

International
The Weird Week In Payments
November 15, 2014

“When the going gets tough, the weird go pro.”         Hunter S. Thompson “Gonzo journalist” Hunter Thompson sure captured the week in payments with that sentiment. Sometimes, it’s an absolute banner week in payments news.  Other weeks are slow (but not lately, thanks to Apple Pay)....

International
Beacon Obstacles Starting To Melt
November 10, 2014

Beacon executives at the ad:tech New York conference claim that nearly five million beacons will be deployed over the next five years.  The execs did acknowledge that beacon adoption has been slower in the U.S. than in other geographies, but expect to see those difference...

International
“Uber” Of Long Distance Travel – Tripda – Making U.S. Debut
November 10, 2014

It seems soon Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains could soon know the world of hurt that ride-sharing has already brough to the world’s taxi operators.  Instead of offering a taxi service like Uber or Lyft, Tripda matches passengers and drivers (who are already planning travel)...