A new iOS shopping app and social network offers a compelling way to make money from selfies. Stylinity encourages its users to record “Shoppable Selfies,” tag the fashionable items featured in the image — such as clothing, beauty products, and furniture, and then upload it to a marketplace where others can browse and make purchases. When shoppers purchase a brand’s product from one of your selfies, you earn points redeemable for cash, clothing, “exclusive experiences,” or “fun products.” Continue reading Shoppable Selfies: Earn Cash and Rewards with Your Images

Google is becoming a major player in same-day package deliveries, taking on the likes of Amazon and eBay this holiday shopping season. The Google Express service — currently available in cities such as Boston, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco — handled 50 percent more toys during the two weeks after Thanksgiving, while book sales jumped more than 30 percent. Analysts estimate that up to 40 percent of Google’s core search business is tied to e-commerce. Continue reading Google Takes On Amazon with its Same-Day Delivery Service

Apple recently announced it has partnered with dozens of new companies interested in adopting its Apple Pay e-commerce product, which allows customers to make in-store transactions with a touch of their iPhones. Partnerships with various retail stores, startups, and financial institutions represent the early adopters of Apple’s new product. Apple Pay has already outperformed other rival smartphone e-commerce products from Google, Verizon and AT&T.  Continue reading Apple Pay Gains Momentum, Partners with More Companies

Xiaomi is the most popular smartphone maker in China and the third largest phone maker in the world. During the next year, the company hopes to expand its presence outside of China to developing markets in India, Brazil, and Indonesia. The company specializes in manufacturing low-cost, well-designed phones that they sell primarily online. Xiaomi is also hoping to increase profits by selling apps and entertainment for the phones, along with other electronic devices like a tablet and smart TV. Continue reading Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi Wants to Go International

E-commerce service eBay has remodeled its mobile app to meet the shopping preferences and habits of its customers. The company is starting with a new app for the iPad available now in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. The iPad app displays a page of curated content that reflects a user’s current and previous item views in addition to a list of recommendations to match user preferences. Collectively, the page is a Pinterest-like display of new items to discover and buy. Continue reading New eBay App Intends to Improve Mobile Shopping Experience

Amazon is taking on the likes of DeliveryHero, GrubHub and Seamless with its new Takeout & Delivery, the latest service available to those in search of a convenient way to order food from local restaurants. A live version of the service recently launched in Seattle and other cities are expected to be added soon. Amazon’s Takeout & Delivery allows users to charge food orders to their existing Amazon accounts. It follows the success of Amazon’s door-to-door grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh. Continue reading Amazon Expands its Offerings with Takeout & Delivery Service

Hachette Book Group, which publishes best-selling authors including Michael Connelly, Malcolm Gladwell and James Patterson, announced on Monday that it is partnering with Gumroad to determine whether author tweets can help push book sales. In today’s social media landscape, authors with significant Twitter followings — such as John Green and Paulo Coelho — have experienced major success. Gumroad enables creators to sell products directly to social media followers without leaving Twitter. Continue reading Hachette Launches Twitter Experiment to Boost its Book Sales

Mobile shopping just got even easier thanks to a new app called TheTake, which enables users to find the products they have been eyeing from their favorite movies. TheTake launched last week with a database of scenes from more than 100 movie titles. The app uses audio and image recognition technology to identify the products in a scene and gives users related links to retail stores that sell the items. The app may leverage the growing trend that shows mobile shopping sales are on the rise. Continue reading TheTake: App Helps Users Identify and Buy Products in Movies

EBay has teamed up with fashion brand Rebecca Minkoff to create the retail store of the future complete with technology designed to enhance a shopper’s in-store experience. With locations in San Francisco and New York, the two companies hope to bring the best of the online world into the physical retail space. In each store, customers have access to touchscreen displays on the store’s mirrors and in the fitting rooms that offer an interactive shopping experience. Continue reading EBay Partners with Fashion Brand to Create Future of Retail

According to Adobe’s 2014 Digital Index Online Shopping data, 29 percent of online sales on Thanksgiving Day and 27 percent on Black Friday took place via smartphones or tablets (led by iOS shoppers). New online sales records were set for both days, while Singles’ Day also set a new record and could surpass Cyber Monday this time around. Meanwhile, the CEA reports that consumers are purchasing more TVs, thanks in part to more affordable UHD offerings. Continue reading More U.S. Shoppers Turn to Mobile Devices for Holiday Deals

With a base of about 248 million users, Twitter could become the ultimate commerce destination for marketers and shoppers alike. The company recently announced its plan to rollout Twitter Offers, a program that allows marketers to package promotional tweets with time sensitive discounts and coupons that can be readily redeemable via smartphones and credit or debit cards. The new program is an initiative to drive sales, primarily in-store sales, with mobile advertisements. Continue reading Twitter Aims to Integrate Coupons with E-Commerce Program

Amazon is partnering with independent hotels and resorts to offer a prepaid booking service via a new site. The initial rollout will feature select locations within hours of New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. The online retailer is expected to collect a standard 15 percent commission for prepaid bookings. Amazon Travel is likely to mirror existing hotel booking sites with pricing details, room availability and photos, and is expected to launch as early as January 1, 2015. Continue reading Amazon Plans to Tackle Travel Services with New Booking Site

Two years ago, Amazon acquired robot manufacturer Kiva Systems for $775 million. The orange, wheeled robots have been used by a number of retailers in warehouses across the country. In an effort to improve efficiency, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced plans to deploy thousands of these robots across Amazon warehouses. The robot army is designed to bring stocked shelves to employees, reducing the time workers would have spent looking for items on their own.  Continue reading Amazon Wheels Out Robots to Meet Holiday Shipping Demands

According to recent news reports, Amazon is planning to launch a new ad-supported streaming service early next year that will be separate from Prime. The ad-supported option could become a significant challenger to streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu, especially if it undercuts the monthly fees of its rivals. Sources indicate that the new service would ultimately serve as a vehicle to attract more subscribers for Amazon Prime. Meanwhile, Amazon has denied plans to offer a new service. Continue reading Amazon Considering a New Ad-Supported Streaming Service?

Is it time to come up with new language to address second screens? According to digital analytics firm Flurry, consumers spend an average of 2 hours and 57 minutes on their smartphones and tablets each day. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that viewers spend 2 hours and 48 minutes per day watching television, the Flurry numbers would suggest mobile devices are becoming the new first screen. Flurry also notes that time spent with apps has increased nearly 10 percent in the last three quarters. Continue reading Report Points to Mobile Devices Replacing TV as ‘First Screen’