Posted 10/30/09 at 12:30:31 PM by Paul Lilly

Ever imagined a world where 6-foot Care Bears roam the streets going door-to-door begging for sweet treats while you're trying to watch the Phillies take a 2-to-1 lead over the Yankees in the World Series? That may be the scene tomorrow, based on the most popular online Halloween costume searches, according to frightening data put together by Hitwise.

You're also likely to see Michael Jackson and Balloon Boy getups, which held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. But of the searches beginning with the word 'adult, 'adult Care Bear costume' came in third, right behind 'adult cat costume' (No. 1) and 'adult Snow White costume' (No. 2).

You're also likely to run into more themed pets than ever before. Compared to 2008, Hitwise noted a 97 percent increase in searches for "pet costumes." Better toss some Milk Bones in with those fun-sized Snicker bars.

Read More

Posted 10/29/09 at 11:30:57 AM by Paul Lilly

Forget about entering in your username, password, shipping address, and payment details when checking out. That's so 2008! Going forward, you'll be able to part with your paycheck much quicker, assuming you shop at Amazon or any of the handful of other sites jumping on the Amazon PayPhrase bandwagon.

How's it work? You start by picking a phrase with at least two words and up to 100 characters in length, such as "Slam Dunk" or "Jake's Allowance," along with a PIN. Once you claim your unique PayPhrase, it will be tied to your Amazon account, including your billing info and shipping address. You'll enter this when it comes time to check out, and that's all there is to it.

"PayPhrase solves the headache of trying to keep track of all the different usernames and passwords people use to shop on various sites across the Web. With PayPhrase all you need is one phrase and one PIN to pay online," said Matt Williams, General Manager of Amazon PayPhrase.

Every PayPhrase is unique, so if this were to catch on, expect a rush to claim popular word duos. And for parents, you can set up spending limits and monitor your kids' purchases, as well as approve or decline each order by way of email or text alerts.

A handful of sites have signed up to use Amazon PayPhrase so far, including  DKNY, Jockey, Patagonia, Buy.com, J&R, and CarToys.com.

Amazon PayPhrase

Read More

Posted 08/12/09 at 09:44:42 AM by Paul Lilly

Yahoo on Monday launched what it claims is the first website to provide daily deals, online coupons, grocery coupons, local coupons, store circulars, and exclusive deals all in one place. Dubbed 'Yahoo! Deals," the new portal also integrates social and community features, as well as videos offering tips on how to save money.

"Frugality is the new 'cool,'" said Greg Hintz, head of Yahoo! Shopping. "We now know that couponing and bargain hunting are losing their stigma and are now a regular habit for many people. Our goal at Yahoo! is to be the center of people's online lives and we're making Yahoo! the easiest place for consumers to find and manage the coupons and deals that are relevant to their lives."

Some of the features on Yahoo! Deals include a gas finder module that helps users find the cheapest gas by zip code, improved search functions to help users find deals from across the site, offers for local chain and neighborhood restaurants, retailers, and service providers provided by Valpak, and exclusive deals from partners like TechBargains.com, LogicBUY, CouponAlbum, and others.

To kick off the new site, Yahoo will be giving away to $20,000 as part of its Purple Piggy Bank Giveaway. The contest will be open through September 7, 2009.

Read More

Posted 06/08/09 at 10:00:00 AM by Paul Lilly

According to a new report, shoppers continue to hop online at an increasing rate and are poised to spend $33.4 billion in 2009. If that number holds up, it will represent a 13.3 percent hike in online shopping compared to 2008. In 2010, the report says online shoppers will spend even more, reaching as high as $49.8 billion.

VerdictResearch, the company who put together the UK e-Retail 2009 report, notes cheaper prices and easier bargain hunting as reasons for the rise, in addition to a greater availability of free shipping offers.

"Those with less money to spend are turning to the Internet to search out bargains on the branded items like electricals," said Malcom Pinkerton, author of the report.

While the sales numbers are up, the report notes that the number of shoppers has not risen at the same rate as in previous years and was "considerably less" in 2008 than in 2007.

Read More

Posted 12/30/08 at 05:17:38 PM by Andy Salisbury

Given that the economy is down in the dumps, it would be expected that online retailers are treating all of their customers with all the respect that they possibly can… right? Wrong. According to an annual report from Forsee Results more than one-third of the 40 online venues surveyed in a report on retail satisfaction finished with lower scores than they did at this very same time last year.

While many of the retailers’ scores remained the same, a meager one-quarter of them saw an improvement. At the top of the list is Washington’s own Amazon.com, with an 84 percent satisfaction rate, a two percent improvement over last year. All the way at the bottom is Neiman Marcus with a dismal 69 percent. Other notables are Newegg.com’s 78 percent, BestBuy.com’s 73 percent and Dell.com’s 73 percent.

While these percentiles might not give off the impression of poor performance, bear in mind the millions upon millions of people doing business with these companies online during the holiday season. Having a good 30 percent of the people that do business with you walk away unhappy is a very large number indeed.

Read More

Posted 07/30/08 at 05:40:38 PM by Paul Lilly

For many geeks, Newegg has become the de facto standard for shopping online for computer parts, and those of us living in the U.S. have had to endure the moans and groans from our brethren north of the border lamenting having to order PC peripherals elsewhere.  Those cries will soon end as Newegg readies its Canadian website.

Having established itself as the "second-largest online-only retailer in the U.S.," Newegg will look to duplicate its success up north taking on the likes of NCIX.com and TigerDirect.ca, but the company isn't saying whether it plans to open warehouses in Canada or will simply ship across the border. Nor is it known exactly when Newegg.ca will officially open for business, only that it will take place sometime in 2008, and presumably sooner rather than later. In the meantime, when not chewing on delicious bacon or awaiting free health care, Canadians are encouraged to sign up for Newegg Canada's newsletter to "be the first to know about pre-launch sweepstakes, giveaways, and events."

Aboot time, eh?

Read More

Posted 04/23/08 at 05:37:49 PM by Paul "One4yu2c" Lilly

Newegg to open online outlet similar to Amazon, write your own Dilbert captions, a MacBook Air plated with 24kt gold, and more!

Read More

Posted 10/18/07 at 10:36:52 AM by Erin Simon

After a blogger files for reexamination, Amazon's One-Click patent is invalidated by the PTO.

Read More