Pros and Cons of Making Free Shipping Standard

| Tim Parry

Shipping is the second largest cost center for most direct merchants, with labor being number-one, says Bill Kuipers, president of operations consultancy Spaide, Kuipers & Co. But if a merchant has a handle on its shipping contracts, it can make such free shipping offers work, he says.

Ebay Buys GSI Commerce for $2.4 Billion

| Tim Parry

Internet auction site eBay announce today that it will acquire ecommerce platform provider and online marketer GSI commerce for $2.4 billion. As part of the transaction, eBay said it will divest GSI

Walgreens-Drugstore.com Deal Under Investigation

| Tim Parry

Is the $409 million price pharmacy chain Walgreens is willing to pay to acquire online counterpart Drugstore.com not enough? On March 24, the same day Walgreens and Drugstore.com announced the deal, at least two shareholder litigation firms said they …

Gilt Groupe Buys Decorati

| Tim Parry

To help it launch a broader home decor business, private sale ecommerce merchant Gilt Groupe has acquired social shopping site Decorati. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.