Friday link farm: the e-commerce crop

One of the reasons I love e-commerce is because there are all sorts of interesting things going on in people's browser windows.

"From Bree to Me" (WaPo, Jan 2, 07) -- Want to dress like the people on TV? Other than the ones who appeared on Flavor of Love?

"Prepare for Social Commerce" (DM News, Jan 2, 07), "Retailers Take a Tip from MySpace" (BW, Feb 13, 07) and "Retailers Embrace Email 2.0" (MediaPost, Apri 12, 07) all look at how user-generated reviews and discussion of products can help (or hurt) a retailer's sales.

"Neuroeconomics: the Triumph of Unreason" (Economist, Jan 11, 07) and "Trying to Get into the Minds of Consumers" (LAT, Jan 15, 07) look at nascent efforts to use "neuroeconomics" to trigger people's reward centers when they shop.

"Multichannel E-Commerce Inefficiency Can No Longer Be Ignored" (eWeek, Jan 4, 07), "Survey: Consumers Want Flexible Return Policies" (E-Commerce Times, Jan 8, 07), "41% of Shoppers Less Likely to Shop Stores After Bad Online Experience" (Internet Retailer, Jan 30, 07), "Known Brands Dominate Top Beauty and Apparel Sites" (Internet Retailer, Feb 2, 07), "More than 2/3 of Consumers Shop Online Before Buying Offline" (Internet Retailer, Apr 10, 07), "Site to Store Is New Gimmick for Wal-Mart" (SLC Tribune, Apr 14, 07) and "Web Shoppers Find In-Store Pickup Isn't Always Instant Gratification" (WSJ, Apr 24, 07)all contribute to one of the biggest stories in online retail today: multichannel commerce, where the lines between online and bricks-and-mortar shopping are constantly shifting depending on customer demands.

"Can Comparison Shopping Tools Be Trusted?" (E-Commerce Times, Feb 19, 07) points out that comparison-shopping engines aren't exactly forthcoming with the information about either the quality of their data or the business relationships they may have with vendors.

"The Ol' Bait and Click" (WaPo, Mar 16, 07) and "Ensuring that Your Cartier is Really a Cartier" (WSJ, Apr 5, 07) examine the hazards of fraud in the world of online auctions.

"Few Convert at Retail E-Commerce Sites" (eMarketer, Apr 9, 07) reports on the results of a survey showing that only 2-3% of people visiting an e-commerce site actually go all the way and buy something there.