GreenCupboards buys assets of Ecomom after founder’s suicide

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GreenCupboards, a Spokane startup led by 27-year-old entrepreneur Josh Neblett, has changed its name to Etailz and acquired the assets of Ecomom. Etailz, which sells more than 25,000 environmentally-friendly products, including beauty, home and office products, declined to disclose the size of the purchase. It plans to relaunch Ecomom later this year. The acquisition follows the… Read More…

eBay CEO touts threat of Amazon as Senate weighs online sales tax legislation

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The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill this week which could make it easier for states to collect sales tax from purchases made online, whether the online retailer has a physical retail presence in the state or not. The measure is expected to pave the way to a more cohesive sales tax collection… Read More…

Amazon targets aging baby boomers, unveils specialty store for those 50 and older

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Amazon.com’s latest speciality store doesn’t have a nice ring to it. In fact, it is a bit a mouthful. But it certainly represents a big market opportunity. The company today unveiled its new 50+ Active and Healthy Living Store — a one-stop destination for nutrition, wellness, exercise, medical, entertainment and other items specifically geared for those 50 and… Read More…

Amazon unveils Look.com, rivaling Zulily in kid’s apparel

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Amazon.com’s Quidsi unit today unveiled Look.com, a new site that’s designed to sell children’s apparel and footwear. It marks the latest move by Quidsi into the arena of family and home-oriented oriented products, including Wag.com (pet products); Casa.com (home products) and Diapers.com (baby products). Look.com is selling an array of 40,000 products, segmented by age… Read More…

Startup Spotlight: Decide’s Mike Fridgen taps power of data to change how we shop

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Mike Fridgen already helped change the way people buy airfares, getting Seattle startup Farecast off the ground in 2005. Now, the Internet executive (and loyal Husky) is trying to transform how we shop for power saws, smartphones, treadmills and everything else as the CEO of Decide.com. The Seattle company, which like Farecast was started with… Read More…

Wal-Mart may reward in-store shoppers for delivering packages to online customers

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Could the Wal-Mart shopper become the next-generation UPS guy or gal? The giant retailer, looking to compete more aggressively with Amazon.com in online retail, is considering a plan in which in-store shoppers could pick up online orders and then deliver them to the nearby homes of those customers who purchased online. The concept, first reported… Read More…

Men’s fashion site Indochino sews up $13 million to help guys sharpen their style

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Indochino, the Vancouver, B.C.-based men’s fashion site, has pulled in $13 million in fresh funding that it will use to build out its e-commerce site for suits, shirts, and other custom menswear. The deal was led by Highland Consumer Fund, with existing investors such as Madrona Venture Group, former Yahoo executive Jeff Mallett and others participating… Read More…

Nordstrom’s e-commerce bet pays off big

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Over $1 billion in direct sales. That’s what Nordstrom raked in according to their fiscal year 2012 report, a first in the company’s history. Overall sales grew by 12.1 percent year-over-year with e-commerce achieving an impressive 37 percent growth. Those numbers put Nordstrom 4.8 percent ahead of comparable retailers according to Internet Retailer. Why the success? Understanding that if… Read More…

Postmates arrives in Seattle to deliver tacos, burgers and anything else in under an hour

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Postmates CEO Bastian Lehmann hears the comparisons all of the time: Isn’t his new online delivery service just another version of dot-com darling Kozmo.com? Of course, getting compared to a defunct company — especially one that disintegrated as fabulously as Kozmo — isn’t the most flattering thing. But Lehmann, who is officially launching the Postmates… Read More…

Google’s new same-day shipping service to challenge Amazon Prime

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Amazon, watch out — Google is stepping into your space. TechCrunch is reporting today that Google is preparing to launch something called “Google Shopping Express,” a same-day shipping service designed to compete with Amazon Prime. Sources say that the service will be $10 or $15 cheaper than Amazon Prime, which currently sells for $79/year. Google’s… Read More…