As mobile payments spread, Avalara uses geolocation data to pinpoint tax boundaries

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At a holiday gift sale I attended last weekend, a few of the vendors were using the new mobile payment technology from Square. That followed our own use of Square — which allows small businesses to accept payments via mobile devices — at the GeekWire Gala last Thursday. For me, the two scenarios highlighted the… Read More…

Cyber Monday’s $1.25 billion haul marks biggest online shopping day in history

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The numbers are in, and Cyber Monday lived up to its name. U.S. retail e-commerce spending hit $1.25 billion this past Monday as shoppers flocked to online retailers like Amazon.com and the Web sites of traditional retailers like Best Buy. The $1.25 billion haul marks a 22 percent increase over the totals last year, and… Read More…

Online retail sales surge 26% on Black Friday: Amazon ranks as most visited site

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Online retailers are supposed to get their big boost on Cyber Monday — the first Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. But Amazon.com performed pretty well on Black Friday, a day historically associated with bricks-and-mortar retailing. According to a new study from comScore, Amazon.com was the most visited retail site on Black Friday. In total,… Read More…

Chart: The most visited retail sites on Thanksgiving Day

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Americans not only chowed down on turkey and dressing on Thanksgiving Day. They also visited their favorite online retailers. According to a new study by Hitwise, total visits to the top 500 retail Web sites increased by nine percent on Thanksgiving Day to 176 million visits. Walmart received 24.8 million visits, making it the most… Read More…

Barnes & Noble slashes Nook price to $79 to compete with Kindle on Black Friday

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The Kindle and Nook are locked in a heated battle, and the rivalry is about to get a little hotter this Friday. Barnes & Noble just announced that it is reducing the price of its Nook electronic reading device to $79 — matching the lowest-cost version of the Kindle. But here’s the catch: The deal… Read More…

Holiday e-commerce sales are already off to a very fast start

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Americans appear to be a giving mood this holiday season — at least when it comes to buying items on online retail sites. comScore announced today that it expects e-commerce spending to grow by 15 percent this year, part of a “significant channel shift” from bricks-and-mortar retail to online retail. In fact, comScore’s report indicates… Read More…

Startup Spotlight: Bob Crimmins gambles on MoonTango, a new shopping site for women

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Bob Crimmins loves poker and golf, and has already started a daily deal site specifically for men. Now, the Seattle startup veteran is getting in touch with his feminine side. This week, Crimmins is rolling out a new online shopping site for women called MoonTango that sells everything from skin care products to lip balm… Read More…

Zoomingo zooms ahead with $1.3M from Benaroya Capital

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A few weeks ago, we told you the story about Zoomingo, the new mobile application from serial entrepreneur Shirish Nadkarni. The idea? Transform the way shoppers discover discounts on clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items at local retail establishments. Today, the Seattle upstart is announcing that it has secured $1.3 million in financing from Benaroya Capital,… Read More…

Amazon.com starts holidays with Black Friday deals, toy list

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It’s barely November, but Amazon.com has just rolled out two of its holiday traditions — the digital equivalent of decorating the store with lights before Thanksgiving even gets here. The company this morning debuted its 2011 Holiday Toy List, its curated collection of the most popular toys, games, electronics, movies and other items. Be forewarned… Read More…

Amazon patents gift cards that can tattle on what you buy

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Happy Birthday! Here’s the Creepiest Gift Card Ever! U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records show that Amazon today received a patent on something called “customizing gift instrument experiences for recipients.” Yeah, it sounds OK from the title. But digging into the text, the approach includes the option for the giver to not only recommend items via… Read More…

Amazon unit expands into groceries, selling tea to jam

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In Seattle, Amazon.com customers have long been able to purchase groceries and have them delivered to the doorstep. Now, the company’s Quidsi unit — best known for its Soap.com and Diapers.com brands — is making its own grocery push. However, unlike Amazon Fresh, Quidsi’s new service will not include its own delivery trucks and its… Read More…

As Amazon threat mounts, Barnes & Noble expands beyond books online

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Barnes & Noble typically conjures images of books, calendars, CDs and other published items. But the retailer is looking to broaden that base, adding more than one million new products to its online marketplace at BN.com. That includes cooking utensils, digital cameras and, yes, even baby strollers. The company has partnered with more than 20… Read More…

Exclusive: Hands-on with Amazon Locker, now working

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We’ve had fun tracking the appearance of Amazon Lockers around the Seattle region over the past few weeks, and this week I stumbled across an intriguing option in my Amazon.com address book — allowing me to “search for a locker location” to add as a shipping destination. So I did it. And it worked! The company… Read More…

Amazon goes sci-fi with latest book publishing arm, 47North

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Amazon.com this morning moved further into the world of book publishing, beyond its traditional sales and distribution business, with the announcement of its seventh publishing imprint, 47North, focused on science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles. 47North is starting with a coup, announcing that it’s publishing the ”The Mongoliad: Book One,” the first in the collaborative five-book Foreworld… Read More…

Startup Spotlight: MyArtMatch is like Pandora for artwork

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Pandora transformed the way people listen to music, creating personalized stations based on the listening habits of users. Now, MyArtMatch founder and CEO Bruce Worrall wants to do the same for art. Worrall’s 10-month-old Bellevue startup is launching this week, creating a new way for people to discover and purchase artwork. We chatted with the 48-year-old… Read More…

Amid California sales tax kerfuffle, Shopobot relocates to Seattle

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As a new Amazon affiliate, Shopobot co-founder Dave Matthews found himself in the middle of a big tax fight in California recently. It was a battle they couldn’t win. So, he and his co-founder, Julius Schorzman, packed their bags and moved to Seattle. “It was these two giants fighting between the State of California trying to get sales… Read More…

Amazon.com reaches truce in California sales tax battle

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Amazon.com has made a tentative agreement with California lawmakers to resolve a battle over sales taxes on online purchases in the state, according to multiple reports this morning. Under the agreement, Amazon will drop its push to repeal an online sales tax in the state, and agree to begin collecting sales taxes from sales to… Read More…

Amazon’s new locker system at 7-Eleven is not its first foray into pick-up stations

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Few stories have driven as much interest on GeekWire as our recent look at Amazon.com’s new locker system at a Seattle area 7-Eleven store. The idea of Amazon customers being able to pop into the local 7-Eleven to pick up their pre-ordered packages, and possibly a Slurpee too, certainly has resonated. And the concept would… Read More…

Bartell Drugs to exchange free photos for Facebook friends

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Bartell Drugs is one of Seattle’s oldest businesses. And the company has been able to stick around for more than 110 years in part because it knows how to change with times. A promotion being held this weekend is part of that ongoing transformation. Bartell’s is partnering with Kodak for what it is dubbing “Free… Read More…

Next up for Amazon.com … India?

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One of the overlooked tidbits in Amazon.com’s recent quarterly earnings report is that North American sales continue to grow at a robust pace, equalling the growth rate in international markets. But that breakdown naturally will start to change, especially if a report in The Times of India proves true. According to the publication, Amazon is… Read More…