Consumer Reports for geeks: New ‘Decide Score’ uncovers the best and worst products

Decide

Decide.com already tells consumers when they should buy cameras, phones, refrigerators and other gadgets and appliances, analyzing price drops and increases. Now, the Seattle startup and brainchild of University of Washington computer scientist Oren Etzioni and others is getting into the recommendation business, assigning a score of 1 to 100 on more than 22,000 products… Read More…

Why Amazon.com gave up the sales tax fight: A new face for the ‘online’ retailer?

Amazon Fresh truck

An interesting thing started happening last year. Amazon.com, which for months had battled states over the collection of sales tax, began changing its tune on the issue. It started agreeing to collect sales taxes on purchases in some states where it didn’t operate physical locations, while simultaneously inking deals to bring massive warehouses (and jobs)… Read More…

Tablets surpass smartphones in e-commerce traffic

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It was bound to happen. With larger, easier-to-view screens and their sheer portability, tablets have now overtaken smartphones as devices for shopping, according to Monetate, a provider of cloud-based technology for online marketers. As reported by Gigaom, tablets drove more traffic to retail sites than smartphones during the first quarter of 2012, 6.52 percent vs. smartphones 5.35… Read More…

Meet the college dropout (and speed freak) running tech for Seattle’s hottest startup

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Don’t let the laid-back Pacific Northwest demeanor fool you. Luke Friang is a self-described “speed freak.” Whether bombing down icy slopes on his snowboard or maneuvering through hairpin turns in a mini-racecar, Friang simply loves to move fast. And that’s why the 42-year-old college drop-out and self-taught technologist has found such a good home at… Read More…

Study: Walmart stores are 20% cheaper than Amazon

Walmart is trying to roll onto Amazon's turf

We’ve been closely watching the online retail battle unfold between Amazon.com and Walmart. But there’s one place where Walmart is still winning the price war: brick-and-mortar retail. A study out from Kantar Retail found that Walmart Supercenters were far cheaper than both Amazon.com and Walmart.com when comparing 36 items in the categories of edible grocery;… Read More…

Amazon granted patent on ‘electronic gifting,’ with a twist

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Did Amazon.com just patent Christmas? Not quite, but the company has just received a patent on what has become a common method of giving presents — a system for selecting digital gifts such as movies, music or e-books, sending an electronic notification to a recipient, and allowing them to download the gift. There is one… Read More…

Groupon hires ex-Amazon GM to lead Seattle office

Hegde

Groupon is the latest tech giant to plant a flag in Seattle, opening an office in Seattle’s International District with room for 20 to 30 employees. The arrival of Groupon follows engineering offices from companies such as Hulu, Splunk, eBay, Facebook, Zynga and others, a trend we’ve talked about in great detail over the past… Read More…

Decide.com unveils daily deal site, promises cash if prices later fall on gadgets

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Prior to his appearance on the GeekWire podcast a few weeks ago, Decide.com CEO Mike Fridgen hinted that the Seattle online shopping service was cooking up something new and exciting. At the time, Fridgen didn’t disclose what they were doing. But we’re now starting to get an inside look. The company, which launched a consumer electronics research site… Read More…

Amazon’s Quidsi unit opens Casa.com, contemplates brick-and-mortar stores

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There’s been a lot of chatter in recent days about Amazon.com exploring the idea of opening a boutique-style retail store in Seattle. But, as it turns out, one Amazon.com unit is already operating in the real world and it is now considering more brick-and-mortar stores to make a deeper connection with customers. Quidsi, the operator… Read More…