Articles by Keith Regan

After rejecting three takeover attempts in recent months, Fashionmall.com (Nasdaq: FASH) said Wednesday it had closed on three acquisitions of its own. New York City-based Fashionmall said it purchased the assets of Beautyjungle.com, MXGonline.com and Itsybits.com. All three sites are in the beauty and fashion sector.

First, a little interactive quiz. And don't worry, there are no wrong answers. Just fill in this blank: What the e-commerce world needs now is ________. There are myriad possible answers. Respect. A new way of getting products from warehouse to doorstep. More customers. Another killer application. A stock market that doesn't make you cry....

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) stepped into the online music download arena Wednesday, launching a music community that will allow users to transfer songs for free and make voluntary micropayments to artists or charities via a "Virtual Tip Jar." The move gives Amazon an opportunity to test-drive its micropayment technology. Amazon reportedly might expa...

America Online (NYSE: AOL) said Tuesday that it has inked a partnership deal with Loudcloud, the company co-founded by Netscape co-creator Marc Andreessen, aimed at providing e-commerce services to merchants. Under the agreement, Loudcloud will host and manage AOL's range of merchant services, including its QuickCheckout online wallet program.

On the business scorecard, it wasn't much of a victory for Barnesandnoble.com -- and it may only be a fleeting one at that. But in reality, the decision to lift the preliminary injunction against Barnesandnoble.com using Amazon's 1-Click technology is a victory for common sense. And if Barnesandnoble.com ultimately prevails in the case, the decisi...

Computer e-tailer Outpost.com (Nasdaq: COOL) said Friday that its recent decision to start charging for shipping is already helping its bottom line Outpost said that in the three weeks since it abandoned its free overnight shipping policy, it has seen an increase in the average order size. That, in turn, has helped eliminate "small unprofitable ord...

Vivendi Universal and Sony Music, two of the most dominant players in the music industry, said Thursday they will soon compete directly with Napster by launching a digital music site of their own. Known as Duet, the site will be based in San Francisco, California and offer both subscription and pay-for-listen options.

Dot-coms don't need unions. In fact, there are few sectors in the modern economy that do any more. As if to prove a point, e-commerce companies saddled with the potential burden of carrying union employees on their backs are getting shoved into the shakeout blender even faster than their non-union counterparts....

BlueLight.com unveiled a new online shopping reward program Wednesday that will provide free Internet access to its online shoppers. Starting March 1st, BlueLight will offer shoppers the opportunity to get free monthly Internet service as a reward for buying products through its shopping site. The service is aimed both at new users and the 6 milli...

Amazon.com chief executive officer Jeff Bezos sold about 1 percent of his personal stock holdings just before the release of a blistering analyst report that Amazon had advance access to, according to a newspaper report Bezos informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in early February of his intention to sell about 800,000 shares o...

There is a popular perception that eBay is sitting pretty in the auction world, all but untouchable by its many rivals. However, fissures are beginning to form. eBay's empire may not be as solid as it seems.

Homestore.com (Nasdaq: HOMS) said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has signed off on its planned purchase of Move.com, setting the stage for the Net's largest real estate firm to become even more dominant. Westlake Village, California-based Homestore said that while investigators are still considering some minor parts of the deal...

Fewer customers? That's actually a good thing. Court injunctions? We see that as a confirmation of our business model. Slower growth? Really a blessing in disguise. Welcome to the world of e-commerce public relations spin. A special branch in the time-honored art of counter-intelligence, one that requires a high level of skill and a poker face.

Online shoppers in the United States spent US$28 billion in the year 2000, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report, prepared by research firm Jupiter Media Metrix, estimated that online purchases jumped about 62 percent over the $17.3 billion spent in 1999 and have nearly quadrupled since 1998, when shoppers s...

Paving a new way to trade stocks via the Internet, OnStar, a division of General Motors, said Tuesday that it will offer drivers voice-enabled online trading with Fidelity Investments starting this summer. Under the agreement, the owners of about 800,000 cars equipped with the OnStar navigation system will be able to receive stock quotes, check ac...

E-commerce kiosks: Before too long, every retailer will have one in the corner of the store. But willany of the customers know what to do with them? Every day, the question becomes more and more pertinent. Kmart and Barnes & Noble have already started down the kiosk path. And recently, after a short test run, office supplies merchant Staples flick...

Millions of car shoppers do not buy cars online because automakers are misfiring with their marketing efforts, according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester Research. Car sites overwhelm potential shoppers with information, rather than carefully guiding them through the shopping process to the buying stage, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based...

For some people, testifying before the U.S. Congress might be a moment of historical glory. But usually, especially lately, it seems to mean you did something wrong When you're being put on the defensive, testifying has to be a little scary. Which is why it was heartwarming for most of us to see the new chief of the Internet Corporation for Assigne...

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) launched a new software download store Monday, aimed at providing customers with near-instant access to products it already sells by mail The download option also enables the Seattle, Washington-based e-tailer to sell software without having to handle or ship the product to the customer....

Online shoppers in the U.S. have already returned about US$1 billion worth of merchandise purchased during the 2000 holiday season, according to a report released Friday by the Yankee Group The Boston, Massachusetts-based research firm said that many online retailers are experiencing higher return rates than in prior years, with some e-tailers seei...