Last month's ruling by the Supreme Court in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc. ended 10 years of tortuous litigation. While the Court definitively addressed the dispute between the two high tech giants, it put aside answering one critical infringement factor. Still, the ruling appeared to reduce the legal leverage available to software developers who seek copyright protection. [More...]

A survey of more than 200 CEOs maintains that poor digital marketing practices and meaningless metrics are "putting the board to sleep." According to the study, 62 percent of the CEOs believe that too much of marketing budgets is wasted on activities that don't deliver meaningful results, while nearly as many -- 60 percent -- think that the marketing potential of social media has been exaggerated. [More...]

TrovaPage helps creators and other entrepreneurs focus on marketing without detracting from their creativity. The internet marketplace provides a complete e-commerce platform that allows entrepreneurs to build, market, and bill for services. Users' businesses range from yoga instruction and guitar lessons, to small restaurants, personalized astrology, and nonprofits. [More...]

From coin shortages and curbside operations to contactless transactions, how consumers pay for their purchases has been completely transformed during the pandemic. Marketers expect that transformation to continue and expand. It is not just family staples that are seeing a jump in consumer digital payment options. The retail and gaming sectors are also leading the digital charge. [More...]

Many digital marketers spend too much on targeting an already loyal customer base rather than tapping into new streams. Dr. Jorge Barraza, professor of applied psychology at the University of Southern California, has a plan to help advertisers reach consumers that would not normally buy their products, by using the principle of contextual alignment. [More...]

An increasing number of consumer-packaged goods companies are shifting to the direct-to-consumer e-commerce model, thus bypassing retailers as middlemen. This raises questions of how manufacturers can meet customers' needs without jeopardizing relationships with their retail distribution partners. The E-Commerce Times spoke with several DTC experts to help shed some light on these issues. [More...]

This year's revised federal tax code plus new Covid-19 initiatives provide additional incentives for startup companies, as well as small and medium-sized businesses. If you received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, you may qualify to have that indebtedness forgiven; and other tax incentives this year provide new deductions to lower your tax bill. [More...]

With an increasing amount of workers turning to part-time, freelance, and contract work for a variety of reasons, a growing number of businesses are now based on the gig economy model. The E-Commerce Times spoke with several experts familiar with the ins and outs of the gig economy to find out what's evolving and changing in this burgeoning field. [More...]

Microsoft has announced it is purchasing Nuance Communications, a natural language to computer processing company, in a deal valued at $19.7 billion. "Nuance's popular healthcare-focused products and services will provide Microsoft an instant revenue stream and relationships with existing Nuance customers," noted Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. [More...]

Consumers and marketers alike see social media outlets as a middle ground between selling and buying. Now that shoppers have grown used to seeing product placements and promotions on social media, it is a natural next step for them to want to make a purchase without going to another platform or branded website. [More...]

Major information technology providers opposed to the broadening of class action litigation related to consumer protections have taken their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The companies are hoping the court will strike down a lower court ruling which makes it easier for consumers to file class action suits. The tech companies may not have to wait too long for a decision. [More...]

One of the most successful direct-to-consumer shopping outlets for China-based vendors outside of China's own Alibaba e-commerce platform is Amazon. This trend has been accelerating for years. China-based sellers represented 75 percent of new sellers on Amazon in January, according to a new report. Since March 2020, more than half of new Amazon sellers in the U.S. are from China. [More...]

Collaboration between employees, teams, and clients is more important than ever before, and new technologies and platforms are available to facilitate communication and group work. The E-Commerce Times checked in with experts in collaboration software and technologies to hear more about how people are now working together, both remotely and in person. [More...]

Consumer shopping patterns continue to settle into new options after holiday digital and e-gift card sales soared at the close of last year. Convenience was a large part of the changing consumer trend to favor gifts cards, along with the fact that more families are now living distributed lives. Both situations make the e-gift process more attractive to consumers. [More...]