Articles by Clare Saliba

Despite the slowdown in the global economy, online retailers worldwide are expected to rack up US$25.3 billion in sales this holiday season -- marking a 39 percent spike over last year's figures -- according to a new study released Monday by GartnerG2, aresearch unit of Gartner (NYSE: IT and ITB) The research firm also predicts that the fallout fro...

Although many companies in the technology and e-commerce spaces have undertaken mass employee layoffs in order to cut costs and prop up sagging earnings, industry analysts say that a nagging question remains Are these organizations paying too high a price for their pursuit of financial relief?...

While investor speculation and skyrocketing stock prices dominated during the first half of 2000, falling stock prices and nervous investors long since have become the order of the day, causing many firms to slash their workforce in an effort to steady their financial ships and improve investor confidence Although layoffs at online firms hit a 15-m...

UK businesses racked up roughly US$82.7 billion in online sales last year, according to data released Monday by the British government's Office of National Statistics (ONS), accounting for 2 percent of total sales in the sectors the agency examined Although the ratio of transactions conducted over the Internet compared to overall sales might seem l...

With a crop of new film, publishing and music releases ready for harvest this fall, marketing executives in the entertainment industry should consider the Internet as a key tool to boost sales, forge online word-of-mouth campaigns and control post-launch buzz among consumers, according to a report released Wednesday by Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR)...

Firing back at critics who contend that its advertising software uses illegal delivery tactics, Gator.com said Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against one of its most vociferous detractors, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), asking a U.S. court to declare that the trade group's charges are "unfounded." At the heart of the conflict is a new ve...

Does an online shopping companion service have the right to substitute ads of its own choosing for the ads that other Web sites expect users to see? Welcome to the latest Internet advertising riddle Tuesday, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) said that it intends to "immediately pursue options" with U.S. agencies over allegations that Interne...

Interactive television (iTV) applications that allow consumers to shop, bank and play games are set to become mainstream consumer services in Western Europe, according to a report released Thursday by IDC "The development of interactive TV differs from other technologies in targeting a wide demographic base of households and displaying incremental ...

In a bid to gain leverage in Europe's increasingly crowded online travel market, London-based Internet travel agency Ebookers.com (Nasdaq: EBKR) and Web auctioneer QXL Ricardo (Nasdaq: QXLC) announced Thursday that they have struck a joint marketing agreement to cross-promote their travel services throughout the continent As part of the deal -- whi...

Paving the way for Internet-based logistic networks, online exchanges and private hubs to gain a foothold in the market, traditional shipping and transfer exchanges are beginning to lose their grip on theEuropean business-to-business (B2B) market, according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester Research "European executives are right to be bull...

In Part 2 of this interview with the E-Commerce Times, Michael Sands, vice president of marketing for Orbitz, continues discussing the benefits associated with marketing efforts on the Internet ECT: What advantages have you gained through running a banner ad campaign?...

Propelled by a multimillion dollar pre-launch online advertising campaign, travel Web site Orbitz opened for business in early June and was soon swamped by a deluge of customers, topping the company's own expectations and forcing it to more than double its customer service staff in the following weeks Chicago, Illinois-based Orbitz, which is backed...

Many retail executives are missing the mark when it comes to gauging thereturn on investment (ROI) of their Web efforts, often failing to take intoaccount the considerable influence Internet sites have on offline purchases,according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester Research Forrester's findings dovetail with a similar report released earli...

America Online (NYSE: AOL) said Monday it has launched a revamped automobile channel that now includes local targeted resources, as well as content from online auto sites such as Autofusion, Consumer Reports and Edmunds.com As part of the content distribution deal, Consumer Reports -- the well-known63-year old magazine that is published by the nonp...

As it steps up efforts to tap new revenue streams, Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) announced Thursday that it has created an executive management position to oversee its corporate business offerings The Sunnyvale, California-based company said it appointed James A. Fanella to serve as senior vice president for business and enterprise services....

Aiming to penetrate the lucrative online travel market, Cendant (NYSE: CD) announced Monday that it is set to acquire Cheap Tickets (Nasdaq: CTIX) in a deal valued at US$425 million, or $16.50 per share "Cheap Tickets is unique among its principal competitors in that it is successful in both online and offline markets," said Cendant chairman, presi...

To maximize relationships with preferred suppliers, many European firms will develop private online hubs that will result in savings of 9.5 percent on sales costs in the coming years, according to a study released Thursday by Forrester Research A shift to Internet-based hubs on the continent will also give rise to a number of other benefits, the re...

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)announced Thursday that it has settled charges with three operators ofBigsmart.com, an online business opportunity forinvestors in an Internet shopping mall network that government investigators charged was an illegal pyramid scheme According to the FTC complaint, Bigsmart marketed Internet theme malls thatfea...

Although many automotive industry players are running Internet marketing campaigns meant to bring car buyers to their Web sites, approximately 48 percent of online users remain less than satisfied with the information supplied by such campaigns, according to a study released Tuesday by e-business consulting firm Accenture However, the study also fo...

Although 38 percent of European businesses use the Internet to buy goods and services, another 36 percent expect to incorporate online purchasing in their operations beginning next year, according to data released Thursday by IDC Many European companies are already laying the groundwork for automated acquisition and management of goods and services...