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Shopping online is a far different experience than it is offline. With few exceptions, when people shop online they are on their own. How did consumers come to accept such a double standard? Among other factors, a slump in the quality of brick-and-mortar customer service may underlie this apparen...

A couple of years ago, money was no object when it came to e-commerce. Companies spent lavishly on technology in their rush to establish a Web presence. The economic picture has changed significantly, and companies now are much more careful when it comes to such spending. "The realization has sun...

A Senate committee is scheduled to debate a new online privacy bill that would increase consumer privacy on the Web by forcing companies to obtain permission from individuals in order to collect and share information about them. "Companies are already much better at communicating their privacy pr...

It is not an easy time for startup companies. The economy may be starting to recover, but investors are still leery about pouring money into new businesses, especially in the tech sector. In fact, the best advice for would-be entrepreneurs may be to wait until the economic climate takes a more po...

Lawyers have kicked off the trial between Hewlett-Packard and dissident scion Walter Hewlett in Delaware Chancery Court, trading fire over whether HP misled shareholders in an attempt to convince them to approve its mega-merger with Compaq. Among the evidence was a personal journal entry by Compa...

In advance of its scheduled first-quarter earnings report, AOL has named Robert Sherman as its new president of interactive marketing, replacing Robert Friedman, who was brought in to lead AOL's marketing efforts in August 2001. Investors took the appointment as yet another sign of trouble. "Base...

In an effort to improve the quality of online information and strengthen consumers' faith in the Web, Consumers Union -- the advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports magazine -- has moved its system of objective ratings to the Web. But Web site ratings are not a new idea, and previous attem...

Companies have been cutting costs -- and workers -- left, right and sideways during the economic downturn. The downsizing is understandable, but some companies may have gone too far, cutting so close to the bone that they will find it difficult to ramp back up when times get better. "We're learnin...

Online shoppers' thoughts are turning to spring and summer vacation plans, and they are using the Web to turn those thoughts into reality. According to Internet measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings, traffic to travel Web sites grew 12 percent to 51.2 million visitors in March, up from 45.9 millio...

March was not a big month for e-commerce, according to Internet research firm Jupiter Media Metrix. For the most part, Web users put away their wallets and flocked to sites about religion and entertainment, though travel sites also gained ground. Easter and Passover observances during the month d...

This week, the U.S. Postal Service made it official: The cost of a first-class stamp will rise from 34 cents to 37 cents on June 30th. The rate hike will accelerate companies' moves toward electronic billing, according to GartnerG2 analyst Kenneth Kerr. However, Forrester Research analyst Ron She...

Much to the consternation of the technology sector, tech spending has yet to turn the corner. A new report from market analysis firm Aberdeen Group predicts worldwide tech spending will reach $1.43 trillion by 2005, up from $1.21 billion in 2001, but as Aberdeen senior vice president Hugh Bishop ...

Yahoo! reported a net loss of $53.6 million in its first quarter, slightly beating analysts' expectations, and earned higher-than-expected revenue of $192.7 million. However, the company raised its projections for the second quarter. That forecast may give a much-needed boost to the Internet sect...

IBM has released its first earnings warning in more than a decade, announcing that it expects first-quarter revenue and profit will fall short of analysts' estimates. The warning sent IBM's stock down 10.1 percent to $87.41 and dragged some other tech stocks down with it. But even as confidence i...

Microsoft .NET has been widely heralded as the next big thing in the Internet world, but how this new technology will affect e-commerce is decidedly less clear. While .NET may not have an immediate and direct impact on e-commerce, it could influence the industry from behind the scenes. "There wil...

Ticketmaster.com is planning to launch two new features that will let users resell unused tickets and bid for tickets online, rather than waiting in line at retail outlets. The reselling feature will be sent via e-mail with a bar code, which the buyer must print and take to the stadium. Only the ...

After just over a year at the helm, Microsoft president Rick Belluzzo has tendered his resignation, to the surprise of many in the industry. He reportedly decided to leave in the face of a reorganization that will give more control to leaders of Microsoft's core divisions. According to Microsoft CEO...

As the April 15th filing deadline approaches, consumers are flocking to tax sites. But according to Jupiter Media Metrix, most visitors are doing research rather than filing online. Forrester analyst Jaime Punishill said the online tax market grew 400 percent in 2000 and 140 percent in 2001, but ...

In spite of a post-September 11th drop in online travel bookings, Jupiter Media Metrix expects online air, car, hotel and cruise sales will reach $64 billion in the next five years, up from $24 billion in 2001. In fact, the lagging economy is driving travel buyers to the Web in ever-increasing nu...

The Web is haunted by the ghosts of failed dot-coms, but at least the ones that have survived now have a good understanding of what not to do. One "deadly sin" of bygone days was e-tailers' single-minded focus on low prices. "The problem with being a low-cost provider is that you're constantly in...