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E-commerce mergers and acquisitions may not grab much attention, but experts say the B2B sector could see its share of consolidation in the coming months. Experts predict that a still-tough economy could spur some big players to give themselves an edge by acquiring the service capabilities of sma...

Experts have a message for undecided shoppers who think a single comparison Web site will give them all the information they need to choose from among a dizzying array of options: Keep looking. Because of comparison sites' various agendas -- not to mention wide variations in their ability to deli...

In the realm of e-commerce, credit cards rule. But the distant relationship between buyer and merchant, combined with the anonymity enjoyed by potential wrongdoers, makes the processing job tougher than it would be for a brick-and-mortar purchase. That is why invisible investigators and bouncers ...

Microsoft and Oracle find themselves butting heads in a number of high-tech arenas, but the software giants have both managed to carve out a sizable presence in the e-commerce sector. But as both look to broaden their clientele, analysts said the two could clash with more frequency, battling to capt...

With new threats constantly cropping up -- ranging from hacking threats to new viruses and identity thievery -- the number of security companies getting into the game also has been rising steadily. "There are so many things to look into, because there are so many areas for vulnerability," Giga In...

Size matters a lot in the world of brick-and-mortar commerce. But online commerce in many ways is a great equalizer, and experts say small players can stay in the game -- and score some niche victories -- by using the same tools and strategies available to entrenched combatants. "Make sure you ha...

Despite numerous legislative, consumer and technological efforts to weed it out, experts say spam e-mail continues to proliferate, sparking increasing user irritation in the process. "There is now 16 times as much spam on the Internet as there was just two years ago," Gartner vice president Joyce...

Small-business entrepreneurs looking to make a splash on the Web need not drown in massive site construction costs. According to experts, if site builders are willing to start out with a no-frills approach, they can keep costs below US$1,000. "Your best bet is to pick those sites and products tha...

In its infancy, e-commerce disappointed merchants and investors who staked millions on the notion that it would somehow change the world forever. But e-commerce has grown up, and experts say it is making solid contributions to society. "There was so much negative hype in 2001 about the Net that e...

Many lessons can be learned from the merchants that hawk the best-selling products in e-commerce. Among other things, experts said, top sellers offer goods that are easy to ship; they successfully separate the product from the buying process; and they allow comparison shopping across multiple cha...

As e-commerce companies continue to hone methods for reaching the masses, many are employing "page pushing," live chat and other interactive methods to give their sites a human touch. "The real value of live assistance is that it provides a way for the business to affect abandonment rates," Meta ...

As brick-and-mortar retail chains and long-established catalog players grab a growing share of e-commerce sales, smaller online stores are finding themselves hard-pressed to stake and hold their claim to shoppers' dollars. Experts said small stores can stay in the game if they master such nicetie...

To ensure long-term viability, search engine site operators need to offer a full, balanced complement of pay-to-use features, paid placements and paid advertising, analysts said. In addition, they must pull off this tricky balancing act while maintaining the trust of Web visitors. "All the indepe...

With online commerce maturing and its highlights and lowlights well documented, a clear picture has emerged of what works and what does not. "We've seen a ruthless winnowing out of the good ideas from the bad ideas," Giga Information Group e-business analyst Andrew Bartels told the E-Commerce Tim...

At one time, e-commerce retailers found it crucial to join one of the major online malls -- such as Yahoo! Shopping, Lycos or Excite -- if they wanted to have any chance of success. But times are changing as portal sites de-emphasize shopping and consumers find other ways to access their favorite...

Although hack-fighting weapons constantly are being devised and made available, many sites are still too small to invest the time and money needed to install and maintain the latest security measures. But their lack of diligence could cost them more in the long run, according to experts. "For eve...

Web users do not get loaded down with packages when they go from site to site, but they do lug some baggage in the form of passwords. Commerce and content sites increasingly ask visitors to log in with a password, taxing the memories of those who frequent multiple sites. "One of the biggest hindr...

While there is no single "gold standard" for online design, experts say there are a number of high-quality Web sites that manage to approach that ideal by excelling in the areas of functionality, style and ease of use. Few sites manage to succeed in all three areas, analysts told the E-Commerce T...

Industry analysts say retailers can generate increased revenues from their Web operations without cannibalizing the sales that would have been made in their offline stores and without having to make huge new investments. E-tailers that do a better job of integrating all of their sales channels --...

Analysts agree that if EBay were to disappear tomorrow, there would be plenty of competitors to grab up the online auction giant's customers. "EBay has become the model for all kinds of online commerce," Giga Information Group's Steve Telleen told the E-Commerce Times. Although no company has bee...