January 6, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

January 6, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Daily deals giant Groupon is suing Australian competitor/imposter Scoopon. The competing daily deals site, is operated by Australian’s Gabby and Hezi Liebovitch, who also own homegrown Australian deal provider catchoftheday.au. Groupon’s problem with the two brothers isn’t that their competing business is just a carbon copy of Groupon, it’s that they preemptively bought “www.groupon.au” and registered the company “Groupon Pty” in Australia. This blocks Groupon’s options of opening up business in Australia as Groupon (although they are working on an Australian daily deals site as “Stardeals”).

The brothers’ tactic is an old one, commonly referred to as “domain squatting.” A third party seizes a specific domain name in the hopes that a company associated with that domain name (in this case, Groupon) will buy it from them. Usually the target company (again, Groupon) which has spent considerable time developing their brand identity and goodwill (and in Groupon’s case, a ton of money) will spend a little cash to get the domain name that they really want, attempting to keep the brand united and keep search results high.

True to this formula, Groupon reportedly offered the brothers almost $300,000 for the domain and associated business registration, which they initially accepted. However, building up a competing company under the name “Scoopon,” and attempting to saddle Groupon with those costs as well may have appealed more to them. They reportedly reneged on the deal, demanding that Groupon also buy their own Groupon clone!

This might have struck Groupon as something akin to adding insult to injury, so they fought back in two ways. First off by bringing the Liebovitch brothers to court, both in Australia and Illinois (where Groupon is based). The other prong of Groupon’s attack was in the court of public opinion, by presenting the following (somewhat snarky) petition in their blog:

“If you’d like to see Groupon grow in Australia, show your support by joining the “Groupon in Australia” Facebook Group, and post a note for Hezi Leibovich, politely asking them to accept the $286,000 (which we are still willing to pay) so we can get on with business. Not a bad paycheck for simply registering a domain name and company name and applying to register another company’s trademark!”

Look, Groupon is everywhere. They’re big enough to say “no” to Google. They just sold some guy into marriage. Let’s all not mess with Groupon, okay?

January 4, 2011
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Let’s chalk up another one for mcommerce! Switzerland based LeShop, an online food platform and home delivery service for Migros, has reported $161.3 million in turnover for 2010 and accredits their mobile app as a major contributing factor. LeShop sells an entire range of over 12,000 products online from food to home products and has been making strong inroads since its growth took off in 2004.

2010 was a good year for LeShop as they have reported 38,100 households ordered from its online service for the first time. Sales for LeShop have also increased 15 percent from 2009 and the store’s iPhone app accounted for 5 percent for December sales. Particularly popular among shoppers accessing LeShop’s mobile app is fresh produce, with 25 of the 30 most frequently purchased items coming from the refrigerated section.

“In our first ten years of business we reduced the complexity of supermarket shopping to the stage where it fits on a computer screen. Simplifying it to fit on a mobile phone display was another very important step. People can now save time by doing their weekly shopping at any time and wherever they are – on their way to work, for example” said Christian Wanner, Co-founder and CEO of LeShop.

The mobile app has proved to play a significant role in LeShop’s growth strategy. The app was designed to make LeShop products accessible anytime and anyplace. With an offline mode, the LeShop app does not require a permanent Internet connection, making it easier for users to shop while on the train, tram or bus. Users can get instant updates of products once connected again to the Internet. Now, one in 20 LeShop orders are placed through mobile phones.

With their record turnover, LeShop has now become the world’s second largest online supermarket and is a key contributor to Migros’ core business. LeShop continues to grow with an estimated 50,000 households (which corresponds to the population of a large Swiss city) making online orders from them per month. The UK has a pretty big competitor coming out of  Switzerland, as LeShop has already completed a major expansion of their delivery services, the company plans to take full advantage of the demand for their products in 2011.

December 28, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Walmart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer along with a group partners, have invested more than $500 million in 360buy Jingdong Mall, an emerging online Chinese retailer. While Walmart has not disclosed its part in the investment, Li Jing, a spokeswoman for 360buy says Walmart will act as a “strategic investor.” Analysts say ecommerce is growing at an explosive rate in China and Walmart looks to expand its presence along with it through 360buy.

According to their website, 360buy commands 15 million users and has distribution facilities in almost 60 cities. The company is expected to sell about $1.5 billion worth of online goods this year alone, up from $200 million in 2008. China already has the largest number of Internet users estimated around 420 million and according to iResearch, a firm that tracks web developments, online commerce in China could reach a possible $75 billion in 2010. Ultimately, these numbers attract a company like Walmart who want to quickly capitalize on the country’s vast numbers; however, they are not alone in this venture.

More and more U.S. investors and companies have also jumped on the Chinese startups’ investment bandwagon as the potential revenue China’s ecommerce looks to bring in is something that cannot be ignored. Chinese companies are even opting to go public in the United States in order to gain access to the broader base of capital and the distinction that comes with a Wall Street listing. Only a few weeks ago one of China’s biggest online video sites, Youku raised more than $200 million in a U.S. initial public offering. Now many other startups have followed suit, through the middle of December, some 35 Chinese companies have gone public, accounting for 23 percent of the initial public offerings in the United States, according to Thomson Reuters.

Although, even with the right financial backing, these startups have the greater challenge of competing in a space dominated by successful, already established ecommerce sites. Taobao, who is part of the larger Alibaba Group, is a heavy ecommerce giant in China with up to 75 percent market share. DangDang who’s business model is similar to Amazon, is the first Chinese ecommerce site to go public in the U.S but only has 3.7 total market share. Now with 360buy’s new financial backing, the site looks to beef up the competition as they currently maintain 14.1 percent of China’s B2C market according to data from Analysys Interntational. This deal is a smart move by Walmart, as they will have 300 stores in China, their partnership with 360buy will offer another step in their aggressive expansion into this burgeoning country.

December 25, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Christmas Day is traditionally a day that marks the end of excessive seasonal spending, where the doors of retail stores are closed, and families are sitting around the tree opening gifts. However with this year’s boom in online shopping, the 2010 holiday is expected to be less than traditional. According to an analysis from the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), they predict UK online sales will surge to their highest level on Christmas Day. IMRG estimates 4.8 million Britons will take to the Internet and spend approximately £150 million (US$232 million) with an additional £300 million expected on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. Britons are looking to beat the increase in VAT (Value Added Tax) on sales, jumping from 17.5 percent to 20 percent, when it comes into effect in January. The estimate is backed by Visa Europe, which expects 960,000 transactions worth £36 million will be made on Visa cards on Christmas Day. IMRG managing director David Smith explains:

“Christmas Day has become a busy online shopping day in recent years, as people with an eye for value look to take advantage of the 24/7 nature of online retail” and with the recent disruption by severe weather and snow conditions, IMRG is confident shoppers will look to the convenience of ecommerce sites.

The major growth in online sales can be attributed to a number of key factors. The first can be associated to the heavy snowfall and weather conditions keeping consumers locked indoors. Winter sale bargains have already begun on Christmas Eve and will continue with promotions on various ecommerce sites leading up to the New Year. While the rise in the VAT is looming over consumers, the struggling economy is clearly affecting consumer behavior. People will be scouring the Internet to find bargains and grab discounted big ticket items before the year is over. IMRG forecasts that sales of furniture, electronics, and major home products will get a major boost in spending levels. It is also expected that with the popularity of tablets and eReaders like the Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle as presents this year, people will immediately jump online to buy apps, games, or films to compliment their new gadgets. U.K. Internet spending may becoming part of a new Christmas tradition, at least for this holiday, families may be spending their time huddled around a computer rather than a tree.

December 24, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Every year it seems like people are buying their Halloween costumes in August, tossing the turkey in the oven in October, and setting up their Christmas lights before the cranberries have a chance to even ferment. Now Boxing Day, a day of shopping reserved for the day after Christmas, will join the ranks of premature celebration for many retailers this season.

The Boxing Day extravaganza will come early this year in an attempt to pull in some extra revenue after one of the worst holiday shopping years in decades. Major retailers will begin their Boxing Day sales online as early as Christmas Eve.

Because retailers are opening up sales so early, Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG) predicts that around $236 million will be spent on December 25, with nearly 4.8 million people looking to make their purchases online. In addition, IMRG also predicts that when Boxing Day does come around online sales will reach in excess of $460 million.

Compared to this time last year, online sales have actually increased by 22.5 percent, according to the organization. Managing director of IMRG, David Smith explains that the increase in online shopping has a lot to do with people looking for value and attempting to take advantage of the “24/7 nature of online retail.”

Boxing Day may not sound very familiar to most people reading this, that’s because it’s not an official holiday celebrated by the U.S. (more commonly celebrated by Austrailia, Canada, the UK, and many other European countries). It is however, very close to the American ‘Black Friday’ celebration in terms of bargain shopping: Many retailers will post sales of their merchandise for upwards of 75 percent off in attempts to turn a profit and make room for next year’s new products; crowds of shoppers rise at 3 in the morning to take advantage of the ridiculous savings; lots of pushing, shoving, biting and derogatory insults ensue; the holiday ends and everything is right with the world once again.

Since more and more retailers and shoppers will be using the world wide web though, Boxing Day can be more comparable to our Cyber Monday. Much greener, much easier, and much safer.

December 24, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

E-commerce book store Flipkart recently announced its acquisition of social book discovery site weRead from Lulu Enterprises, Inc.

weRead is considered the largest book based social network. It provides readers a platform in which they can view book recommendations and reviews of over 3 million readers and 60 million book titles. The site enables its members to list, rate, and write reviews about the books they have read or are currently reading and share the reviews on their social networks (Facebook, Orkut, Yahoo, MySpace and Hi5).

Flipkart started off its career as an online bookstore but has since moved into new product categories such as movies, music, games, and even plans to sell software like Norton Anti-virus, Adobe, Windows and others. The site has over 7 million book titles ranging across all facets of the human life cylce (kids to adults). Flipkart currently operates from offices in Bangalore, Mumbair, Delhi, and Kolkata.

It’s no mystery why Flipkart decided to buy up weRead. Flipkart’s purchase will allow them to provide a new recommendation option for book worms to make more informed purchase decisions based on recommendations from people within their social network.

“Acquiring weRead will take out relationship with our customers to a wider plane where we will be their partner in the entire book reading experience – right from purchase to referrals,” said Sachin Bansal, CEO of Flipkart. Bansal goes on to explain how people will be able to make worry free purchases and discover a plethora of new reading material that caters to their particular interest, all in one area.

This is an obvious and very smart acquisition for Flipkart. They have now entered the realm of the social network, a network that is growing exponentially everyday. Just by making this purchase Flipkart has tapped into a market of millions of new customers, practically over night. Bravo, Bravo.

December 16, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Remember the first time you fell in love with another country, the new sites, languages, smells, and the culture brought on so many adventures and lasting memories. Maybe you bought a trinket from the airport, or took a picture in front of a historic landmark to remember your experience but every time you look at that memento, it transports you back to that place.

Paris-based ecommerce startup, SMALLable was founded in 2008 as a children’s design and fashion online store that allows shoppers to take original pieces from around the world back home with them invoking a nostalgic sensation of another time and another place. SMALLable offers more than 2000 products and 90 brands of clothing, furniture, and toys that are unique for children 0 to 10 years old and are not outrageously expensive. Blending vintage designs and new trends, it’s like exploring a little Parisian dreamland of clothing and furniture that goes beyond the average children’s merchandise.

Tapping into the 0 to 12 years old ecommerce oriented market, newly emerging in France, SMALLable has recently announced a €2 milion ($2.6 million) investment from French VC firm, Alven Capital. The investment comes at a great time as SMALLable recently forecasted a revenue of €4 million ($5.3 million) in 2011 and expects an in-house growth from 8 employees to 15. In addition, the SMALLable team expects to further expand their international reach. Currently, about 50% of the company’s turnover comes from abroad — mainly English speaking countries (the UK, US, Australia…) but also Italy, Spain and some Asian countries as well.

The investment will also assist in continuing the development of the SMALLable product line. Shoppers will not find loud colors or crazy cartoon characters splattered across the front of t-shirts but rather a fresh take on classic and timeless pieces that are not found in just any store as some of their products are only available through the SMALLable site. Offering an array of original products from both French and foreign designers, SMALLable is the type of store where kids will find that designer rag doll or eco-friendly accessory they’ll treasure for years. Falling in love with SMALLable pieces is easy, especially around this time of year when the clock counts down the last days till Christmas and parents are scrambling to gift something unique for their children. Sure there are plenty of other sites and stores offering children’s products but finding that one of a kind piece creates a lasting memory. Spark that sensation of travel and adventure, finding a gift that brings the flair of culture and fashion from another country may be the ultimate present for children this year.

December 10, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Amit Sharma, 34, a man saturated with wealth- a fleet of fancy cars, large elegant homes, a winning smile, father of two, his life looks like a page out of Forbes’ finest. Simply picturesque, this could possibly be the lavish life of a celebrity, maybe an investment banker, or pro sports player, but don’t be fooled by the shiny, pretty objects, Sharma will be spending the next 21 months of his life behind bars.

Yes, this was his life. However, his riches didn’t come from hard work but rather by building a criminal empire on scamming unsuspecting buyers off eBay. Sharma made over £1 million ($1,573,300 US) in less than four years selling counterfeit designer clothes. He would ship in huge quantities of fake goods with designer labels (Diesel, Abercrombie & Fitch) from China, and pass them off as the real deal. Some of the garments which would cost about £235 if genuine, sold for as little as £40.

His scam started to unravel when a courier dropping off one of Sharma’s shipments to his five-bedroom home in Sale, Greater Manchester, became suspicious of the package’s contents. The courier had alerted trading standards (who had already received a series of complaints about the trader) led officers to raid Sharma’s home with police in 2007. Upon entering the property, police saw Sharma was not modest about his wealth. Flaunting  a row of expensive cars behind his electric gates, his collection included a £120,000 Lamborghini Murcielago, a Cadillac Escalade, a Mercedes S55, and a Volvo. Sharma also owned a Mercedes S320, a BMW X5, a BMW 540i and a Land Rover, as well as a Ford Transit van. Officers seized the suspicious package which was supposed to contain metal poles but found it full of fake Diesel jeans. They also took in his computers from the property and began an investigation into the eBay racket.

On top of having a large collection of cars and great wealth, Sharma also had a big set on him. He claimed he could prove the clothing had come from reputable manufacturers in the US but was never able to prove his claim. During two interviews spanning almost two hours, Sharma refused to answer direct questions but instead read out a prepared statement declaring he was a legitimate businessman, with an education from a university in Arizona. The Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester did not buy it, he was sentenced to to prison for 21 months after pleading guilty to five offenses under the Trademarks Act 1994. On top of the jail sentence, the judge imposed a £3,118 confiscation order on Sharma. If he fails to pay, he faces an extra 50 days in prison. Witnesses saw the father of two, sob as he was taken away to prison.

It’s hard to muster any sympathy for a man who made his money by ripping people off and taking their cash under false pretenses. While we may be celebrating a bit of justice done, there are plenty of other fraudsters out there. The Serious and Organised Crime Agency says British criminals make around £1.3billion a year from selling counterfeit goods. The counterfeiting industry is a serious problem and continues to grow, it costs $300 billion in the US annually and $500 billion worldwide.

After the Sharma case, John Reilly, of Trafford Council, said: “The loss of his liberty shows the seriousness of his crime and our determination to act against those who trade in illegal goods.”

December 8, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Earlier this morning, MasterCard’s website was paralyzed due to an attack by a WikiLeaks support group named Anonymous, and for some users, MasterCard is still down. Dubbed “Operation: Payback,” Anonymous hacked into MasterCard’s website and performed a series of DDOS (distributed denial of service) attacks, causing the site to remain error out. A DDOS attack involves “flooding the target with requests so that it cannot cope with legitimate communication,” which is illegal.

After the DDOS attack took place, Anonymous followed up with a Twitter post claiming victory: @Anon_Operation, who later tweeted: “WE ARE GLAD TO TELL YOU THAT http://www.mastercard.com/ is DOWN AND IT’S CONFIRMED! #ddos #wikileaks Operation:Payback(is a bitch!) #PAYBACK”

Anonymous is attacking MasterCard in response to their Monday announcement refusing to take donations for the controversial whistle-blowing site, WikiLeaks. MasterCard has a strict set of rules regarding the use of their merchant processing system, which includes prohibiting “customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal”

Following this attack, Anonymous has announced that they will also hack into other big name sites that have since refused service to WikiLeaks. These sites include Amazon, Visa, and PayPal, to name a few. Amazon took WikiLeaks off of their cloud based EC2 servers on December 1st, EveryDNS.net stopped working with WikiLeaks on December 3rd, PayPal has refused service, and Visa put the final nail in the coffin yesterday when they also refused service to WikiLeaks.

Over the next few days, there is likely to be a big stir in the ecommerce world due to the actions of Operation: Payback. Continued DDOS attacks on merchant processors like MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal could seriously harm merchants who rely on the holidays to bring turn a profit for the year. Hopefully these attacks will be stopped, but if MasterCard can get hit this hard, many are worrying what else could happen.

Fiji Water has announced that it will be closing its doors due to what the company is calling “discriminatory” tax increases.

Fiji’s government decided to raise the tax from one-third of one percent per liter to 15 percent per liter on companies that extract more than 3.5 million liters of water per month. To put this in perspective, Fiji Water currently pays $500,000 in extraction taxes; the tax increase would kicks that number up to $22.6 million.

In a statement on the company blog, Fiji Water President John Cochran said the company already pays “millions of dollars in duties and income tax to the government.”

Fiji Water complains that the government is trying to take advantage of the company and says the country is no longer safe for foreign investment. “We consider the government’s current action as a taking of our business, and one that sends a clear and unmistakable message to businesses operating in Fiji or looking to invest there,”  Cochran said.

In addition to closing the factory, Fiji Water will also be suspending or canceling all construction contacts, engineering and support services contracts, packaging purchases and any other purchases they made from local suppliers.

Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Voreque (Frank) Bainimarama lashed back, saying the country was safe for “credible” foreign investors.  Regarding the 4,000 Fijians who lost their jobs, Bainimarama accuses Fiji Water of not caring about the Fijian people.

Last week, Fiji Water’s director of external affairs, David Roth was deported after being accused of interfering in Fiji’s domestic affairs and governance.

There is talk of the company moving its factory to New Zealand. In the meantime consumers will be able to obtain the “artesian” water through Fiji Water’s online store.

November 16, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

Everybody is Kung-Fu fighting now with the launch of urban clothing line Drunknmunky’s first webstore. Based out of the UK, Drunknmunky gets its name from an ancient Kung-Fu fighting style practiced by Shaolin monks. Mastering the Drunknmunky technique shows control and strength of the mind and body. By marrying this ideology with the underground music scene, the Drunknmunky lifestyle and culture have emerged into a line of urban streetwear products for men and women 16-25 years old. From hoodies, hats, tees, and sneakers, ranging from anywhere between £20-£60 Drunknmunky wear can make anyone walk just a little taller. Think East meets West but on the urban streets of London, the brand simply oozes a fresh sense of cool.

Originally limited to only retail distribution, Drunknmunky has now evolved into an online brand.

“We recognize that our customer base is choosing to shop more online. This launch sees us increasing our online business, digital presence and international reach, a key objective for us this year” says Dave Shanks, managing director at Drunknmunky.

The ecommerce site, designed and powered by creative digitial marketing agency Strange, has properly captured the Drunknmunky culture in the store’s digital interface. Strange takes the style and ideologies of the brand and fully mimics integrates it into the store’s navigation and design. Other features include a news feed, competitions, and a social sharing function to continue brand growth. Drunknmunky can accredit much of the webstore’s early success to Strange’s prelaunch campaign. The campaign heavily involved building a solid customer database and brand awareness. By the time the site went live, they already had a strong online presence. Now with a live ecommerce store, Strange’s focus will include a paid search campaign to drive site visitors as well as a social media strategy to maximize sales just in time for this year’s holiday shopping.

November 8, 2010
By the ZippyCart Shopping Cart Reviews Content Team

DeNA. The name might not sound familiar and even a bit odd, but this is a name to look out for. DeNA which is the combination of ecommerce and DNA is Japan’s leading mobile social game developer and platformer, they have become a mobile tech giant with their profitable Mobage-Town, a social gaming community. Users live in a virtual world with personalized avatars, games, and virtual interactions allowing real money to be used to purchase virtual goods. With 20.5 million registered users and growing in Japan alone, DeNA accredits their user engagement by combining social networking and gaming with a large viral presence.

The company has announced their third quarter revenues at $336 million up 216 percent from last years, and is on the way to bringing in $1.25 billion in revenue for their fiscal year. Think of how Facebook spans across the globe, with their estimated 500 million users domestically and internationally, for Japan, DeNA is like Facebook, if Facebook won the lottery and wore their big boy pants. DeNA claims their ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) bring in 30 times more than Facebook users. With such a financial momentum, DeNA’s next step is to become a global force entering into a market dominated by Facebook. DeNA looks to first bring their mobile technology and virtual community into the U.S.

Further expansion into the Western market continued in October 2010 with the acquisition of San Francisco based iPhone game developer Ngmoco for $403 million, who’s games have been downloaded more than 60 million times. This is one of four other U.S. investments DeNA has been involved with in the last 12 months. Their aggressive plans show no backing down as DeNA plans to target Apple and Google Android users. Using mobile devices as a platform to expand their virtual presence and social gaming. If Japan finds the same success they do at home but on a global scale, social gaming networks may just soon be turning Japanese.