Digital Marketing

Following months of speculation, Amazon.com is officially launching Handmade at Amazon. The new online store features handmade items crafted and sold directly by artisans, and is a direct challenge to Etsy Inc.

Handmade at Amazon offers more than 80,000 handcrafted items from around the world. Customers can shop by country, locally, or by individual artisan profile. Shoppers can also browse by product category, including jewelry, home décor, artwork, stationery and party supplies, kitchen and dining, and furniture.

For the 2015 holiday shopping season, the dollar figure forecast on consumer spend is less relevant for retailers, according to PwC's 2015 Holiday Outlook. Rather, a deeper understanding of the complex retail landscape and the focus on building long-term shopper relationships is how retailers will define success this year.

PwC outlines 10 big trends that are expected to drive the 2015 holiday shopping season:

It’s not quite a “dislike” button, but Facebook is expanding how users can respond to posts.

According to TechCrunch, Facebook is testing “Reactions,” a set of six emoji that expand upon the “Like” button, in Ireland and Spain.

Not only is a picture worth 1,000 words, but it may be worth $1,000.

A new survey from Adobe shows that consumers have a very positive response to “shoppable media” – online images and videos that serve as direct transactional tools.

Walmart Canada is looking to make online shopping as convenient as possible by partnering with 7-Eleven Canada Inc. to expand Walmart Canada’s Grab & Go locker network in six 7-Eleven stores in the greater Toronto area.

The service offers customers using Walmart.ca a free shipping option where they can pick up their order, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at no cost. This partnership expands on Walmart Canada’s current Grab & Go Locker service, which offers free shipping to 45 Grab & Go lockers in the GTA.

Lowe's is coming to the aid of the communities it serves with a donation to help provide relief in the wake of massive flooding in the Southeast.

The retailer plans to donate $500,000 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief and work to provide both immediate and long-term support to local communities in the Southeast.

Troubled retailer Lumber Liquidators is reaching out to customers in a new and unusual way.

The company, which has experienced significant financial difficulty since 60 Minutes ran a report in March alleging dangerously high levels of formaldehyde in Chinese hardwood products it sells, is launching an online “Before and After” gallery.

By now, you’ve probably heard that Facebook will be testing a “dislike” button. Unconfirmed reports say the button will be designed to let users express empathy for posts about negative events, such as the death of a loved one.

Assuming Facebook does introduce a dislike button, retailers will need to decide whether to enable it on their Facebook pages. Here are two pros and one con a dislike button would pose to retailers.

Pro #1: Instant Sentiment