Etsy, Inc.

New York -- Etsy, an online marketplace site that specializes in crafts and artsy items, plans to hold an initial public offering this quarter, according to Bloomberg.

The Brooklyn-based company, which is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, looks to raise about $300 million, the report said.

Buying and selling on Etsy.com is going to get a lot more social thanks to a new partnership between the Internet retailer and a social commerce platform called Shoppost.

Shoppost, owned by Zantler, is now officially available to Etsy users and gives sellers the ability to sell their products in-stream on such top social networks as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.

By Leela Rao-Kataria

By Mike Moriarty, A.T. Kearney

Well, well, well. Amazon is opening a store.  Isn’t that nice!

Now, does that make the company an enormous on-line retailer with “a store”, or does it make Amazon a small to mid-sized retailer with an enormous online presence?

It almost doesn’t make any difference — and that in itself makes a difference. Welcome to planet Earth, Amazon!

New York -- International sales from U.S. online retailers will jump from $11 billion in 2014 to almost $50 billion by 2020, which would make up 16% of the overall U.S. online retail market, according to a new report by OC&C Strategy Consultants.

San Francisco – West Elm is scheduled to open the company's first U.K. store in London on Dec. 5. The 12,000-sq.-ft. store will feature furniture, textiles, accessories and gifts, as well as a West Elm Market shop-in-shop and coffee shop. The store will employ 30 full- and part-time sales associates.

The London store will include a Local Gallery Wall featuring art from U.K. artists sourced through Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade or vintage items. The wall is curated by Will Taylor of the blog Bright.Bazaar.

Austin, Texas -- Starting in November, Whole Foods Market stores nationwide will host DIY craft tutorials, with local artists from Etsy’s seller community. Shoppers can also find exclusive step-by-step DIY projects from Etsy’s creative community in Whole Foods Market’s 2013 Holiday Guide, available in stores and online.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Home furnishings retailer West Elm is heading to the Midwest and getting set to open its first-ever retail store in St. Louis, Mo., Thursday, July 25.