eCommerce

Although not many consumers are currently shopping for groceries online, those who do are likely to be repeat customers.

According to “The 2016 Online Grocery Shopper,” a survey of more than 500 U.S. online consumers from Toronto-based grocery technology provider Unata, 8% of consumers bought groceries via Internet in 2015.

However, 93% of those shoppers said they are “likely” or “very likely” to buy groceries online in 2016.

Increased expenses and shrinking margins hurt Nordstrom profitability in the fourth quarter, but the leading department store and off-price retailer delivered on the e-commerce front.

Nordstrom said sales for the fourth quarter increased 5.2% to $4.1 billion and same store sales increased 1%. The company’s full price stores and Nordstrom.com grew sales 0.7% and same stores sales increased 0.2%. However, the growth was largely driven by Nordstrom.com sales which increased 11% and offset a 3.2% decline at physical stores.

The surge in fraudulent e-commerce transactions which was predicted in the wake of U.S. EMV compliance may already be happening.
 
According to the new Online Fraud Index from payment platform provider Pymnts.com and security technology vendor Forster, fraud attacks on U.S. online retailers rose 163% during the first three quarters of 2015. Interestingly, this large increase in online fraud preceded the Oct. 1, 2015 EMV mandate, although many retailers had already begun or even completed EMV compliance efforts during that time.
 

The list of social media networks offering or planning to offer retail functionality reportedly just got longer. According to Re/Code, Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and a board member of the Snapchat social network, publicly stated that Snapchat intends to offer e-commerce. The announcement came during a presentation Coles made at the Re/Code Code/Media conference in Dana Point, California, on Feb. 17. [Re/Code]

The surge in fraudulent e-commerce transactions which was predicted in the wake of U.S. EMV compliance may already be happening.

According to the new Online Fraud Index from payment platform provider Pymnts.com and security technology vendor Forster, fraud attacks on U.S. online retailers rose 163% during the first three quarters of 2015. Interestingly, this large increase in online fraud preceded the Oct. 1, 2015 EMV mandate, although many retailers had already begun or even completed EMV compliance efforts during that time.

The nation’s top Internet retailer is also tops in corporate reputation.

A modest increase in fourth quarter same store sales at Walmart’s U.S. stores marked a sixth consecutive period of growth and helped the company exceed analysts’ profit targets, but a reduced 2016 sales outlook caught some investors by surprise.

Google is testing a new range of products for its Google Express online delivery service.

Google is now offering fresh grocery items, such as milk and bread, for delivery through Google Express in the San Francisco and Los Angeles markets. The company is partnering with local outlets of retailers including Costco, Whole Foods and Smart & Final in San Francisco and Costco, Whole Foods and Vincente Foods in Los Angeles to fulfill orders, which can include alcohol and frozen items.