eCommerce

Amazon Cloud Drive users now have access to their personal videos and photos from connected devices on the Amazon Instant Video app.

The feature is now available on PlayStation 3 and 4 along with select LG and Samsung smart TVs across the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

Gainesville, Fla. -- Celebration Pointe has begun site work on a five-lane, $12 million bridge that will span Interstate 75. Celebration Pointe partner Ralph Contimade the announcement.  

Minneapolis -- Few companies (5%) believe they are “advanced” when it comes to omnichannel capabilities, and between 35% and 40% believe they are lagging, according to a report by SPS Commerce, a provider of enterprise retail cloud services. The company’s third annual “Retail Insight” report confirms the cross-functional challenges retailers, suppliers and logistics firms face as they build omnichannel capabilities into their operations.   

Charlotte, N.C. –- Bank of America has reportedly released a report saying that Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is the leader in global e-commerce, followed by Amazon.com.    According to Benzinga.com, Alibaba currently holds 31% of global e-commerce market share and should grow to capture 33% of global e-commerce market share in 2015.    

New York -- Total Halloween sales are expected to grow 3% to total $7.29 billion in 2014, due to improving economic conditions and employment levels. According to a new study from market research firm IBISWorld Inc., costume sales are expected to rise 6% to $2.76 billion, spurred by more theme parties and social media photo sharing.  

Issaquah, Wash. -- Costco Wholesale Corp. will enter China for the first time through the opening of an online flagship store on Alibaba Group’s Tmall Global platform. Tmall Global allows overseas brands and retailers to establish presence on the Alibaba third-party e-commerce platform Tmall.com without the need for physical operations in China.  

Costco has extended its product offering to shoppers in mainland China by establishing a storefront on the Tmall e-commerce platform operated by Alibaba Group.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to hire more than 63,000 seasonal associates—more than Walmart—at its stores, call centers and distribution centers nationwide for the 2014 holiday season. (Walmart previously announced it was hiring 60,000 seasonal associates.)