Omnichannel

New York City -- Amazon.com said Friday that it would drop its online affiliates in Arkansas in response to a new state law that would have required the online retailer to start charging sales tax, the Associated Press reported.

Lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year to require out-of-state online retailers such as Amazon to collect sales tax from customers if their annual sales in the state exceed $10,000.

New York City -- Chain Store Age will hold a Webinar on Tuesday, June 14, at 2 p.m., ET (11 am PT) on how Best Buy has streamlined its business with the help of a master data management solution from IBM. Register today and take a chance to win a free iPad.

Learn from Best Buy how the company has realized several advantages, including ensuring that data is accurate and consistent across all selling channels and improved the customer experience across the same, by deploying the IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management (MDM) solution.

Indianapolis -- Lids Sports Group announced the acquisition of Buckeye Corner stores, which operates four stores in the Columbus, Ohio, area. The acquisition also includes Buckeye’s e-commerce website and a catalog business.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Markham, Canada -- Donna Karan Co. is implementing a new merchandise, store and assortment planning software solution, QuickAssortment from Maple Lake, that will enable it to create assortments that align to the purchasing preferences of its customers in each location, as well as via its e-commerce stores.

QuickAnalytics is also being used to provide extensive reporting and
analytical capabilities.

New York City -- With global e-commerce estimated to reach nearly $1.4 trillion in 2015, more and more retailers are looking to gear up or expand their online operations. A new report by Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) sizes up the challenges and opportunities -- and outlines best practices -- for retailers who want to take advantage of e-commerce growth by going global.

A Wild West atmosphere remains evident in the world of e-commerce as brands, once reluctant to sell directly to customers online for fear of alienating retailers, are now experimenting with novel ideas that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable.

For example, Ad Age this week chronicles an example involving Procter & Gamble selling products direct to consumers on its Facebook fan pages for several leading brands such as Tide, Gillette, Olay, Gain, CoverGirl, Luvs and Febreze.

Pleasanton, Calif. -- Safeway and Coinstar announced Thursday an agreement to install approximately 1,400 Coinstar kiosks in Safeway's stores in the United States and Canada by the end of 2011.

Coinstar kiosks are to be installed in Safeway stores and its banners including Vons, Dominick's, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Genuardi's, Pavilions, Carrs and Pak N' Save. Installations are planned to begin this month, according to the companies.

By Mitchell Harper, [email protected]