Electronic Retailing News

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ACQUISITIONS: GSI Commerce Inc., King of Prussia, Pa., has agreed to acquire U.K.-based online retailer Zendor.com for $7.9 million in cash. GSI said the deal will open it up to Zendor customers, including five major British retailers in baby, home and apparel products. Zendor will be known as Zendor GSI Commerce.

WEB 2.0:CircuitCity.com launched a social-networking site for shoppers and sales associates called CityCenter Community. Powered by Austin, Texas-based Pluck Corp., shoppers can share photos, ideas and product preferences. They can also ask Circuit City staff members questions. The retailer uses the site to monitor customer demand, uncover common product-support issues, and engage customers through photo contests and special promotions. … Brookstone has partnered with Boston-based Kinset Inc. to create a 3D online store that brings shoppers into a virtual store that looks like an actual Brookstone location. The technology allows shoppers to browse the aisles and view products, while enabling Brookstone to test store design, layout and merchandising. The company said that because the technology mirrors store designs in the real world, Brookstone can determine how small changes in its stores affect consumers’ buying decisions and determine how they can react to the results. … Nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users watched a video online in September, averaging three hours of video per person during the month, according to a report released by Reston, Va.-based comScore Video Metrix last month. Americans viewed more than 9 billion videos online, averaging two 2.7-minute-long videos per day.