| Taobao.com launches online shopping mall
Taobao.com, China's most popular auction site, will launch a new platform for eligible major domestic and overseas consumer product makers and retailers to sell directly to Chinese buyers.
The new system - to complement the existing public site - has been established to win customers from offline store chains such as Wal-Mart and B&Q.
The Taobao Shopping Mall, to be online in March, will charge retailers based on their transaction volume. The Website, which has beat eBay Inc in China for its free service, is trying to be profitable and pave the way for going public.
"We want to make it a source of quality products for buyers of good taste, like traditional department stores, with guaranteed quality, good compensation policies and more convenient payment methods," an official with Taobao said yesterday.
Online service allows shoppers to reserve merchandise at Sunrise Mall
On Friday, Charlotte Russe had an order to reserve a blue dress. Laura Pedraza, associate manager at the store, found the dress and set it aside for the customer. It was the first reservation for Charlotte Ruse merchandise through Sunrise Mall’s online shopping service, Pedraza said. Mall retailers expect that as word spreads about the new online shopping service it will become a popular option for shoppers. "It was easy," Pedraza said. "I just got the order, found the dress and saved it for the customer." Facility is part of the appeal, according to Veronica Baca-Martinez, marketing director for Sunrise Mall. Last month Sunrise Mall became the first mall in the Rio Grande Valley to offer shoppers the opportunity to search and reserve items online. NearbyNow Inc., a California-based company that develops Internet and mobile search technology for shopping centers and retailers to steer in-store traffic, powers the service.
Queen's Commuter Gift Guide coming Sunday
I took my self-appointed task as "holiday elf" very seriously. The Queen and her holiday helpers spent hours in the mall and shopping online, comparing prices and even testing out potential commuter gifts. The list is by no means complete, but it can definitely give you some ideas. And be sure to check out the Queen's online slideshow at http://www.contracostatimes.com on Sunday for even more gifts. The guide covers everything from the expensive "Santa" gifts, like a $300 GPS navigation system or Playstation Portable, to fun stocking stuffers such as glove box umbrellas ($5) or Sudoku on the Go travel books for $1.99. So, whether your commuter drives, rides, bikes or walks to work, we've got a little something for everyone. Got questions about your commute? Whether you drive, ride, bike or walk, write the Queen at The Commuter Page, c/o The Times, P.O.
Retailer and manufacturer Tommy Bahama launches new e-commerce site
Apparel manufacturer and retailer Tommy Bahama has launched a new web site incorporating advanced imaging and shopping features as well as web 2.0 technology. The new Tommybahama.com was the result of several months of research and development aimed at building an online shopping experience that bridges the gap between traditional brand-focused sites and those that rely heavily on e-commerce applications, according to its developers. For example, the new site offers a magnifying glass function shoppers can drag over any product image to show details as small as the thread color on a pocket seam. The site is built on extensive Flash development as well as detailed, customized templates to facilitate easy movement throughout, Web 2.0 elements that streamline and facilitate product views.
The Brian Lehrer Show
If I am a single guy, I will get more and better dates if I have the largest space than if I have the smallest space. I choose "Option B"...where I have less, but the most. The fact that most people agree with me despite "economics" shows that Free Market Economics really isn't a science and shouldn't be relied on to predict human behavior or to formulate policy. At all. .
Demand for krill spurs environmental concerns
On Jan. 23 a U.S. panel ruled that Neptune's oil, already sold as health oil in capsules, was also safe as an ingredient in food, paving the way for its wider commercialization in the United States. Neptune signed research deals in 2007 with Nestle and with the Yoplait unit of General Mills over the use of krill in food. "Krill is not overfished oceanwide. We can still create a sustainable fishery," said Jerry Leape, director of the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project at the Pew Environment Group in the United States. "But much of the fishery concentrates in areas where krill swarms are most convenient. And that is where many natural predators also depend on krill," he said, adding that trawlers should be forced to spread catches around the continent.
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