commerce

Fab, the quickly growing e-commerce startup that uses flash sales to sell products, is already making money off mobile, but it says it's about to make much more.

Expected to reach 8 million users in just a few days, Fab has released new mobile apps that CEO Jason Goldberg said will help make Fab even more mobile.

Fab's mobile apps contribute to 33 percent of the company's daily traffic and sales, but Goldberg said he expects that number to hit 50 percent during the holiday season and even higher by early next year.

"The secret of … Read more

Facebook is stepping further into e-commerce with a feature that looks a whole lot like Pinterest.

The company today is rolling out "Collections," a feature that lets brands and e-commerce sites push out images of products among Facebook users who can then click-through to make a purchase -- although the buying part isn't yet taking place on Facebook. The feature is a new type of Facebook Page post.

This test will begin with all U.S. Facebook members, although the company has for now teamed up with just seven retail partners. They include Pottery Barn, Wayfair, Victoria'… Read more

While Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wouldn't affirm whether or not Facebook could take on Google in the search arena, it's clear the social-networking giant thinks there's an untapped revenue stream in a social search product.

"I think people are surprised how much search is done on Facebook, you know, every day there's an enormous percentage of search. There's also a promise in the market that search could become more social that we don't think this has been met," she told CNBC this morning. "When you're looking for information, … Read more

eBay is reporting some pretty big numbers for mobile.

The San Jose, Calif., e-commerce giant says its mobile apps have been downloaded 100 million times since being launched in late 2008, while users have listed 100 million items on its auction site using mobile devices. The apps have been downloaded 25 million times in the last six months alone, the company said.

"We are taking a mobile first approach to the business, drawing on four years of leading mobile commerce, and continually making our experience more personalized and relevant to the customer," Steve Yankovich, vice president of eBay … Read more

The skies over Mountain View will bear a message of protest today aimed at Google: quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

SumOfUs.org, a nonprofit that has been campaigning for corporations to end their financial support of the Chamber, said it would fly a plane over the Googleplex Monday at noon with a trailing banner that reads "Google: Quit the Chamber."

The group opposes the Chamber for reasons including its opposition to climate change legislation and its support for anonymous corporate spending on elections. It has mounted similar campaigns designed to get Microsoft, IBM and Pepsi to … Read more

Spending on deals found online -- including the daily deals, instant deals and "flash sales" offered by Groupon and the like -- will reach $3.6 billion by the end of 2012, according to new research.

The figure means the online deal market will grow 86.9 percent compared to 2011, market research and advisory company BIA/Kelsey found.

Deal spending is expected to grow by a further 23 percent in 2013, with between 1 percent and 9 percent growth in the following few years. As a result, deal-hungry U.S. consumers could boost the market to $5.… Read more

Next time you shop online, you may be able to get the perfect fit -- without even having to try any clothes on.

A German startup called UPcload has developed a program that uses a Webcam to get accurate measurements of the body.

All you have to do is stand in front of your Webcam in four poses while the program scans you from head to toe, using a regular compact disc for calibration. The site claims its measurements are as accurate as those taken by a professional tailor. … Read more

In what started out as a small newsletter to 600 friends has grown into a company worthy of $13 million in Series A funding.

Thrillist Media Group, a man-about-town newsletter and e-commerce company, announced today that it has raised this wad of cash with funding led by Oak Investment Partners that has been joined by Lerer Ventures and Pilot Group. What's more, Fred Harman from Oak will be joining Thrillist's board of directors.

Thrillist was co-founded by Ben Lerer who comes from a family that knows about media. He's the son of Ken Lerer, who co-founded the … Read more

Apple is in talks to acquire social commerce site The Fancy to further entrench its position in the growing e-commerce arena, sources tell Business Insider.

Backed by co-founders of Facebook and Twitter, the site is a Pinterest rival that allows users to make lists of things they find interesting. The goal of the acquisition, BI reports, is to better leverage the 400 million or so credit cards Apple has on file at its iTunes store.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, who usually shies away from larger social-networking sites, reportedly started using The Fancy after meeting with the company's co-founder and … Read more