Congratulations, Samsung (005930) — Best Buy (BBY) is honoring you with a distinction that it’s previously only given to Apple (AAPL). Unnamed sources have told Geek.com that some Best Buy locations are planning to cordon off separate areas in their stores to exclusively sell Samsung products. Geek.com says that “this new section will be dressed in large Samsung signage and offer custom demo stations for many of Samsung’s products” and that Best Buy “will be issuing special training sessions for employees in the mobile department, focusing heavily on how to show off Samsung-specific features.” The installation of special in-house Samsung “stores” are timed to coincide with the launch of the Galaxy S4, which is widely expected to be one of the best-selling smartphones of 2013.
One of Google’s (GOOG) defining traits is its willingness to engage in big experiments aimed at disrupting established markets — think of how Google Fiber is meant to shake up the broadband market or how self-driving cars have the potential to alter the transportation industry. On Thursday, Google announced yet another of its grand disruptive experiments, this time a same-day delivery shopping service intended to change the retail industry. Google Shopping Express, which is getting an initial trial run in San Francisco, is described as “a local delivery service that we hope will make it possible for you to get the items you order online the same day, and at a low cost.” Google says it’s recruited several big retailers for Shopping Express so far, including Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle and Toys“R”Us, and has also attracted a number of smaller local businesses in the Bay Area.
A new customer satisfaction survey from analytics firm ForeSee has ranked Amazon (AMZN) as the top destination for shoppers who used their mobile devices to browse for gifts. According to the survey, the online retail giant scored 85 points out of a possible 100, ranking it ahead of every other company. Apple (AAPL) tied with shopping network QVC for second place with a score of 83, while NewEgg and Victoria’s Secret rounded out the top five with a score of 80 points. The firm found that consumer satisfaction with the mobile retail experience is improving as a whole, climbing two points in 2012 for an overall score of 78 points. More →
Shopping online is becoming more popular than ever according to market research firm comScore. The company’s latest report shows consumers spent $38.7 million online during the first 51 days of the “November-December holiday season” – a 16% increase over the same period last year. ComScore says December 17th a.k.a. “Free Shipping Day,” saw 76% in growth compared to last year with “a strong $1.01 billion in spending.” A 53% growth rate in spending was also recorded on December 21st over the same period from last year, which comScore calls “a notable accomplishment this late in the season.” More →
We’ve known for a while now that some mobile carriers have been instructing their sales staff to start pushing their customers away from Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone and toward Android or Windows Phone devices. The reason is simple: carriers pay a lot more to subsidize Apple’s popular smartphone than they do with other devices and they’d prefer to have higher gross margins at the end of each quarter. But now a Tom’s Hardware reader reports that a Sprint (S) representative has taken pushing non-iPhone products to a whole new level and is actually insulting people who insist on buying the device. More →
With online shopping on the rise every year, it’s no surprise retailers are resorting to sketchy tactics to decide how to dole out discounts. According to the The Wall Street Journal’s research, online retailers including Staples, Orbitz and Home Depot are all guilty of using “discriminatory” information such as location and income to decide how much of a discount an online shopper will receive. More →
Google’s (GOOG) $17 million BufferBox acquisition last month raised the possibility that it was eyeing a chance to compete with Amazon (AMZN) on the e-commerce front. But Sameer Samat, vice president of Google Shopping, told AllThingsD this week that his company doesn’t have plans of “being a retailer right now.” Samat says the BufferBox buyout was to “provide a level playing field for retailers” against Amazon, or as AllThingsD puts it, Google wants to become a “retailer’s best tech friend.” Samat says Google is working to bring new features such as 360-degree product views to Google Shopping to help consumers get a better sense of what an item looks like. It’s important to note that Samat says that becoming a retailer is not the right move “right now,” which leaves Google open to becoming one further down the road.
The holiday shopping rush has already peaked this year, and so now retailers are tasked with attracting the interest of last-minute shoppers. Best Buy (BBY) has a number of deals available right now, but one in particular stands out: The retailer is chopping $50 off the price of all on-contact Apple (AAPL) iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S models. With this limited-time sale, buyers can get the iPhone 5 (16GB) for as little as $149.99 with a new two-year service agreement, and the iPhone 4S (16GB) starts at just $49.99. Best Buy has not indicated when the sale on Apple smartphones will end.
Online retail e-commerce spending topped $1 billion for the first time on Black Friday 2012, and now estimates suggest Cyber Monday sales set new records as well this year. Adobe on Tuesday revealed that according to estimates derived from its Adobe Digital Index, online shopping on November 26th — Cyber Monday — grew 17% from last year to hit $1.98 billion, approaching $2 billion for the first time. More →
The iPad isn’t just the most popular tablet in the world right now, it’s also the most popular way to do your early holiday shopping on a mobile device as well. AllThingsD reports that new data released from IBM (IBM) shows that Apple’s (AAPL) iPad accounted for “nearly 10 percent of online shopping” traffic over the weekend, generating “more traffic than any other tablet or smartphone” among online shoppers. The iPhone came in second place with 8.7% of all online shopping traffic, followed by Android-based devices, which accounted for just 5.5% of all online shopping traffic.
For the first time in history, online retail e-commerce spending on November 23rd — Black Friday — topped $1 billion this year, according to market research firm comScore. The company says online retail purchases totaled $13.7 billion in the United States during the first 23 days of the holiday shopping season, capped off by a $1.042 billion Black Friday binge. That figure is up 26% from the $816 million spent online on Black Friday last year, and Thanksgiving Day spending jumped 32% to $633 million from $479 million in 2011. ComScore also said that it estimates Cyber Monday online e-commerce spending to top $1.5 billion, up 20% from 2011. More →
Apple’s (AAPL) popular iPhone 5 is now available starting at just $99 from AT&T (T) as refurbished units reach the carrier’s website for the first time. Though Apple hasn’t even offered factory repaired iPhone 5 handsets for sale yet, AT&T now has refurbished models of all sizes in both black and white. Each reconditioned version of the latest iPhone is available for $100 off standard retail pricing, dropping the price of the 16GB model to just $99 while the 32GB model is $199 and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs $299. As 9to5Mac notes, it is unclear if this is a limited time promotion from AT&T or if the carrier will offer refurbished iPhone 5 units regularly moving forward. BGR reviewed the iPhone 5 in September and called it Apple’s best iPhone yet. We then revisited the sleek smartphone last month and said that in some ways, the iPhone 5 has no competition.
