eBay's latest initiative, Sell it Forward, adds a touch of philanthropy to its recent push to make the service more brand-centric and expand PayPal’s usage.

Sell it Forward lets users sell their new or lightly-used clothes, shoes, handbags and other wares and share the proceeds with Goodwill. If an item is deemed saleable and sells within two weeks, eBay customers receive 50 percent of the proceeds and the other 50 percent helps fund Goodwill's operations and charitable efforts. (If an item is not sold in 14 days, it becomes a straight donation to Goodwill, and customers receive a tax-deductable donation form.)Continue reading...

In many respects, the future of retail is a moving target that continues to shift in response to consumer demand. Retailers are now using mobile payments to help them succeed in a market that is increasingly mobile even as they scramble to reinvent and preserve the in-store experience. 

When you bring these two trends together, they represent a not-so-subtle blending of distinctly different worlds: the physical store and the online store. It is here that battle lines are being drawn to determine who really owns the future of retail. That war is most evident when you examine some of the recent strategic moves by the top players.Continue reading...

The same-day delivery battle just turned towards all-out war as Amazon, eBay and now Google enter the fray. Google is preparing to take on Amazon Prime, eBay Now and Postmates’ “Get It Now” with its own “Google Shopping Express.” 

“In our competitive retail space, retailers that transform the shopping experience to hit on convenience, economics, exclusivity, and overall experience, will win over nearly every type of consumer—one exclusive product, deal, or delivery at a time.”

Google Shopping Express, which has yet to be launched, will be offered for a rumored $10 or $15 cheaper ($69 or $64 a year) than Amazon's Prime, with same-day delivery from brick-and-mortar stores including Target, Walmart, Walgreens and Safeway. Continue reading...

The U.S. federal government still defines the act of marriage as one taking place between a man and a woman even though a number of states have made gay marriage legal and President Obama made it clear in his Inauguration speech (and other speeches since) that gay marriage is something he firmly believes in. “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well,” Obama said after being sworn in on Jan. 21 by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Roberts will have a lot to do with possibly making a change to the way the federal government defines marriage when his Court hears two gay-marriage-related cases on March 26 and 27. Nearly 300 companies came out Wednesday to “urge the U.S. Supreme Court … to strike down a federal law that restricts the definition of marriage to heterosexual unions,” Reuters reports.

Considering the size and number of brands taking part, it will be hard for conservatives who have long opposed gay marriage to try and boycott everyone involved.Continue reading...

Costco isn’t the first brand name to pop-up when consumers are looking for high-end luxury, but a few folks thought they had found it there when they came across low-cost Tiffany diamond engagement rings. (And they didn’t even have to buy them in bulk.) 

Unfortunately for all those customers, the rings weren’t quite the real thing. Now, Tiffany is taking Costco to court for marketing some high-end jewelry in the past few years under its brand, without permission.

“We now know that there are hundreds if not thousands of Costco members who think they bought a Tiffany engagement ring at Costco, which they didn’t,” Jeffrey Mitchell, a lawyer for Tiffany, said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Costco knew what it was doing when it used the Tiffany trademark to sell rings that had nothing to do with Tiffany.” The company's press release says it was tipped off by a California customer in November of the alleged scam. 

This isn’t the first time Tiffany has had trouble with a low-cost seller. It battled with Overstock.com back in 2010, which had sold 1,365 pendants under the Tiffany name. It also had legal battles with eBay, claiming that the online seller was at fault for allowing some of its vendors to sell counterfeit Tiffany items, but the court never agreed with Tiffany on that one.

Tiffany seems to have a better case against Costco, which legally sells high-end jewelry brands such as Cartier, Breitling, and Chanel — not to mention other luxury brands such as Coach, Burberry and Mercedes-Benz — at select locations, such as Boca Raton, of course.

Adobe buys Behance for its design community.

Hostess Brands holds out for meaningful offers.

Quaker Oats readies Quaker Up campaign in US.

ABC leads America's late-night TV ratings with Nightline but loses Jake Tapper to CNN.

Absolut Vodka looks to Cirque du Soleil for inspiration.

American Airlines and US Airways sketch out how merger would affect pilots.

BAE strikes $4-billion deal with Oman.Continue reading...

NYSE Euronext is in merger talks with the IntercontinentalExchange. (Update: Sold!)

Foursquare starts using Facebook data for recommendations.

General Mills announces more than 100 new products for 2013.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos among retail leaders honored by NRF.

Apple feels heat in Brazil over iPhone brand and sees "pinch to zoom" patent rejected.

Barack Obama pledges to take action on gun control.

Best Buy digital chief resigns.

Darden takes new tack to spur U.S. restraurant brands.

Deutsche Bank image remake suffers.

Disney raises bar on customer experience with new Fantasy Land.

eBay stops advertising inside mobile apps.Continue reading...

As the holidays are fast upon us, the brightest creative-commerce minds are devising promotions, deals and give-aways to snare the 2012 shopper wherever and whenever he or she may be.

The U.S. National Retail Foundation estimates that Holiday 2012 shoppers will spend $750 per family (up less than 1% from last year), with shopping smarter particularly important for higher-priced tech items that one-third of the population is focused on as lead gifts.

New research from Accenture shows a shift in consumer purchasing behavior and use of shopping channels, specifically online, regarding personalization vs. privacy, digital vs. in-store shopping and the rise of “showrooming.”Continue reading...