e-commerce

Social-media and e-commerce site Fancy may not have Pinterest's 25.3 million users or even Fab's 8 million users, but what Fancy lacks in user numbers, the company says, it's making up in mobile traffic and, most importantly, sales.

Fancy, which recently raised another $26.4 million from investors, released some new numbers and announced its new gift card offerings today, touting its mobile success while taking the opportunity to ding its competitors.

Fancy has more than 2 million registered users now, and while that's much less than wildly popular social-media site Pinterest or growing e-commerce … Read more

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

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

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group is nearing the close of an investment round designed to reduce Yahoo's equity in its operation, according to a new report.

The company is closing in on its $8 billion investment goal, according to The New York Times, citing sources. The news outlet says the funds are being raised from a host of sources, including hedge funds, mutual funds, and private equity firms. The company will sell preferred and common shares in the transactions, and will borrow about $4 billion, the Times says.

Alibaba and Yahoo entered into an agreement in May that prompted … Read more