E Commerce

China's online shopping market is expected to surge over the next several years and could reach 2 trillion renminbi, or $315 billion, by 2015, according to research by Boston Consulting Group. The study found that Chinese shoppers are the most likely of the world's online consumers to check for product recommendations on social networking sites, and that online retail giant Taobao is the dominant e-commerce player in China. Last year the site, which has more than 800 million online products, accounted for 79% of China's online transaction value, selling more than the country's top five physical retailers combined.

The gig: Lawyer-turned-serial-entrepreneur Brian Lee, 41, is pulling double duty as the chief executive of two celebrity-backed e-commerce websites: ShoeDazzle, co-founded with Kim Kardashian, and Honest Co., co-founded with Jessica Alba. The companies are headquartered in Santa Monica and offer customers monthly subscription plans in addition to typical a la carte shopping for shoes and baby products, respectively. ShoeDazzle has more than 15 million registered users and last year posted $100 million in revenue, up 80% from 2011; it has raised $66 million from investors including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Your July 19 editorial, "Challenges of E-Commerce," generally hit the nail on the head. That is, skyrocketing consumer buying over the Internet does pose a serious challenge to traditional ways of doing business. The crucial point you missed was the true impact that buying goods and services over the Internet is going to have on the worldwide economy. According to Forrester Research, E-commerce is predicted to grow from $8 billion in 1997 to over $325 billion annually by 2003. Bill Gates recently predicted this figure will reach $1 trillion in the next five years.

Social media start-up Pinterest has raised $100 million in a recent financing round led by a Japanese online retailer, increasing the estimated value of the virtual scrapbooking company to $1.5 billion. Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc. led the fundraising for the Palo Alto company, which is now ranked by Experian as the third-most-popular social network behind Twitter and Facebook. Pinterest users check out thousands of images collected by fellow users and "pinned up" on their online scrapbooks.

Apparel retailer Gap Inc. on Wednesday unveiled details of its entry into China, announcing plans to open four Gap brand stores this year and launch an e-commerce website. The San Francisco-based company, parent to the Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy brands, said the moves marked the start of a "long-term, multichannel" strategy in the rapidly growing Chinese market. The stores, two in Beijing and two in Shanghai, will feature a full range of Gap adult, GapKids and babyGap products.

Social media start-up Pinterest has raised $100 million in a recent financing round led by a Japanese online retailer, increasing the estimated value of the virtual scrapbooking company to $1.5 billion. Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten Inc. led the fundraising for the Palo Alto company, which is now ranked by Experian as the third-most-popular social network behind Twitter and Facebook. Pinterest users check out thousands of images collected by fellow users and "pinned up" on their online scrapbooks.

As consumers continue to swarm online to shop, department store giant Macy's Inc. is planning to add about 725 new positions over the next two years to support the growth of its e-commerce network. Like many retailers, Macy's has focused its efforts recently on bridging the gap between its in-store experience and its online and mobile platforms. The Cincinnati company, which operates Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com, said Tuesday that in the first 10 months of fiscal 2010 online sales surged 29% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Maybe it's time to update the Pledge of Allegiance for the new millennium: "I pledge allegiance to the rise of the Dow Jones industrial average, and to the markets in which it trades, one economy, under the Fed, synergistic, with e-commerce and dividends for some." KEN ROSS Glendale

Re the Jan. 24 letter "E-Commerce": The writer indicated that the only good taxes are no taxes. In most countries, no taxes or low taxes translates to no services. As Americans, we demand sidewalks and streets that are well paved, police protection, decent schools and all the other necessities and conveniences that cities provide. It is only fair that items bought through the Internet be taxed the same as regular retail sales. Cities and states should not be deprived because Internet purchases are exempt.

Visa Inc., the world's biggest payments network, agreed to buy CyberSource Corp. for about $2 billion in cash to expand online and defend its market share from electronic-commerce firms such as EBay Inc.'s PayPal. Visa will pay $26 a share for Mountain View, Calif.- based CyberSource, which helps merchants accept online payments and provides security solutions, the companies said Wednesday. That's about 34% more than CyberSource's closing price Tuesday. "We're paying attention to PayPal, as well as other companies getting into the e-commerce space, and we are obviously concerned that it would have an effect on our market share," Chief Executive Joseph W. Saunders said.

More than a decade after the dot-com bubble burst, technology stocks are once again the rage on Wall Street. Shares of companies specializing in social media, mobility, cloud computing, data analytics and location-based e-commerce have surged as much as 60% this year. And fund managers say the stocks have more room to run as demand builds for a new generation of smartphones and other products offering round-the-clock connectivity. Investors are especially excited about the fast revenue growth - and actual earnings - that many companies have achieved despite their relative youth.

China's online shopping market is expected to surge over the next several years and could reach 2 trillion renminbi, or $315 billion, by 2015, according to research by Boston Consulting Group. The study found that Chinese shoppers are the most likely of the world's online consumers to check for product recommendations on social networking sites, and that online retail giant Taobao is the dominant e-commerce player in China. Last year the site, which has more than 800 million online products, accounted for 79% of China's online transaction value, selling more than the country's top five physical retailers combined.

A major cyber-attack in Europe that apparently was launched from Iran has revealed significant vulnerabilities in the Internet security systems used to authenticate websites for banking, email and e-commerce around the world. The attack this summer wreaked havoc in the Netherlands, where the justice minister on Sunday warned the public that the only secure way to communicate with the Dutch government was with pen, paper and fax machine. The digital assault compromised a Dutch company called DigiNotar, which issues digital certificates, computer code that assures browsers that a website is what it appears to be. The certificates also encrypt communications between the user and the site so they can't be intercepted.

Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce website, announced the resignation of two of its most senior leaders Monday after an internal investigation found more than 2,000 fraudulent virtual storefronts had been set up with the help of company salespeople. In a statement, Alibaba.com said Chief Executive David Wei and Chief Operating Officer Elvis Lee were not involved in the scams but wanted to shoulder responsibility for the "systemic breakdown" in Alibaba.com's "culture of integrity.

As consumers continue to swarm online to shop, department store giant Macy's Inc. is planning to add about 725 new positions over the next two years to support the growth of its e-commerce network. Like many retailers, Macy's has focused its efforts recently on bridging the gap between its in-store experience and its online and mobile platforms. The Cincinnati company, which operates Macys.com and Bloomingdales.com, said Tuesday that in the first 10 months of fiscal 2010 online sales surged 29% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Groupon Inc. isn't just about daily online deals for restaurants and spas. These days, the rising star is generating a rumor a day about which marquee technology company is courting the Chicago-based startup. Groupon has been at the center of speculation about an acquisition for weeks, with Internet giants eBay, Yahoo, Amazon and Google among possible buyers. Monday's rumor du jour was that Google had agreed to buy the deal-a-day company for $2.5 billion. This amount would fall below the north-of-$3-billion valuation that Groupon is reportedly seeking, but the very prospect of a Google-Groupon deal was enough to send tongues wagging across the Web. A Google spokesman said the company does not comment on rumor and speculation.

Call it a big win for online auctioneer EBay Inc. The San Jose company announced Tuesday that Netscape Communications co-founder and all-around golden geek Marc Andreessen had joined its board of directors. In a statement, EBay Chief Executive John Donahoe said Andreessen's insights would be invaluable as the company seeks to "drive further innovation on our platform, invest in growth opportunities and develop technology that will further benefit our customers, build powerful communities and enhance e-commerce."

Robert Scheer got it wrong when he accused AOL of wanting it both ways regarding government intervention in the Internet (Column Left, July 27). In the very near future consumers will be using broadband services to connect to the Internet. Decisions made today about broadband connections will have far-reaching implications for the future shape of the Internet. Whether broadband access and architecture are open and competitive or closely controlled by a cable monopoly will affect whether free and diverse speech continues to thrive, whether noncommercial and civic content is accessible, whether local e-commerce is sustainable and the cost, availability and service choices for consumers.

Dear Karen: What is the most cost-effective means to design and manage an e-commerce site with digital downloads? Answer: Design your site using free tools, such as WordPress, or membership sites such as WooThemes, which cost as little as $70 annually. "The great thing about WordPress is that you can plug in all kinds of cool and useful widgets, from polls to e-commerce," said Michael Weiss, chief executive at Imagistic. He recommends managing digital downloads with GetShopped.