Social Commerce

Merchant Innovation
Stripe Supports Facebook’s “Buy” Button
September 29, 2014

In a move that could help solidify its status as the go-to payments power behind social media’s expansion into e-commerce, Stripe has been named Facebook’s partner in developing it’s “buy” button. Stripe signed a similar deal with Twitter earlier this year. Facebook has been experimenting...

News
Tumblr: The Social Media E-Commerce Powerhouse?
September 16, 2014

As it turns out, when it comes to marketing value for retailers, name recognition isn’t everything. It seems in the case of the niche social media site Tumblr it seems less can be more–as long as the less doesn’t refer to money.  According to Adobe’s...

Alternative Finances
Drug Dealer’s Best Friends Are Bitcoin, Prepaid Debit
September 12, 2014

For those who say there is no e-commerce application for social media the drug dealing population of Instagram stand as a stark, if weird, counter-example.  These enterprising black market enthusiasts present a convenient online marketplace for pot, heroine, cocaine and pretty much anything else the...

Acquiring
September 06, 2014

Over the past week, PYMNTS.com’s brief’s coverage in this newsletter has spanned a broad variety of issues. In this column, we take a look at five common elements that link many of those stories, in essence making them the “trends of the week.”   Banking...

Acquiring
Trends Of The Week
August 30, 2014

Over the past week, PYMNTS.com’s brief’s coverage in this newsletter has spanned a broad variety of issues. In this column, we take a look at five common elements that link many of those stories, in essence making them the “trends of the week.” Cards Coin,...

Mobile Commerce
Always “Plugged-In” Becoming The Norm
August 18, 2014

New data released by CivicScience indicates that almost 70 percent of gadget users unplug from their electronic tethers once a week or less. Some users can’t ever get quite that much distance, almost half (43 percent) report that “unplugged” is not something that ever occurs...

News
Facebook Buys Web Security Firm PrivateCore
August 08, 2014

In what some are taking as yet another sign that Facebook is preparing to make a big e-commerce push, Facebook has announced it has acquired Palo Alto-based secure server tech company PrivateCore, a Palo Alto-based secure server technology company. Facebook plans to incorporate PrivateCore’s technology...

Merchant Innovation
Twitter Shopping Service Leaks Out Through App Feature
August 07, 2014

If Twitter is trying to keep its imminent commerce plans confidential, it should probably clue in its mobile app developers, who have made visible a preference option for “payment and shipping” in its Android app. (It’s apparently not been yet made visible in the iOS...

Merchant Innovation
Groupon Loses Millions On eCommerce
August 06, 2014

Groupon’s share price tumbled more than 15 percent late Tuesday (Aug. 5), as investors balked at the Chicago firm’s expensive eCommerce investments. Groupon reported a net loss of $22.9 million, which seemed far worse to analysts because, according to an analyst poll by Thomson Reuters,...