Spotlight Features

Not even the most optimistic observer is ready to declare that the dot-com shakeout ended in 2001. But it did slow down and start to take on a different look, as mergers, acquisitions and partnerships made headlines as often as high-profile failures. "One of the key highlights of e-commerce in 20...

Before the first month of the year was over, it was clear that 2001 was going to be different than other years in the short history of e-commerce. Amazon.com made a pledge to turn in pro forma operating profits by the end of the year. As often happens when bellwether companies speak, others soon ...

Though the heaviest casualties of the dot-com shakeout are in the past, experts say 2002 will be another year of consolidation for the e-commerce industry. A faster economic recovery may mean a higher number of e-commerce survivors left standing at year's end. At the same time, a prolonged recess...

Internet drugstores have had a tough time finding a cure for sluggish sales and weak consumer adoption rates in their sector. "Retailers like Rx.com and PlanetRx.com thought they could steal away some of the mail-order prescription business and be viewed from an insurance perspective as a mail-or...

While online merchants were forced to contend with costly Web site outages and misfires during the holidays of past years, the 2001 season is shaping up to be a relatively uneventful affair. "This fear factor has caused people to pay more attention to the right things," Forrester Research directo...

The Web and e-mail have brought unprecedented speed and efficiency to the dissemination of product and company awareness, but high-tech PR professionals still rely on traditional communications vehicles for tangible results. "The Internet has become the new water cooler -- a destination to hear g...