Ecommerce News Around the Web for May 21, 2010

“Ecommerce News Around the Web” is our weekly review of articles, blog posts and other news items that could interest ecommerce merchants.

Symantec Set to Acquire VeriSign Security Business – Symantec

Symantec has apparently signed an agreement to acquire VeriSign’s security business. This includes the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate services, the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) services, the VeriSign Trust services and the VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) authentication service.

Online Retail Experiences Back-to-back, Double-digit Growth – Internet Retailer

Internet Retailer reports that the double-digit growth ecommerce experienced in Q4 2009 was not an anomaly. Not when you consider that first quarter sales this year show a growth rate of 14.3 percent. It was the first time since the first quarter of 2008 that ecommerce sales grew by more than 10 percent year-over-year for two quarters in a row.

Female Shoppers Influenced by Online Peers – ZippyCart

A recent report from iVillage and SheSpeaks shows that 77 percent of women are influenced by peer recommendations online, with 68 percent of purchases being driven by coupons. It shows that word of mouth is still a powerful influence, at least among women.

India Coming to Grips with Ecommerce – The Independent

Shopping online is commonplace for Westerners. Not so in under-developed countries. But, thanks to economic expansion in recent years, India is beginning to come to grips with ecommerce and retailers are following suit.

Senators Approve Measure That Could Cut Debit Card Fees for Retailers – Internet Retailer

A recently passed measure in the U.S. Senate could reduce fees paid by merchants to accept debit cards. The legislation is part of a bank-reform bill, and gives the U.S. Federal Reserve the power to set “reasonable and proportional” fees for debit card transactions.

Video Ecommerce Has Moved From Experimentation to Application – eMarketer

Justin Foster is co-founder of Liveclicker, a Silicon Valley startup with experience in the ecommerce industry. In this article, he speaks with eMarketer about how the use of online video has matured from the experimental stages to become a force in ecommerce.

Flippity: The Little Search Engine That Could – The Whine Seller

Flippity is a search engine that eBay buyers might find useful. Plug in your ZIP code and the item you are searching for, and it presents a list of eBay results in a more user-friendly format than eBay itself. Filtering options are available to enable users to refine their searches.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Facebook ‘Like’ Button, But Were Afraid to Ask – Wildfire Social Media Marketing Blog

The new Facebook “Like” button is appearing on thousands of websites, but does it have any impact on your business? This article breaks the new feature down to its bare bones so you can make that determination for yourself.

17 Posts to Help Improve Checkout Rate Conversion – Econsultancy

Econsultancy has compiled a list of the many articles its team has written on the subject of checkout optimization. For even more detail, “check out” its Checkout Optimization Guide, a must-read for all companies that accept payments online.

When it Comes to Creating Call-to-action Buttons, Does Size Matter? – GetElastic

Newegg.com boosted its sales by 30 percent, all thanks to the design of its call-to-action buttons. The question posed by this post is, does bigger always mean better?

The Future Facebook’s Ecommerce Marketplace – Ecommerce Zen

Without a doubt, Facebook is positioning itself to be the operating system of the social web. That also has bearing on ecommerce. This article explores one possible Facebook product line.

Twitter: Human Seismograph to Measure the World – Fast Company

If Facebook is attempting to take over the online world, Twitter is becoming the lens that gives us a much closer look at it. Fast Company says Twitter has become a human seismograph, measuring and broadcasting the pulse of not just the web, but the world as a whole. News no longer “breaks,” it “tweets.”

Which is Best in Drop Ship Sales, Amazon or eBay? – Drop Ship Access

Many drop ship sales businesses have become disenchanted with eBay, thanks to frequent increases in fees and policies that are unfriendly to sellers. But, is Amazon any better?

Ten Top Social Media Essentials for Ecommerce Sites – TopRank

Getting people to share your products on social networks is a great way to bring in traffic and find new customers. However, the number one goal in ecommerce is not sharing, it’s selling. Are ecommerce merchants between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the use of social media?

Small Business Owners Still Unsure About Social Media – destination CRM.com

Nearly 70 percent of U.S. small and midsize businesses (SMBs) use social media, nearly double the number two years ago. Despite that high percentage, small businesses are still struggling to find the business case for social networks.

Groupon Acquires German Clone, Citydeal – exciting commerce

American group-discount giant Groupon announced that it is acquiring Citydeal, the world’s largest Groupon clone. This acquisition now makes Groupon the global leader with a presence in 16 countries and growing.

Google Wave Now Open to Everyone – PlumberSurplus

A recent announcement from Google says that Google Wave is now open to everyone. The tool, designed to increase productivity, was heretofore available by invitation-only.