Shopping

Continuing its expansions in to shopping and eCommerce, Meta has announced WhatsApp Flows. The new feature allows businesses to give customers the chance to do things like book tickets and order items from within a chat.

Flows can be customized by merchants to meet the specific needs of a business, creating workflow-like purchasing experiences for customers. Launching globally over the coming weeks, WhatsApp has been testing Flows with partners in Brazil and India.

A new survey of 6,000 online shoppers in the US and EU finds that many websites are causing problems for eCommerce companies due to poor design.

The study from Storyblok shows that 42 percent say they decide whether to stay on or leave a website within 10 seconds -- 20 percent within five seconds -- while 60 percent have abandons a purchase because of poor website experience.

The economy may be in the toilet right now, but just because inflation is at an all-time high, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy gifts this year. In fact, with many financial experts predicting a painful 2023, we might as well take advantage of all the great 2022 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, right?

This year, there are many impressive discounts on technology-related purchases such as computer peripherals, devices and electronics. Below, we are sharing some of the best deals. While many of the sales will not start until Friday, some are live already. We will be continually adding deals to this list, so keep checking back!

Does the perfect laptop docking station exist? Maybe for some consumers, but ultimately, no it does not. The reality is, consumers have differing needs and wants, so no single dock can truly please everyone. With that said, a new docking station from Plugable should prove to be a great option for most consumers.

Called "UD-ULTCDL," it technically is an update to an existing Plugable dock that carries the same name, but really, it is significantly different, meaning it should be considered an entirely new product. This second generation version features three HDMI ports as opposed to outdated DVI and VGA options. Not to mention, it now offers 100W charging (96W certified).

The pandemic led to a boom in online commerce, but as it fades away enterprises are keen to find new ways to understand and reach their customers, at the same time as addressing increasing privacy concerns.

Customer experience company Acquia commissioned Vanson Bourne to seek the views of 2,000 consumers and 200 marketers in the UK and the US on the digital marketing landscape.

A new study shows that online sellers remain optimistic about the current eCommerce market despite consumers cost of living concerns and an impending recession.

The research, from eCommerce helpdesk specialist eDesk and based on a survey of over 200 online sellers in the US, shows that 53 percent of sellers expect to see an increase in online shopping over the next six months.

New research from customer engagement platform Twilio shows older consumers are being left behind when businesses digitize their customer facing operations.

Although consumers over 65 hold significant digital shopping power, with 76 percent relying on online shopping in the UK, only 12 percent say they feel understood by brands they interact with digitally.

Checkout-free shopping is revolutionizing the retail space, cutting down on time wasted in line and improving customer experience while shopping. Though the idea of checkout-free technology powering your shopping trips may seem like a far-off technology, it actually utilizes three established technological components that work together to provide a smooth and frictionless shopping experience.

Each of these technologies, deep learning, sensor fusion, and computer vision, work synergistically to make futuristic-seeming technology part of our everyday lives. 

There’s an inevitable spike in online security threats accompanying the surge in online shopping over the past couple of years, mainly driven by the recent pandemic. As more and more retailers embrace and adopt e-commerce sites to expand their customer base, increased cybersecurity levels are a must to ensure a safe and positive customer experience. 

As a business owner, the greatest threat that cyberattacks represent is loss of sales and unhappy customers, which can really make or break a business as a whole. Since many cyberattacks are executed in hidden and unsuspecting ways, identifying and battling them can become a challenge. Let’s take a look at the top four online shopping security threats and how to avoid them in 2022. 

If your laptop or tablet PC only has USB-C, you can buy a home docking station, such as this one from VisionTek, to expand the connectivity. But what if you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a dock, plus you really only need to add video output functionality? For instance, maybe you just need to add HDMI. In that case, a single-purpose dongle can save you some money. These dongles can be good for portability too, as they won't take up much room in a travel bag.

Today, StarTech.com launches five new USB-C video dongles, all of which feature long 12-inch cables. Why are five products necessary? Because each USB-C adapter offers a different connection type on the other end -- HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, and DVI. In other words, no matter what type of television, monitor, or projector you have, StarTech.com has you covered.

One of the side effects of the pandemic over the last two years has been a boom in online shopping. But is this something that's here to stay? And what are we likely to see happening in the eCommerce field in 2022?

Here is what some of the industry’s experts think will be next year's trends.

Poor account and password experiences at checkout mean two-thirds of shoppers abandon a shopping cart if they need to create an account according to new research.

Passwordless security firm, Beyond Identity surveyed more than 1,000 people in the UK and found that 62 percent of respondents have abandoned a shopping cart if required to create an account.

Bots tend to have a poor reputation, launching cyber attacks, beating you to the best bargains on eCommerce sites and generally being a bit of a pain in the Net.

Nowadays bots are frequently available 'as-a-service' so it's possible to rent one for a period of time to execute an attack. But, according to research for Cequence Security, 32 percent of respondents say they've used a shopping bot before and 38 percent say they might in the future. So that's 70 percent of people who are thinking, 'If you can't beat them, join them.'

A new report from Imperva suggests that the 2021 holiday shopping season faces disruption by cybercriminals looking to create chaos and take advantage of the global supply chain crisis.

Bot attacks against retail sites have risen by 13 percent in 2021, with 57 percent of attacks recorded on eCommerce websites this year carried out by bots. In comparison, bad bots made up just 33 percent of the total attacks on websites in all other industries in 2021.

Summer is quickly coming to a close, and before you know it, the school season will begin. Many parents are understandably excited to get their children out of the house and back to school. At the same time, their kids are likely dreading their return to education. I mean, learning is cool and all, but nothing beats summer fun in the sun.

Of course, the end of the summer means back-to-school shopping is now in full effect, and many students will be needing a new computer for their studies. A laptop is ideal for portability, but should you choose Windows or Mac? My suggestion is to go in a different direction -- Linux! An operating system based on the open source kernel can better prepare a child for the future.