E-commerce is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. E-commerce is in turn driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry, and is the largest sector of the electronics industry.
Spencer Gifts LLC, doing business as Spencer's, is a North American mall retailer with over 600 stores in the United States and Canada. Their stores specialize in novelty and gag gifts, and also sell clothing, band merchandise, sex toys, room decor, collectible figures, fashion and body jewelry, fantasy and horror items. The company also owns and operates a pop-up seasonal retailer, Spirit Halloween.
Staples Inc. is an American office retail company. It is primarily involved in the sale of office supplies and related products, via retail channels and business-to-business (B2B)-oriented delivery operations. At some locations, Staples also offers a copy and print service.
Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more items or products.
Ten Thousand Villages is a nonprofit fair trade organization that markets handcrafted products made by disadvantaged artisans from more than 120 artisan groups in more than 35 countries.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is an American publicly traded consumer retail company that sells kitchenware and home furnishings. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. The company has 625 brick and mortar stores and distributes to more than 60 countries, with brands including Williams Sonoma, Williams Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, West Elm, Mark and Graham, and Rejuvenation. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. also operates through eight corresponding websites and a gift registry.
Drop shipping is a form of retail business wherein the seller accepts customer orders without keeping stock on hand. Instead, in a form of supply chain management, the seller transfers the orders and their shipment details to either the manufacturer, a wholesaler, another retailer, or a fulfillment house, which then ships the goods directly to the customer. As such, the retailer is responsible for marketing and selling a product, but has little or no control over product quality, storage, inventory management, or shipping. By doing this, it eliminates the costs of maintaining a warehouse – or even a brick and mortar storefront, purchasing and storing inventory, and employing necessary staff for such functions. As in any other form of retail, the seller makes their profit on the difference between an item's wholesale and retail price, less any pertinent selling, merchant, or shipping fees accruing to them.
Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as:
Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft supplies and tools. Items described as vintage must be at least 20 years old. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs, giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee of US$0.20 per item.
World Market, formerly Cost Plus World Market until 2021, is an American chain of specialty/import retail stores, selling home furniture, decor, curtains, rugs, gifts, apparel, coffee, wine, craft beer, as well as several international food products. The brand's name originated from the initial concept, since abandoned, of selling items for "cost plus 10%". Its current headquarters are located in Alameda, California. The company was previously a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond since being acquired in 2012. It was sold in 2021.
Sandra Magsamen is an American author, artist, art therapist, and designer. She has published over 60 children's books with publishers Scholastic, Sourcebooks and Little Brown and has worked with national department stores, mid-tier, specialty and mass market through her national lifestyle brands From the Studio of Sandra Magsamen, Messages from the Heart, Wishes & Kisses and Treasured to design custom collections. Magsamen has proudly partnered with retailers such as Walmart, JCPenney, Hallmark, Studio-e-fabrics, Bamboozle Homewares and 1-800-Flowers.
Home shopping is the electronic retailing and home shopping channels industry, which includes such billion dollar television-based and e-commerce companies as Shop LC, HSN, Gemporia, TJC, QVC, eBay, ShopHQ, Buy.com and Amazon.com, as well as traditional mail order and brick and mortar retailers as Hammacher Schlemmer and Sears, Roebuck and Co. Home shopping allows consumers to shop for goods from the privacy of their own home, as opposed to traditional shopping, which requires one to visit brick and mortar stores and shopping malls.
Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce that involves social media and online media that supports social interaction, and user contributions to assist online buying and selling of products and services.
Karmaloop is a streetwear e-commerce company. It was founded in 2000 by Greg Selkoe and purchased by Shiekh Shoes in 2016.
Vaillancourt Folk Art (VFA) is a family owned and operated wholesale and retail business based in Sutton, Massachusetts that hand paints chalkware trinkets. Judi Vaillancourt is credited with having developed the process used to create the first contemporary use of chalkware—incorporating a plaster-like substance with confectionery moulds—since the 20th century version.
TheWorks.co.uk PLC, trading simply as The Works, is a discount retailer based in the United Kingdom selling an extensive range of books, art and craft materials, gifts, toys, games and stationery. It has more than five hundred stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland as of July 2022.
Wayfair Inc. is an American e-commerce company based in Boston, Massachusetts that sells furniture and home goods online. Formerly known as CSN Stores, it was founded in 2002, and currently offers 14 million items from more than 11,000 global suppliers. It has offices and warehouses throughout the United States and in Canada, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Immediate Media Company Limited is a British multinational publishing house that currently publishes a significant range of titles, including Radio Times, BBC Top Gear, BBC Good Food and a host of others. In H1 2018, the company's titles reported a combined ABC circulation of 1.59 million, including 1.1M active subscribers. In 2018 it reported selling 70+ million magazines.
The Great Little Trading Company (GLTC) is an online children’s retailer that specializes in children’s furniture, functional storage solutions, room accessories, and toys.
Safari Ltd is an American family-owned manufacturer and global distributor of animal figurine toys. Since 1982, they have produced painted figurines designed to educate children, with the stated goal of teaching the importance of nature and conservation through play.
