Content about Information technology management

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — The Container Store has enlisted Talend, a global open source software leader, to simplify, standardize and move data across multiple platforms. With Talend, The Container Store now has cross-platform standardization, improved development times and automated processes that were previously done manually.

Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products launched an e-commerce initiative involving brand specific shops for some of its most popular properties.

The online shops will roll out over the course of the year and are intended to offer a more engaging user experience for consumers. For example, the online shops for Fox properties such as New Girl, Glee, American Dad and Family Guy will feature product as well as the ability to view content and interact with the brands via social media.

AUSTIN, Texas — SecureNet announced that it will launch its next generation of Mobile Payments API libraries (version 2.0) early next month, enabling quick and easy integration with mobile and point-of-sale applications for seamless mobile checkout. The company also plans to release an advanced suite of developer integration tools complete with interactive code samples in multiple languages, easy-to-follow quick start guides by acceptance type, a robust self-service development sandbox and specialized support resources.

RESTON, Va. — In terms of growth, clicks continued to outpace bricks in 2012 — and how!

That was the key takeaway from comScore’s “2013 U.S. Digital Future in Focus” report: Despite the backdrop of continued economic uncertainty, 2012 was a strong year for retail e-commerce. Throughout the year, growth rates versus the prior year remained in the mid-teens to outpace growth at brick-and-mortar retail by a factor of approximately four times.

NEW YORK and ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — Leading global e-commerce marketplace Rakuten Inc. has rebranded Buy.com, which it acquired May 2010, to Rakuten.com Shopping.

Between now and January 30, merchants and consumers will still be able to go to Buy.com to access Rakuten’s U.S. subsidiary. Starting January 31, however, the site url will change to Rakuten.com. Anyone going to Buy.com will be redirected to the new url.

SEATTLE — Amazon contends that 2012 was a record-breaking holiday season for businesses selling on its popular online Webstore platform.

Amazon reports that more than two million third-party sellers worldwide experienced record holiday growth, and unit growth solely from sellers in the U.S. increased more than 40% year-over-year. For the year, sellers on Amazon sold hundreds of millions of units worth tens of billions of dollars worldwide, according to the company, which did not provide an actual sales figure.

Los Angeles -- Survey results released Tuesday by PriceGrabber found that 71% of consumers believe that retailers offer better deals during Thanksgiving weekend than they do during the rest of the winter holiday shopping season, up from 58% in 2011.

When consumers who indicated that the best deals can be found over the Thanksgiving weekend were asked which days retailers offer the best prices, 71% said Black Friday (Nov. 23), down from 80% in 2011 and 86% in 2010, and 41% said Cyber Monday (Nov. 26), up from 37% last year and 33% in 2010.

SEATTLE — Amazon.com boosted its college services with the launch of Amazon Textbook Rental. The service enables students to rent books by the semester and save up to 70% off on the price. Orders more than $25 are eligible for free shipping and can be returned for free with a prepaid, printable label. Amazon Prime members can take advantage of free two-day shipping on all orders.

First quarter sales at Amazon.com surged 34% to $13.2 billion during the first quarter ended March 31, but profits declined 35% to $130 million due to rising expenses related to growth initiatives.

Target and other retailers have fought unsuccessfully for years to level the e-commerce playing field in the United States by requiring Amazon.com and other online-only merchants to collect sales tax. Doing so would eliminate the Internet-pure-play retailers’ most significant competitive advantage, and for a glimpse of just how significant look no further than Canada.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Publix Super Markets and Nordstrom are the highest ranked bricks-and-mortar retailers in a report released Tuesday by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). While supermarkets overall are up 1.3% to 76, Publix remains the grocer to beat, with a score of 84.

The best of the best among all retailers — traditional or online — is Amazon, with a score of 86, followed by online retailer Newegg at 85. Next in line are two more websites: Overstock at 83 and eBay at 81.