EMARKETER — Retailers that want to connect with their target audience online would do well to go where their customers already are. And according to the "2010 Social Media Report" from ForeSee Results, 69% of online shoppers regularly use social media sites. The overwhelming winner in terms of shopper presence was Facebook, with more than one-half of respondents using it regularly...

TECHCRUNCH — Social e-commerce company ThisNext recently raised a Series C round of $1.2 million, which we reported based on an SEC filing. The Santa Monica, CA startup has now confirmed the financing round and also announced that it has acquired smaller rival Stylehive for an undisclosed amount...

COMPETE BLOG — According to a 2008 Rosetta study, in April of 2008, less than 1/3 of US e-retailers had a Facebook page. By November 2008, that number had doubled. Last quarter, Softpedia reported that 86 percent of US online retailers have a Facebook page, and they expect that number to reach 99 percent soon. With the vast majority of online retailers flocking to Facebook and other social media sites, the question I have to ask is: are consumers paying attention?...

MASHABLE — With holiday shopping in full swing, social shopping is already making a big impact. Data from Hitwise shows that downstream traffic to the Retail 500 coming from both Facebook and Twitter increased 36% and 15% respectively on Thanksgiving from the previous day. Downstream traffic to retailers grew again on Black Friday and Cyber Monday as many retailers promoted sales through fan pages and tweets. This data is very encouraging for marketers, but a social media campaign must still be managed correctly for maximum ROI. Here are some tips on how brands can best engage their customers by offering what everyone now looks to social media for – a bargain...

READWRITEWEB — What is social shopping? This is similar to the question of "What is social search," which I addressed previously by describing the three flavors of social search: what they are, why they're relevant and how they will help you search better. The Amazon and eBay model of online retail tapped into what I refer to as "collective social search." Social shopping, on the other hand, is more like "friend-filtered social search." In social shopping, you see recommendations and reviews that your friends have shared. You see items that your friends have purchased or brands that your friends have shopped with...