Exports are a key driver for the growth of million-pound businesses on eBay, the company says. It expects that by the end of the year there will be 159 such businesses, of whom 11 will turn over £500,000 from overseas sales.

Shoppers are compiling shopping lists online before venturing to the high street, in order to make sure they spend no more than they can afford, according to Asda research. The retailer’s research also found that household income is down on last year, knocking on to a difficult retail market, as predicted by accountants RSM Tenon.

Each week in the run-up to our annual conference, Internet Retailing 2011, we talk to one of the key speakers at the event to give you a preview of their presentation. This week it’s the turn of Sam Peterson, SVP, technology and merchandising, at Overstock.com.

Organisers of Internet Retailing Expo 2012 have now put out the call for speakers. Online and multichannel retailers are being invited to share their experiences of growing their businesses with visitors at the two-day event, which runs on March 21 and 22 2012 at Birmingham’s NEC.

The public appetite for daily deals, made available through the group-buying power of the crowd, may have peaked this summer. The number of people visiting deals websites has fallen, according to Hitwise Intelligence research, while earlier analysis from Lightspeed Research found that many who have registered on the sites have yet to commit to buying a deal.

Mathematicians from Sussex University worked with digital marketing technology company DC Storm to develop an algorithm aimed at helping advertisers predict how their brand will perform in search results. Using the formula to optimise PPC listings is expected to reduce the hours currently spent in testing.

Online grocer Ocado says it is moving into the future of commerce as it launches a week-long pop-up shop in the City of London that could be followed by virtual window shopping across the UK.

Earlier this week we brought you news of ecommerce platform provider hybris’ merger with iCongo. Since then we’ve spoken to hybris’ co-founder and chief operating officer, Carsten Thoma and found out what he had to say about the deal.

The high street is adapting in response to online retail. Here Guy Chiswick, managing director of Webloyalty, explores how online retailers can learn from the high street in return, especially when it comes to customer loyalty.

The Savile Row Co, which sells its tailored clothing online and from its Savile Row base, is planning to add eBay Australia to its global sales channels after seeing fast growth in sales on Amazon.com. The company is being supported in its expansion by ChannelAdvisor.

The Co-operative Group said it would continue to invest in its business, including its online electrical store, despite an economic situation its chief executive has called: “the worst I have seen in over 40 years of retailing.”

UK pay-as-you-go mobile phone users are spending up to two weeks a year browsing retail sites on their mobiles – more than third longer than their iPhone-based contract compadres – despite most retailers not doing enough to offer a seamless and pleasant mobile experience, according to a study out this week

More than a third (35% to be precise) of UK consumers will do more shopping on their smartphones this Christmas than ever before, according to eDigitalResearch and IMRG, as the popularity of shopping and browsing on mobile devices continues to increase

UK retailers’ mobile web offerings have topped both the download speed and availability charts in July out of 24 top retail mobile sites across eight countries monitored by Keynote Systems. Next achieved the fastest average time of 4.80 seconds and John Lewis an impressive 100% availability for the month

A three-month study has revealed that UK consumers are turning increasingly to mobile devices as an essential way of accessing online services and many of these people start their ‘journey’ with mobile advertising – despite a previous YouGov survey suggesting that m-ads just annoy people

Some 69% of the on-the-go UK mobile users have told a survey by JiWire that they are willing to share their location to receive more relevant content. In the US, 53% are willing, with mobile consumers under the age of 34 are more eager to share, with 60% offering their location for better information

Cadbury has become the first leading brand and launch client to start using mobile augmented reality as a marketing tool. In a world’s first, blippar – an augmented reality technology provider –has allowed Cadbury to create an augmented reality game that anyone with a smart phone can play using its product

Publishers of guidebooks, tourism organisations, or even people wanting to sell souvenirs and ice creams, looking to engage with outdoors-y types such as cyclists and walkers can now do so thanks to an improved, location aware publishing platform from Augmentra

Mobile as a payment tool in retail is gaining a lot of attention and within that everyone is talking NFC – but there is much more to what NFC can deliver to retailers, as Carsten Kraus, CEO and founder of Omikron Data Quality and FACT-Finder.com, explians

British shoppers who get poor service in a shop are highly likely to complain – and many will do so online. Not only are UK consumers the most likely in Europe to complain, one in five will air their negative views on a reviews website and 14% through social media.