Amazon.com, owner of the UK’s largest online trader, amazon.co.uk, reported growing sales but a 58% fall in profits as it upped spending on technology and infrastructure. The company said the Kindle e-reader was its biggest seller in both the US and Europe.

Strong ecommerce sales helped M&S to an overall rise in sales over the Christmas period. But fellow retailer the Game Group reported only modest growth in online sales and a fall in its total sales.

Emerging markets such as China will be among the key focuses for retailers who are looking to adapt to survive in a ‘gloomy’ retail market in 2012. That’s one of the conclusions of two reports looking ahead to 2012 from the KPMG/Synovate Retail Think Tank and the Economist Intellligence Unit.

Cycling and tri-sport retailer Wiggle has changed hands for £180m. Under its new ownership the company is planning to step up its international expansion, which already sees it sell to 88 countries through nine different language websites.

Asos has unveiled pre-tax profits, after exceptional items, down by more than a third following the costs of moving to a new distribution centre. The company said the investment would support its ambition of growing sales to more than £1bn by 2015.

ByBox, the delivery to locker specialist, is investing £2m to expand its network of locker banks. The company says most of the new lockers will be within the M25, and come as the company invests to strengthen its presence in the online shopping market.

UK shoppers will spend 16.3% more online this Christmas than last, while high street shopping will fall by 2.1%, research commissioned by Kelkoo suggests.

John Lewis is among the organisations urging internet users to give the hour they gain when the clocks go back to help someone online for the first time. Race Online 2012 aims to get as many of the 8.7m adults who have never used the internet to do so.

It’s just got a step easier for retailers to include Facebook in their ecommerce sites, following the integration of Facebook’s Open Graph platform into eBay’s ‘open source ecosystem’ X.commerce. But does that make Facebook a must have?

Almost three in 10 UK albums are now bought in digital format. But the fast growth of digital sales – up by a quarter in the last year – has not made up ground lost as overall album sales fall.

Failing to join up your sales channels can seriously damage your sales. That’s the conclusion of a report from Head London, which says retailers such as Morrisons have lost millions in missed sales through not offering good multichannel services, while others, such as Tesco, have gained millions as a result of getting multichannel right.

Online fashion retailers Next and Matalan were among the climbers in the latest IMRG Experian Hitwise Hot Shops list for August 2011. Travel companies also put in a strong performance on the list, which monitored activity since May.

The vast majority of people now think shopping is easier and cheaper online, a survey has found. Shopping.com’s report also found that 15% had spent more than £1,000 on a single internet purchase.

Pureplay and multichannel retailers will be watching to see how a Budget pledge to end a Channel Island tax loophole plays out. Lobbyists have cautiously welcomed George Osborne’s move to curb the VAT avoidance scheme from November, but say they will be monitoring events.

The proportion of shoppers who believe shopping online is greener has grown in the last year, according to new research unveiled by the IMRG to mark Climate Week 2011. But a logistics expert warns that retailers and logistics companies should not rest on their laurels.

So-called ‘silver surfers’ are more likely to shop online than the generation that has grown up with the internet, according to a new study from the British Population Survey. While under-25s are driving the move to use the web as entertainment, over-55s are more likely to use the web to make purchases.

Online was a popular shopping option in December, as UK consumers stayed in to stock up this Christmas. They spent a collective £6.8bn over the internet, according to the latest IMRG/Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. ONS figures also out today showed that 10.6% of UK retail sales now take place online. Unveiling its figures, IMRG also announced its new insurance cover against costs including system downtime and PCI fines.

John Lewis says its multichannel strengths helped it to a record-setting Christmas period despite the snow that has badly hit other retailers. The period saw it set records for its biggest day and biggest week, while ecommerce sales in the year to date passed £500m for the first time.

Social media is growing in importance to online retailers, a new report from Experian Hitwise suggests. Almost 13% more online retail traffic is now coming direct from social networking sites than last year.

It’s been a busy week for fast-growing online retailer The Hut Group. The fast-moving online retailer has unveiled two new e-commerce sites and new investment ahead of a stockmarket flotation.