The Web: Transforming online shopping

By Gene J. Koprowski
Published 12/15/2004 9:08 AM
CHICAGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Online shopping this holiday season might be most competitive among small, local retailers rather than big brands such as Target.com and Sears.com, experts told UPI's The Web. New technologies that give local online shops a big presence in search engines such as Google, Overture and others are driving the development. "Online shopping for the holidays is blowing the heck out of brick-and-mortar stores; it is the place to be," Marsha Collier, a Los Angeles e-commerce guru and author of "e-Bay Business for Dummies" (Fourth Edition, 2004, Wiley) told The Web. -- The Web is a weekly series by UPI covering the technological, cultural and social impact of the World Wide Web, by Gene Koprowski, who covers technology for UPI Science News. E-mail: sciencemail [at] upi.com