Manufacturers may do the heavy lifting when it comes to making a product, but they often only get a small margin of its sale after retailers and distributors take their cuts. Italic, among other marketplaces, seeks to let manufacturers cut out the middlemen and sell directly to consumers. The company’s CEO Jeremy Cai explains how it works — and why he hopesthe business model is primed to take hold with consumers and manufacturers. Read More...

The early estimates are in, and Cyber Monday looks to be a record-breaker for U.S. eCommerce with $7.8 billion in sales. Some of the big winners are who you’d expect — Amazon reportedly had a great day, as did shopping on smartphones in general. But there were some unexpected standouts as well — like shoppers who waited until the last minute.  Read More...

The Payments And Commerce Rapid Reset

Just in time for the holiday season, the world of shopping and spending is resetting itself in ways widely felt, if not immediately seen. Bitcoin’s price is busting, contactless cards are setting up for a boom — and Black Friday moved further from the storefront and onto the mobile web. Consumers are doing a lot of what they’ve always done — they’re just finding new ways to do it.  Read More...