Online consumer tech sales jumped 19 percent in the first nine months of 2017 vs. the comparable 2016 stretch, said NPD’s Checkout receipt mining service Monday. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales saw the largest growth, 34 percent, representing 13 percent of all e-commerce sales, it said. NPD cited an uptick in DTC sales in smart home, a new trend, with three of the top 10 e-commerce smart home merchants selling to customers via company websites. Smart home also saw growth online among traditional home improvement merchants, which posted three times the sales growth compared with the 2016 period, it said. Improved e-commerce methods paired with a surging DTC segment “can disrupt conventional notions about how consumers shop online,” said analyst Stephen Baker. NPD’s service includes first- and third-party sales for Amazon, Jet and Walmart.com, 400-plus e-commerce retailers including direct-to-consumer, and an early read on emerging players, it said. Information is collected from more than 3 million consumers, through data provided by NPD partner Slice Intelligence and NPD's proprietary receipt-harvesting mobile phone app.

Prepaid2Cash introduced an app that lets consumers convert gift card currency to cash. With the app, available for Android and iOS devices, users can scan the cards and have cash, minus fees, deposited into their bank accounts -- or have a paper check issued. The app works with Discover, Mastercard and Visa gift cards. Some 25-50 percent of the $300 billion in gift cards issued annually goes unused, said the company.

Nike’s e-commerce “footprint” continues to “scale to hundreds of millions” of online shoppers through new partnerships, CEO Mark Parker said on a Thursday earnings call. Nike’s strategy is to partner with “platforms that advance our brand,” he said. This spring in the U.S., Nike will launch a “pilot” with Stitch Fix, the online personal styling service, to bring “personalized women’s product to their expansive audience,” he said. Nike also is “extending” its “small” e-commerce pilot with Amazon because “it’s going well, and we remain focused on learning and elevating the consumer experience,” he said. Through Amazon, “we’ve seen good sell-through on the limited selection of products that we have offered,” he said. Parker sees “a great opportunity between Nike and Amazon to serve the consumer in ways that are mutually beneficial,” he said. He’s “bullish on where this can go from here,” he said. “The important part is that we advance the brand through better presentation,” he said. The “sharing of data” through the pilot also will help Nike “better serve consumers,” he said. “I think that’s really what we’re driving for behind the Amazon relationship.” Parker also met a few weeks ago with Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang, and “we’re incorporating our brands on their platforms in ways that benefit both companies,” he said. “That’s the real opportunity we see with Amazon as well as we move forward. We’re learning a lot, and we’re bullish on our ability to extend that relationship, and continue to grow.”

Google is trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services, a Google spokeswoman said. “But Amazon doesn't carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn't make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest's latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV," she said. "We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.” The statement was in response to questions on Amazon’s Wednesday announcement (see 1712200047) it's adding Firefox and Silk browsers to Fire TV. Amazon warned Fire TV owners they won’t have access to the YouTube app as of Jan. 1. Users are expected to be able to access YouTube via browser. The companies have gone back and forth for months denying customers access to the other’s products. An Amazon spokeswoman said it hopes to resolve the YouTube app issue with Google “as soon as possible.”

EBay supports net neutrality and opposes the FCC order (see 1712140039) that will allow ISPs to potentially block, slow or otherwise discriminate against user access to web content, it blogged Monday. "We expect this new order will be challenged in court," eBay said, promising to keep users updated. Other net neutrality news Monday: Legislators are debating whether to roll back the deregulation 1712180047 while some state attorneys general consider whether to join a coming multi-state AG lawsuit 1712180039.

Congress can better decide online sales tax collection legislative approaches, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said in a Supreme Court amicus brief filed Thursday and backed by Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, and Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Mike Lee, R-Utah. Online sales tax legislation came to a halt in Congress earlier this year (see 1704130058) to allow time for several court cases to resolve, including South Dakota's challenge in South Dakota v. Wayfair asking the high court to intervene. Action at the Supreme Court would create a "one-dimensional, heavy-handed solution," Goodlatte said. "Congress is much better equipped to adopt a nuanced solution that will protect all parties' legitimate interests."

The holiday season produced $65.15 billion in digital revenue Nov. 1 to Dec. 5, growth of 14.7 percent over the year-ago period, Adobe Digital Insights emailed Wednesday. Each day generated over $1 billion in online revenue, and Adobe is sticking with its prediction that 2017 will set an online record of $107.4 billion, making it the first year to cross $100 billion. Mobile shopping remains strong, with 49 percent of visits (40 percent from smartphones and 9 percent from tablets) and 32 percent of revenue (22 percent smartphones, 10 percent tablets). Post-Thanksgiving weekend, top electronics include Apple AirPods and iPads; Dell, Lenovo and HP laptops; Amazon Fire TV; and Samsung tablets, Adobe said. The best deals were during the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, but good deals remain on TVs, with prices down 15 percent since Oct. 1, computers (down 13 percent) and toys (down 15 percent), said the tracking company.

Amazon said Tuesday it’s making handcrafted items by local artisans available for one- and two-hour delivery through Prime Now, for the first time, in select markets for the holiday season. Prime customers in Austin, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Raleigh, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay area and Seattle can order products from Amazon Handmade for delivery in a day (with fee) or two (free) through Christmas Eve, said the e-tailer. Among the products are pottery, necklaces, skincare, tote bags and candles, it said. We tested the service Tuesday and found that many items weren’t being offered with Prime delivery. A pair of earrings showed free shipping, but delivery time would be three days to allow for the artist to create the earrings. A monogrammed tumbler had a delivery date of “before Christmas” with a six-10-day delivery window for making the product and then a $4.95 delivery charge. A leather wallet, though, was available for one-day shipping at $3.99 and free with standard two-day Prime shipping.

Amazon’s application for the generic top-level domain name .amazon will be a major discussion topic at next week’s ICANN meeting, blogged American Enterprise Institute visiting fellow Shane Tews. Although Peru and Brazil opposed the application (see 1710040051), a review panel said the ICANN board didn't adequately explain its reasons for blocking the applications, giving Amazon a green light, Tews said. Debate will continue, since the two governments oppose Amazon’s application based on concerns it impinges on countries in their region. “The internet community sees the .amazon application as a case study in what they can and cannot do without government permission,” Tews said Monday.

Amazon launched free, two-day shipping for Amazon Business customers that enroll in a paid annual membership program. Business Prime Shipping subscription rates are based on the number of users in the account: $499 for up to 10 users, $1,299 for up to 100 and $10,099 for over 100 users, Amazon said Tuesday. Once the customer selects the appropriate membership, all users on the account will receive an email notifying them that Business Prime Shipping has been enabled, and new users added to an existing Amazon Business account with Business Prime Shipping automatically will be enrolled in the membership, said the e-tailer.