online shopping

An Amazon worker pulls a cart of packages for delivery in New York City in July. A promotion that enabled shoppers to tip workers last week maxed out in less than 48 hours.

National

Amazon launched a driver tipping promotion on the same day it got sued over tip fraud

5:01am December 14, 2022

by Emily Olson

An Amazon promotion that tipped delivery drivers $5 for every customer that sent a "thank you" message maxed out on the second day, raising questions about whether drivers deserve tips year-round.

Price fluctuations as a result of algorithms have been found to increase feelings of customer betrayal.

National

Online pricing algorithms are gaming the system, and could mean you pay more

10:44am July 25, 2022

by Ziad Buchh

Online pricing algorithms can game the system and ultimately end up costing the consumer more. And the impact of these program can go beyond just a few extra dollars at checkout.

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A delivery person rides a bicycle past a storefront in New York City.

National

You might still have time to buy holiday gifts online and get same-day delivery

7:11am December 18, 2021

by Alina Selyukh

More retailers are striking deals with delivery companies like Uber, DoorDash and Instacart to get online orders to shoppers within hours.

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People shop at Macy's in New York on Black Friday, Nov. 27.

National

U.S. Shoppers Might Spend $13 Million Per Minute During Cyber Monday Peak

8:57pm November 30, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

Despite the pandemic recession, holiday sales are expected to set a new record, topping $755 billion.

Amazon says it's planning to hire 100,000 U.S. workers to deal with increased demand during the coronavirus outbreak.

Amazon To Hire 100,000 Workers To Meet 'Surge In Demand'

6:08pm March 16, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

Amazon plans to add full- and part-time U.S. workers for warehouses and delivery as more customers turn to online shopping for supplies because they're isolated at home.

A new study suggests that one service already in place in many food deserts could help make it easier to access fresh, healthy food: online grocery delivery. The finding lends support to expanding a pilot program that lets people use food stamp benefits t

How Online Grocery Delivery Could Help Alleviate Food Deserts

9:33am December 19, 2019

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

Delivery service could make it easier to access fresh, healthy food in these areas, a study finds. It lends support to a pilot program that lets people pay for these groceries with food stamps.

A Chinese national flag flutters in front of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in Beijing. The bank plans to launch a cryptocurrency.

World News

Facebook's Digital Money Plan Raises Stakes For China's Cryptocurrency Ambitions

8:46am July 31, 2019

by Emily Feng

Facebook's plans for a new digital currency have sent Chinese monetary officials scrambling. Since 2014, China's central bank has been looking into launching a cryptocurrency too.

Walmart and Amazon began offering online purchases with food stamps in April as part of the USDA's pilot program. Now, both companies are expanding services for low-income shoppers.

Economy

Using Food Stamps For Online Grocery Shopping Is Getting Easier

5:03pm June 26, 2019

by Amy Scott

Walmart is expanding a program for food stamp recipients to buy groceries online and pick them up in stores. It's the latest move to give them more options in the era of online shopping.

In shadow marketplaces, positive reviews for Amazon products are bought and sold. The company says it's cracking down and that it estimates that less than 1 percent of reviews are fake.

Some Amazon Reviews Are Too Good To Be Believed. They're Paid For

4:37pm July 30, 2018

by Ryan Kailath

In shadow marketplaces, positive reviews for Amazon products are bought and sold. The company says it's cracking down and that it estimates that less than 1 percent of reviews are fake.

Amazon Is More Than A Shopping Site. It's A Search Engine Too

8:42am July 02, 2018

by Jim Zarroli

NPR-Marist poll finds that almost half of online shoppers go to Amazon first when they look for an item. Other search engines know what customers look for but Amazon knows what they ultimately buy.

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