Sony intros classical music e-store

E-commerce store Ariama is looking to carve out a niche in classical music, reports ZippyCart.

Ariama.com is the product of Sony Music Entertainment, which is positioning the e-commerce site as the premier Web site to purchase high quality digital downloads or CDs of classical songs and composers.

The new e-commerce store has music available from four major labels, as well as many of smaller independent record labels. Many may question if this niche e-commerce store has a place in the market, but Sony believes the classical music fan has different needs, and that Ariama will serve their desires in a number of ways.

The travel sector accounts for 47% of all online spending in Australia, according to the latest Nielsen Online Retail Monitor, says AdNews.

The monitor revealed online spending was highest in the travel sector, with the average purchase amounting to $1 168 during a 30-day period in the second quarter of this year. Around one-third of online shoppers purchased travel products or services.

Travel purchases made offline were heavily influenced by online research, with more than two-thirds of those purchasing accommodation offline making the decision based on research undertaken on the Internet.

MasterCard has partnered with Borderlinx, a provider of global cross-border e-commerce shopping, in order to offer MasterCard customer financial institutions and their cardholders improved access to the global e-commerce marketplace and facilitate the flow of electronic commerce, writes The Philippine Star.

This agreement supports MasterCard's global e-commerce strategy, which it says is designed to grow online spend while delivering a better online payment and shopping experience.

By working together, MasterCard and Borderlinx aim to enable an enhanced online commerce experience that allows shoppers from many markets around the world to make purchases initially at US and UK retail Web sites using their MasterCard-branded cards.