A recent favorable opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy plus increased action in Congress have made it more likely than it has been in 50 years that out-of-state retailers will be forced to collect sales taxes in states where they don't have a physical presence. Half a century ago, of course, the volume generated by such sellers, who did their business via catalogs and snail mail, was tiny compared to the sales spawned by the rise of the internet.

It's enough to scare the daylights out of retailers: $1.75tr in lost revenue due to overstocks, out-of-stocks and preventable returns. Welcome to "The Ghost Economy."

Epicor Software Corp., a vendor of software for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, has developed a new version of its Epicor Eagle application for the automotive aftermarket.