TECHNOLOGY

Survey: Parents in no hurry to finish up back-to-school shopping
Retailers still have time to capitalize on their second biggest selling season of the year. Only 45% of households with children in grades K-12 had completed of their shopping as of early August, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s down from 52% at the same time in 2013 and 48% last year.
Sears inks new licensing agreements for two top brands
Sears Holdings is expanding the distribution of two of its iconic brands. Cleva North America will manufacture vacuum cleaners and floor cleaning accessories under the Kenmore and Kenmore Elite brands. The company will be able to sell the products to retailers around the world.

Macy's consolidates merchandising ops, cuts 100 jobs

Macy's is streamlining its merchandising operations, expanding its exclusive products and putting increased emphasis on customer insights and data analytics as new CEO Jeff Gennette begins to make his mark on the ailing department store giant.
Kohl’s to reduce floor space in half of its stores by end of year

There are some major changes going on at Kohl's stores. The department store retailer announced plans to make nearly half its locations "operationally smaller through balancing inventory and adjusting fixtures" by the end of 2017. To date, the new interior layouts have been rolled out in 300 Kohl's locations.
Survey: Walmart, Target and Old Navy tops in awareness — and that's not all

Back-to-school advertising appears to be losing some of its resonance with consumers. Walmart, Target and Old Navy scored the highest awareness levels among consumers (with children under the age of 18) in a survey of BTS advertising from 30 retailers by YouGov BrandIndex. But many retailers scored less than last year.
Study: Top reasons millennial parents prefer stores for BTS shopping

When it comes to sticking on budget, millennial parents prefer in-store shopping over digital commerce for back-to-school purchases. Sixty-five percent of millennial parents believe shopping in-store enables them to more effectively remain within budget goals compared to shopping online, according to a study commissioned by Citi Retail Services. These parents plan to do the majority, 72% on average, of back-to-school shopping in a store rather than online this year.
Outdoor apparel and gear brand runs first TV ad
QVC to offer its first-ever TV-mobile AR shopping experience

QVC is merging augmented reality technologies, broadcast and mobile to create a more immersive beauty shopping experience.
Walmart expands online grocery delivery via Uber

The nation's largest retailer continues to beef up its defenses against Amazon. Walmart is expanding its online grocery delivery pilot via Uber to Orlando and Dallas. The pilot is currently ongoing in Phoenix and Tampa, Fla. (The chain also runs its own grocery delivery service in Denver and San Jose, California.) Walmart announced the expansion just days prior to a scheduled vote by Whole Foods Market's shareholders on its pending acquisition by Amazon.
Wal-Mart envisions ‘floating warehouse’

Amazon isn't the only retailer thinking about drones. Wal-Mart Stores has applied for a patent for a blimp-styled "floating warehouse" that could make deliveries directly to shoppers’ homes via drones, Bloomberg reported. The machine would fly at heights between 500 ft. and 1,000 ft. and be equipped with multiple launching bays. It would be operated autonomously or by a remote human pilot.