Retail

TigerDirect is encouraging consumers to unleash their inner geek with 18th annual PC Race.

The retailer has partnered with Intel to host the competition, which is set to kick off at QuakeCon 2015 in Dallas from July 23 to July 26. The first contestant to assemble and boot their high performance PCs in each regional race will win an all expenses paid trip to Miami to compete in the National Finals on Nov. 6 during Tech Bash.

Washington, D.C. - Following up on last month’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the National Retail Federation (NRF) and other business groups today urged Congress to move quickly on reforms to the five-year-old healthcare law.

“We write to urge Congress to put priority attention toward easing the cost and compliance burdens associated with the Affordable Care Act,” the groups said in a letter to members of the House and Senate.

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Back-to-school shoppers are both willing to spend more and also seeking savings this season. According to a new survey that department store chain Meijer conducted of its customers, approximately 92% of households with school-age children plan to spend the same amount or more than the previous year for back-to–school supplies.

Retailers today are in a constant search for the industry’s Holy Grail – delivering an omnichannel brand experience across all touchpoints. Unfortunately, this quest to deliver on the promise of the omnichannel experience has given rise to a troublesome and pervasive problem known as fake omnichannel or “’fomni.”

Amid their search, retailers confront a wide array of commerce-related software solutions masquerading as omnichannel and promising to provide the type of seamless experiences shoppers now expect.

Washington, D.C. - While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ list of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers. According to the State of Retailing Online 2015 report, conducted by Shop.org, Forrester Research Inc. and Bizrate Insights, 25% of retailers surveyed cite Facebook as a top acquisition platform.

Hoboken, N.J. – A new rival to Amazon.com has officially taken flight. Jet.com, a membership-based e-commerce platform that promises to beat Amazon Prime prices using “profit-free pricing,” launched as of July 21.

Jet says it sells millions of items, in sizes ranging from small to bulk. The site is specifically designed to compete with the Amazon Prime paid loyalty service, charging $49.99 for an annual membership fee (although it is currently offering an introductory free three-month trial).

Cincinnati - Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II Inc. has acquired two grocery-anchored shopping centers, expanding the company's portfolio in Colorado. Meadows on the Parkway is a 216,437-sq.-ft. grocery store-anchored shopping center in Boulder, Colorado, The center is anchored by Safeway and also features national tenants Subway, Regus, Great Clips, Michaels, Anytime Fitness and Fast Signs.

While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ lists of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers.