Consumer Electronics

Soon Canadian technology enthusiasts will have a new, faster option for fulfilling online purchases.

Digital computer and electronics retailer Newegg is opening a physical pickup center at its warehouse in Vancouver. In September 2015, Newegg sought to decrease the time and cost associated with order fulfillment to customers in Western Canada with the opening of its Vancouver warehouse.

Adding the pickup center now gives customers in the Vancouver area the chance to fulfill their orders the same day, with no delivery fee.

The giant of online retailing apparently is developing a taste for brick-and-mortar.

In news that is likely to set off a wave of speculation, Amazon confirmed it will open its second physical bookstore, this time at Westfield UTC mall in San Diego, California. Amazon Books is expected to open at the open-air shopping center sometime this summer.

Nordstrom has extended its special relationship with Hawaiians by opening a gem of a store in the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu.

The three-level, 186,000 square-foot store features new interior and exterior design concepts, a full-service restaurant and bar, cocktail lounge, new departments and an enhanced beauty shopping experience. Nordstrom has operated in Hawaii for 50 years and the new store is a replacement for a store the retailer opened at the other end of the mall just eight years ago.

American’s dependence on their devices – and their tendency to break – has given rise to a new breed of retailer that promises to get its customer back in the digital game fast.

Carmel, Indiana-based uBreakiFix is on the move again in its home state with another new location in the Indianapolis market, its fourth in the area. UBreakiFix currently operates more than 170 stores after opening 63 locations last year. The fast-growing company expects to have 275 stores across North American by next year.

The explosive growth of connected devices combined with consumer preference for retailer-brand protection plans creates a growing opportunity for retailers to boost revenue and shopper loyalty. 

Chain Store Age’s 52nd annual SPECS conference starts March 13 at Hotel Anatole in Dallas. Although the conference focuses on store planning/design, equipment, construction and facility services, it offers several sessions that are of great potential interest to retail IT professionals. Here is a brief overview of five technology-themed SPECS conferences.

Without light, design doesn’t exist and cannot be seen or experienced. Increasingly, light goes beyond the purely function to perform an aesthetic role in assuming center stage. Much of this enhanced role is a byproduct of almost limitless possibilities that now exist to use light sources in places and ways that were previously inconceivable.

Light is no longer just about seeing. More and more, it is being used as a design tool integral to creating exciting retail environments. With that in mind, here are five new ways to think about light: