Consumer Electronics

Seattle – Shoppers at select Nordstrom Inc. stores are seeing a new pop-up shop. Specialty eyewear retailer Warby Parker is operating pop-up shops at six Nordstrom locations around the country until Sept. 6, and also offering an e-commerce page on the Nordstrom site.

As part of the Pop-In@Nordstrom series of themed pop-up shops, Warby-Parker will offer Nordstrom customers a curated selection of frames, as well as four exclusive pairs of sunglasses and an assortment of literary-themed specialty items such as colored pencils and watercolor markers.

Despite posting a sales increase in July, Conn's says nearly 10% of its customers are not paying their bills.

"Greater than 60-day delinquency was 9.2% as of July 31, 2015 compared to 8.7% as of July 31, 2014. Greater than 60-day delinquency as of July 31, 2015 increased seasonally compared to the June 30, 2015 rate of 8.9%," said Theodore M. Wright, Conn’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Bellevue, Wash. – Thrift shop customers appreciate the deep savings, but most of them do not shop out of necessity.

According to a new survey of 1,001 U.S. adults from the Savers thrift shop chain, 76% of Americans are choosing thrift with the top two reasons being that it’s cost-effective and feels like a treasure hunt. The new data about Americans’ shopping behaviors also highlights:  

• 77% agree that it’s important that they get a good deal or value on the items they buy.

The Woodlands, Texas – The decision to stop selling video game products, digital cameras, and certain tablets affected same-store sales at Conn’s Inc. during the second quarter and July fiscal 2016. However, Conn’s still reported total preliminary net retail sales of $325 million during the quarter, up 13% from the prior year period.

The CEO of hhgregg says his company is off to a “solid start” despite first quarter numbers that clearly show otherwise.

The retailer reported that for the first quarter ended June 30, net sales decreased 6.6% to $441.1 million compared to prior year first quarter. Same store sales decreased 6.3% compared to the prior year first quarter. Revenue for the quarter came in at $441.1 million versus the consensus estimate of $445.99 million. And net loss per diluted share was $0.32 versus net loss per diluted share of $0.36 in the prior year first quarter. 

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is offering a limited-time promotion aimed at back-to-school shoppers that provides free shipping for all U.S. online orders. The promotion, which runs through Aug. 15, also includes free returns on all orders, with some restrictions on oversize items.

Denver – Whatever the cool kids (and their families) are doing this summer, back-to-school shopping does not appear to be on the agenda.

An ongoing shopper behavior study conducted by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research shows that retailers will continue to see the number of back-to-school shoppers in their stores drop.

In 2014, the data showed 36% of shoppers would not be shopping back-to-school, and this year the study is showing a 7% increase in those not shopping for back-to-school.

Toys"R"Us is headed to a galaxy far, far away with its next promotion.