Consumer Electronics

As retailers feel the pressure to raise wages for employees, GameStop is focusing on education by giving staffers an incentive to enter the classroom.

GameStop is launching a new scholarship for its employees that would allow them or their children to go to college. The program is called “Power to the Scholars,” a reference to the “Power to the Players” slogan the company has popularized over the years.

Toronto – Sears Canada Inc. is reportedly reducing some departments while expanding others in a move to capitalize on the retreat of Target from the Canadian retail landscape. According to the Toronto Globe & Mail, Sears Canada plans to stop selling electronics altogether while also reducing its tool and hardware assortment by more than 50%.

Montreal – Canadian grocery retailer Metro Inc. is interested in purchasing some of the 133 Canadian stores Target Corp. finished closing earlier this month. In an April 22 conference call with investors, Metro said the possibility exists that it will try to purchase certain former Target stores.

"There are a few of those stores that could be of interest to us down the road if they become available," Eric La Fleche, CEO of Metro, said during the call.

HSN Inc. has appointed a new chief marketing officer to drive growth for the $3.6 billion multichannel retailer. 

The company named John Aylward as executive VP and chief marketing officer for HSN.

Seattle - While Amazon is winning the battle for smartphone shoppers in America, it has yet to achieve the same dominance in at least 10 other countries internationally. This is the key finding of a monthly report from Informate Mobile Intelligence that tracked and measured consumer use of smartphones in 12 countries during February 2015.

The new report reveals shopping apps as having the highest penetration in the U.S. at 60%, followed by India at 46%. The other 10 countries measured, by comparison, only had a median reach of about 18%.

For those shoppers who are sick of lugging phone chargers from room to room, Ikea has a solution: The Swedish retailer is launching a new line of home furnishings with wireless chargers.

As smartphones have become an essential part of consumers’ lives, Ikea decided to make the charging function a natural part of the home.

Video game retailer GameStop is lending its support to Ronald McDonald Houses by donating 180 free PlayStations.

The retailer, in conjunction with Sony Computer Entertainment America, says it plans to donate a PlayStation 4 gaming bundle to all Ronald McDonald Houses in the United States.

Greensboro, N.C. -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers and Foxwoods Resort Casino announced that Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods will celebrate the new center's grand opening on Thursday, May 21 kicking off at 10 a.m. with an official ribbon cutting hosted by Drew and Jonathan from the hit show, Property Brothers. The festivities will include a design workshop with the Property Brothers, an Instagram Tech Lounge, as well as special savings and giveaways.