Department Store

An uptick in college student enrollment will give a big boost to retailers' second biggest shopping season.    Combined back-to-school and back-to-college spending is projected to reach $83.6 billion, up more than 10% from last year’s $75.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.   

The Marketplace at Potomoc Towne Center in Ranson, West Virginia, has been acquired for $35.9 million by Heidenberg Properties Group and Strategic Real Estate Partners (SERP) in a joint venture deal. The seller was Carl Freeman Companies of Rockville, Maryland.  

J.C. Penney isn't playing around when it comes to toys.  

Retailers who wait until late summer this year to launch back-to-school deals are only hurting themselves, because early shoppers will spend more than late starters.    That's according to Deloitte's "2017 Back-to-School Survey," which also detected a big shift in where back-to-school will be shopping this year. One thing that hasn't changed: In-store still prevails.   

WD Partners announced that Elaine Kleinschmidt has joined the firm's Columbus office as executive VP of strategy & experience design.     Kleinschmidt joins WD Partners from Big Red Rooster, where she most recently served as VP, digital experience leading work for brands like Macy's, Under Armour and Cabela's with a focus on innovation, omniexperience strategy, and digital engagement. Previously, Kleinschmidt held creative leadership positions at Tweenbrands, Resource Interactive, Target, and Victoria's Secret.

Amazon’s third annual Prime Day was its biggest shopping event yet — and the biggest day in its history for signing up new Prime members.  

Best Buy ranks highest in customer satisfaction in the $24 billion-plus appliance market.    That's according to the J.D. Power 2017 Appliance Retailer Satisfaction Study. With a score of 857, Best Buy came out on top, ahead of Lowe's (840), The Home Depot (839), Hhgregg (831) and Sears (828). Overall satisfaction with appliance retailers in 2017 is 838 points, up from 821 in 2016.   

Shoppers are buying more goods than ever online, but they also are increasingly picking the items up at — and returning them to — brick-and-mortar store.