eCommerce

Los Altos, Calif. -- Shoppers using the Catalog Spreee iPad app read 60% more catalogs and viewed 39% more catalog pages when compared year-over-year (first quarter 2014, compared to first quarter 2013). In addition, Catalog Spree’s new quarterly iPad Shopping Trends Report indicates half of all shoppers visited a retailer's website directly from the app to view further product details.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corporation completed its spin-off of Lands' End Inc. on April 4. The specialty apparel company has now been separated from Sears Holdings and its common stock is expected to begin regular-way trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "LE" on April 7.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal announced that Kathy Bronstein resigned from its board of directors, effective April 4.

Lynda Davey, The Wet Seal’s non-executive chairman, stated: “Kathy has been a valued member of the board of directors and we appreciate the contributions she made to the company, both as a board member and during her earlier tenure as CEO.”

Carle Place, N.Y. -- Deliv has been chosen as a same-day delivery vendor for 1-800-Flowers.com, its affiliated gourmet food brands, and its network of BloomNet florists across the U.S. commencing with a pilot in the San Francisco Bay area. Using Deliv, 1-800-Flowers.com will enhance its same-day delivery service in several ways, including the use of Deliv's proprietary technology for an upgraded delivery experience.

New York -- The month of March saw a steep rise in smartphone-generated traffic, orders, and revenue by consumers to retailer smartphone-optimized websites over the year-ago period, according to mobile commerce platform Branding Brand. In March 2014, smartphones generated 29.4% of total online visits, up 42.7% from March 2013 (62.9% iOS, 36.4% Android). The market share of non-mobile (desktop) visits decreased 21.1% from March 2013 to March 2014.

Cologne, Germany -- EVO Payments International, a card payment acquirer and payment service provider operating in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, is releasing a new graphical user interface called Clever Pay GUI in Europe. EVO designed this new interface to make payment acceptance for online businesses easier and faster.

Toronto -- Hudson’s Bay Company’s net profit for the fourth quarter fell to $29.1 million from $86.8 million in the year ago period, amid higher expenses.

The company’s sales for the quarter, ended Feb.1, rose 74% to $2.41 billion, largely driven by the inclusion of Saks, which it acquired in November 2013. Same-store sales rose 6.6%, with an increase of 5.2% at its namesake stores, a 3.1% increase at Saks, and a decline of 1.3% at Lord & Taylor.

Fredericton, Canada -- Plaza Retail REIT plans six new Canadian retail projects: four new re-developments and two new ground-up development projects. Four projects are located in Quebec, one in Atlantic Canada and one in Ontario.

In all, Plaza will be investing approximately $24 million for its share of these six new projects and will add approximately 155,000-sq.-ft. to its portfolio of retail properties (at Plaza's ownership percentage). The Ontario project and three Quebec projects are being developed with joint venture partners.