eCommerce

Chesapeake, Va. – Dollar Tree Inc. slightly exceeded Wall Street estimates with net income of $138.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, up 4% from $133.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Net sales rose 7% to $2 billion from $1.87 billion, and same-store sales increased 2%.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears, Roebuck and Co. is launching a new promotional Web series starting reality TV stars Sean and Catherine Lowe and Sears celebrity designer Ty Pennington. Customers and Shop Your Way loyalty members will be asked to design the patio of the couple's new home via this Web series from Sears outdoor living.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. is going to increase its focus on female customers. In a conference call with analysts discussing the company’s first quarter financial results, CEO Ed Stack said that the women’s segment has the most growth potential of any segment Dick’s targets.

Chicago - Renewed consumer spending is in line with pre-recession trends and consumer optimism is higher than it's been in years. In 2013, Mintel estimates that personal consumption expenditures on consumer goods reached $10 trillion for the first time.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. posted a 16% drop in first quarter earnings as costs related to its data breach and the company's troubled Canadian operations continue to take a toll on its overall performance. The retailer also cut its annual profit forecast and released a second quarter projection below Street expectations. On a positive note, Target's same-store sales metric improved from the last quarter.

Jacksonville, Fla. - A lack of robust reporting tools that can give a 360-degree view to all aspects of a customer purchase and profile can seriously hinder e-commerce growth and optimization. A new study of 4,346 e-commerce marketers conducted by MarketingSherpa and sponsored by EBay Enterprise company Magneto shows that companies with a testing and optimization strategy based on extensive historical data saw higher median conversion rates than those that test based on intuition, best practices or don't test at all.

San Bruno, Calif. – Wal-Mart is reportedly planning to substantially expand its e-commerce operation based in Sunnyvale, California. According to the Oakland Tribune, Wal-Mart intends to add hundreds of staffers to its global e-commerce unit there, bringing the total number of e-commerce employees to about 1,000.

In addition, Wal-Mart will lease a 107,000-sq.-ft. space in Sunnyvale to help house its e-commerce operations. Currently, the retailer employs about 550 e-commerce employees in Sunnyvale at an existing facility it will maintain.

Pittsburgh - Following a comprehensive fleet review, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. has identified 150 stores to close in North America during the next three years, including nearly 100 AE stores. For 2014, the company is planning to close approximately 50 AE and 20 aerie stores in North America.