eCommerce

Longueuil, Quebec -- Canadian drug store operator The Jean Coutu Group is looking to boost holiday sales and make shopping more convenient this holiday season with the launch of an “e-store” window inside the Longueuil Metro Station.

Located in the A Wing of the Longueuil Metro Station, a key public transit hub, the e-store window allows consumers to make holiday purchases online on the spot using their smartphones. Purchased items can be delivered to the address of their choosing before Dec. 24.

Meijer is extending Cyber Monday into a weeklong sales event on Meijer.com, offering customers deep discounts and free shipping on orders of more than $75. The Midwestern retailer will offer Cyber Week savings from Sunday through Dec. 7.

Purchase, N.Y. — Old Navy has taken a 13,500-sq.-ft. space in Orange Plaza, an 815,000-sq.-ft. power center in Middletown, N.Y., according to National Realty & Development Corp.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kohl’s Department Store, Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond and The Home Depot anchor the center. Orange Plaza draws shoppers from a 25-mile circle including the Hudson Valley and areas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Fortified by growing e-commerce sales and time spent across digital channels, the U.S. retail industry will grow its digital ad spending more rapidly this year than in 2012, according to new figures from eMarketer.

By the end of this year, eMarketer predicts, U.S. retailers will have increased digital ad budgets by 15.7% to $9.50 billion, following growth of 14.5% last year.

New York -- Fitch Ratings expects total U.S. retail sales growth in the 4% range in 2014, a modest increase over expected 2013 figures that reflects slight improvement in both the employment rate and real wages.

Fitch expects 2013 holiday sales to grow in the 3%-4% range, in line with The National Retail Federation forecasts that November and December sales will increase 3.9% year over year to $602 billion.

Purchase, N.Y. -- MasterCard  and global online payment provider Ogone are partnering on the integration and deployment of MasterPass. This collaboration which covers Belgium, The Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain in a first phase and the remaining countries Ogone operates in later on.

Early this week, Target began to generate traffic to its e-commerce site ahead of Cyber Week. They offered REDcard holders an exclusive online Black Friday preview sale, and Cartwheel app users Black Friday-like deals.

Cartwheel is the digital savings program that allows guests to choose in-store offers and claim savings directly from their smartphones, which Target began rolling out earlier this year.

Highland Park, Ill. — Executives with Renaissance Place are working with officials from the City of Highland Park, Ill., to identify the best use for a 49,000-sq.-ft. building that Saks vacated at the close of 2012.

One possible use is healthcare, which may involve interventional cardiology, MRI/radiology and other outpatient services. The Renaissance Place team is also considering national, regional and local retailers.