eCommerce

Union, N.J. – Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc. reported net earnings of $223.95 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 10% from $249.3 million but still ahead of Wall Street projections. Increases in both interest expense and selling, general and administrative expense helped reduce net earnings.

Seattle -- Amazon.com is expanding its relationship with Twitter. Amazon’s new #AmazonWishList allows customers to add items to their Amazon Wish List without ever leaving Twitter.

Customers who discover a Tweet from their favorite artist, expert, brand, or friend with an Amazon.com product link, can add “#AmazonWishList” to the reply on Twitter and the product is added to their Amazon Wish List.

New York -- Ron Johnson is reportedly stepping back into the public arena. The former J.C. Penney chief (and, before that, Apple retail head) is about to launch a “high-end, on-demand delivery service” for electronic devices, according to The Information. The report described the service as "Best Buy's Geek Squad meets Apple's Genius Bar."

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Northern California on Oct. 11. The store is located in Rocklin Commons in Rocklin, a suburb in the Sacramento area.  

This new opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Washington, D.C. – Total Halloween spending will reach $7.4 billion. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) Halloween Consumer Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average person will spend $77.52 this Halloween, compared to $75.03 the prior year.

Toronto -- One of the nation’s most venerable department store brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, has given a big boost to the retail revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners to open two stores in downtown Manhattan: a 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place (formerly called the World Financial Center), and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Arizona on Oct. 11. The store is located in the Maryvale Plaza Shopping Center in Phoenix. This new opening is part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. 

Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate more than 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
 

Boston – UsTrendy, a fashion e-commerce site with 20,000 designers from more than 100 countries posting their items for sale and receiving funding along with promotion for their clothing lines, is launching several new customer experience features in fourth quarter 2014.

These include:

Purchasers can customize clothing to fit by entering their measurements. They can also adjust the style of a garment, according to the designer’s choices.