eCommerce

Washington, D.C. –- During the 2014 holiday season, spending on tiny plastic or digital gift cards will top all previous records. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF) Gift Card Spending Survey, the average person buying gift cards will spend $172.74, up from $163.16 in 2013. Total spending is expected to reach $31.74 billion.  

New York -- Ramping up for Black Friday, Amazon increased its product listings by 43% in the third quarter of 2014, adding four times as many SKUs to its website between July and September than it did in the entire first half of 2014. According to a report by CommerceHub, the online retail giant primarily grew products within the categories of electronics, home improvement and health & beauty.  

Los Angeles -- A round-up of new additions to Los Angeles shopping destination Beverly Center have further elevated the shopping experience at the Bloomingdales- and Macy’s-anchored center.

 

Uniqlo opened on Oct. 10, introducing a Los Angeles flagship for the fast-fashion retailer in 30,000 sq. ft. of space that is the largest storefront in the Uniqlo portfolio.

 

New York -- Online beauty retailer Birchbox is launching in Canada, marking the sixth country the company has expanded to since launching in the United States in Sept. 2010.      Since our launch in 2010, we’ve had tens of thousands of customer inquiries regarding shipping to Canada,” says Birchbox co-Founder and co-CEO Katia Beauchamp. “So we’re thrilled to finally bring Birchbox north of the border.”  

Cincinnati –- Half of all consumers dislike the idea of all-day Thanksgiving store shopping hours, although younger consumers are more open to it.   According to a survey of 1,001 U.S. consumers by loyalty services provider Loyalty One, 50% say all-day shopping hours on Thanksgiving Day are a bad idea that detracts from the traditional celebration.  

Hangzhou, China -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which previously said it is in discussions with Apple about working with its Apple Pay digital payment service, is now reportedly also open to working with EBay’s PayPal digital payment service.  

Manhattan Beach, Calif. -- Skechers is celebrating the opening of its 1,000th retail store. The company, which operates in more than 75 countries, hit the milestone mark with the opening of a new store in Mexico City on Wednesday, preceded by an additional store opening in Mexico earlier this week and two in California last week.  

Old Bridge, N.J. -- An improved picture in both ‘big-box’ and smaller store spaces combined to push the retail vacancy rate along central New Jersey’s major shopping corridors to a six-year low of 7.6% from 9.8% in 2013, according to the latest study by R.J. Brunelli & Co. Looking back over the past 10 years, the 2014 figure compared with the high of 10.5% in 2011 and low of 3.4% in 2006.