eCommerce

Fourth quarter sales at CVS Health surged 11% to $41.1 billion, enabling the operator of nearly 10,000 stores to surpass a significant annual sales milestone.

Retailing Today sister publication Chain Store age announced the winners of its first annual Breakout Retailer Awards, which honors emerging retail/restaurant concepts that are innovative in their segment and show strong potential for growth.

Consumers are generally willing to use mobile apps to assist with grocery shopping, and there is one retailer whose app is the clear favorite.

According to a new study from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions,’ “How Grocery Shoppers Shop: Changing Trends in Grocery Shopping,” the top used grocery app among U.S. consumers by a wide margin is Amazon (71%). This is followed by grocery store apps (28%), Walmart (26%) and Target (25%). Third-party savings apps are not used much, with use in the low single digits for the grocery channel.

Transition versus transformation. Evolution versus revolution. These strategies inherently plague the retail sector as companies decide what to do next to stay ahead of the curve.

Old Navy, the division that has been performing the best for Gap Inc. for years, suffered a serious sales slump in the fourth quarter.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Gap Inc.’s net sales were $4.39 billion compared with $4.71 billion for the fourth quarter last year. Same-store sales at Gap Inc. were down 7% versus positive 2% last year. Same-store sales by global brand for the fourth quarter were as follows:

• Gap Global: negative 3% versus negative 6% last year

Sak Off 5th's first location in New York City will feature a pop-up shop that appeals to the retailer's target market.

Saks announced that Gilt will open its first ever in-store shop at the Saks Off 5th store in New York. The pairing of these two brands in a physical space marks Gilt's entry into brick-and-mortar retail and demonstrates the company's plans to bring an all-channel shopping experience to Gilt customers.

PetSmart has become the first pet retailer to ink a deal with the founder of one of the newest and most exciting innovations for dogs: meal replacement bars.

The specialty pet store announced it will carry TurboPUP portable meal bars for dogs in more than 900 PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Canada this year. Last week the founder of TurboPUP bars appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank with the news of her exclusive, national retail deal with the retailer. 

A new study of the retail habits of Generations Y and Z shows that the different age groups differ when it comes to using computers for online purchases versus shopping at brick-and-mortar stores.

A new GfK survey revelaled that Baby Boomers have been slower to adopt the smartphone as a shopping device. But when it comes to making purchases with a desktop or laptop computer, Boomers registered similar levels to Generation Y (40% and 43% respectively), while Gen Z came in at just 32%.

Burberry is going its own way — and it’s not alone. Reflecting the consumer’s demand for instant gratification, the high-end fashion brand is moving to a new system whereby it will show its new collections on the catwalk the same time they are available for sale in the stores — as opposed to six months beforehand, the New York Times reported. Shortly after Burberry’s announcement, designer Tom Ford said he would show both his men’s and women’s fall collections together next September, at the same time as the clothes were available to buy.

Yogasmoga, the made-in-America, Yoga-inspired athletic apparel retailer, is coming home.

The company, which is based in New York City, will open its first Big Apple location this spring. The store, in the NoHo section of downtown Manhattan, marks a continued commitment to expansion for the eco-conscious brand, which opened 10 stores in 2015.