eCommerce

Pritzker Group Venture Capital, formerly New World Ventures, has invested $45 million in Chicago-based SMS Assist, a leading mobile and cloud-based facilities maintenance technology company.  
 

New York -- Coach reported a decline in first-quarter profit amid declining North America sales. The company had net income of $217.88 million, down from $221.38 million in the previous year.
 
Net sales for the quarter fell 1% to $1.15 billion from $1.16 billion a year ago, below analysts' estimate of $1.19 billion.

By Crosby Renwick, [email protected]

Sure, the Internet plays an aggressive game. It’s looking like the Internet business is trouncing the retail business. However vast an assortment or low the prices a retailer offers, the Internet does it better and cheaper. The prognosticators all say the same thing: What little growth there will be in consumer spending over the next five years is mostly going to happen online.

Online retailer Rue La La will be leveraging Artisan Mobile’s Artisan Optimize platform to enhance its mobile technology.

"We are excited to be working with Artisan Optimize to directly impact the results of our mobile app," said Gerry McGoldrick, VP, Marketing, Rue La La. "Through their technology we are learning what drives conversions and, more importantly, we are able to make changes quickly and easily to keep consumers engaged."

New York – Saks Inc. has settled lawsuits from investors related to its proposed buyout by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC). According to Bloomberg, Saks has reached an agreement that reduces the termination fee it would pay HBC in the event the purchase does not happen and reduces the time Saks has to seek alternative offers

eBay has introduced a set of new features that make browsing and buying on the site a more personalized experience. The company is also accelerating its efforts in local commerce and plans to extend its eBay Now delivery service to 25 markets by the end of 2014, including Chicago.

Reston, Va. – The start of the annual school year drove U.S. consumer traffic at retail sites in September. According to comScore MediaMetrix data, retail computer software sites were the third-most-visited website category in September 2013 with about 64.3 million unique U.S. visitors, up 12% from 57.3 million the prior month.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue, in partnership with Stylewhile, has launched a new iPad App that allows users to fit clothing to their specific body type before purchase. Not only can users virtually 'try on' clothes, but they can also use the App to select various items from retailers to create and style complete looks with the touch of a button.