eCommerce

Save-A-Lot, the deep-discount division of grocery giant Supervalu, on Wednesday named a supermarket veteran with more than 30 years of experience as its new CEO. Eric Claus, 59, takes the reins of Save-A-Lot after spending the past two-plus years as chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores Inc., a chain of value retail stores based in Canada.

Despite significant investments by many retailers, U.S. consumers are unsatisfied with the levels of customer service offered this holiday season.

According to the new 2015 Retail Holiday Customer Experience study from customer engagement solutions provider Eptica, 35% of consumers are unhappy with the online experience. This figure rises to 40% in store.

Strong sales at Maurices and Lane Bryant weren’t enough to lift Ascena in the first quarter, as the company reported a decrease in comps.

For the period ended Oct. 24, the company reported a net loss of 10 cents per diluted share compared to net income of 32 cents per diluted share in the same period of fiscal 2015. The company blamed the decrease on transaction costs related to the acquisition of Ann Inc., which closed during the first quarter fof fiscal 2016. Comps dropped 3% in the first quarter.

It’s no wonder so many shoppers were not impressed with some of the big holiday deals being offered by big retailers this past week.

In-store sales declines over Black Friday weekend had many analysts buzzing about the future of brick and mortar. But an expert in store traffic cautioned that the declines should be taken with a grain of salt.

“It’s important to view the decrease in context,” said Bill Martin, founder, ShopperTrak.

Martin noted that where are several contributing factors, including fewer available store hours on Thanksgiving Day and a later Hanukah that is anticipated to push sales into December.

One retailer was clearly in a league of its own when it came to social media dominance of Cyber Monday.

Shoppers are purchasing more on mobile than ever before — and they are also making larger purchases.

That’s according to a new report from Yesmail, the email service provider within Yes Lifecycle Marketing, which found that overall revenue coming from mobile devices is up 9.9% year-over-year, according to Yesmail.

Nordstrom Rack, the off-price division of Nordstrom, continues its expansion, announcing two new upcoming locations.

The retailer plans to open a 28,000-sq.-ft. store at Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, Ill., in fall 2016. The property is owned by Macerich.

Cyber Monday 2015 will be a day for the retail record books, at least until next holiday season.