eCommerce

Destination XL says it is on pace to open its 175th store next year as the big and tall retailer also posted a jump in same-store sales and filled a newly created position with a veteran from Genesco.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, same store sales at the company increased 4.3%. Destination XL also narrowed its loss to $5.47 million, or 11 cents a share. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $6.28 million, or 13 cents a share.

Williams-Sonoma says its customer-focused strategy and brand portfolio led to its earnings spike in the third quarter and will further position the company for growth into the holiday season.

Of all the major big-box retailers, only one has a digital IQ ranking in the “genius” range.

According to the new Big Box Digital IQ Index from business intelligence firm L2 Inc., Home Depot stands along among big-box chains with a genius-level digital IQ score of 144. IQ scores measure performance in four key areas of site and e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, and mobile and tablet.

Just in time for the holidays, Google is revamping its Google Shopping online marketplace to make it more mobile-friendly.

In a blog post, Google explains that mobile shopping-related searches now exceed desktop-based shopping-related searches, meaning online shopping has shifted from a “marathon” to “moments.” To help better capture mobile consumers at the moment they are looking to buy a product, Google is now displaying the most commonly searched categories in response to broad search terms.

Higher demand for running and basketball shoes is translating into more record sales and profits for Foot Locker, which reported impressive third quarter results on Friday.

The New York-based specialty athletic retailer posted a same store sales increase of 8.7% in its third quarter ended Oct. 31.

Hibbett Sports says strong expense control and footwear sales helped the retailer increase earnings in the third quarter.

The Alabama-based sporting goods retailer reported that for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, profit was $18.7 million, or 79 cents a share, up from $16.9 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 4.6% to $228.3 million. Same-store sales increased .6%.

Fresh Market’s new CEO Rick Anicetti said he is making changes as fast as possible to restore growth to a retailer he contends has enormous untapped potential.

Ross Stores joined rival off-price retailer TJX in avoiding the weak traffic trends that have plagued other retailers in the third quarter, as shoppers continue to be attracted to value-priced merchandise.

Ross Stores reported that earnings per share for the 13 weeks ended Oct. 31 increased 15% to 53 cents on net earnings that rose 12% to $216 million. Sales for the fiscal 2015 third quarter grew 7% to $2.783 billion, with same store sales up 3%.

A steep profit decline and deteriorating sales at two of Gap Inc.’s three flagship formats in the third quarter have CEO Art Peck looking ahead to what he expects to be better times.

A retailer noted for consistently strong online customer service has received top ranking once again.

For the second consecutive quarter, L.L Bean is the top-ranked company in Stella Benchmarks from StellaService. During the third quarter of fiscal 2015, L.L .Bean ranked within the top 10 for four of five service areas in Stella Benchmarks, including phone (No. 5), email (No. 3), chat (No. 7) and returns (No. 4). In shipping, L.L. Bean ranked outside the top 25.