eCommerce

Specialty fashion retailer Vanity is trying to make visiting its stores as rewarding an experience as possible.

Same-day delivery provider Deliv is strengthening its position in the important New York market.

Deliv has acquired Zipments, a New York-based same-day delivery company. This gives Deliv more of a foothold and delivery density in New York City, one of the largest markets for same-day delivery in the country.

Zipments services brands such as Trina Turk, on-demand companies such as Casper, Handy, and Plated, local merchants such as B&H, Murray's Cheese and Epicerie Boulud, as well as large corporate clients who need to send packages across town.

When Amazon.com opened its first brick-and-mortar store this month selling books, many wondered what the e-commerce giant was up to. Now Forbes is telling us what that is. [Forbes]

Think quick – who are your top competitors? No matter what product category or channels you operate in, if your list of top two or three rivals doesn’t include Amazon.com, it probably needs updating.

Staples CIO Tom Conophy has publicly identified Amazon as a prime competitor, and Walmart has launched a clear strategy of trying to one-up Amazon innovations like Prime Day and delivery drones. But even if you’re not a major big-box chain, Amazon still most likely represents a critical threat to your market share. Here are three reasons why.

Merriam Webster defines democratize as “to make (something) available to all people.” We are
witnessing the democratization of technology as technology providers are able to put
increasingly powerful solutions in the cloud, making industry-leading capabilities available to
even the smallest retailers.

Photo: From left: Sarah Amundsen, Target Corp.; Lee Peterson, WD Partners; and Erin Tyler, Target Corp.

HHgregg 's CEO says the company is on track to meet key financial objectives even though it posted negative same-store sales growth and a larger loss in the second quarter.

Dunbar Commercial, a Henderson, Nevada-based commercial real estate brokerage firm, has secured a 10-year lease on behalf of Victoria’s Secret. Dunbar Commercial principal Bill Dunbar made the announcement.

The 7,852-sq.-ft. Victoria’s Secret opened Oct. 23 at The District at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. Dunbar Commercial represented both the tenant and landlord in the transaction.

Paster Properties, a developer and manager of retail projects in Minnesota, and Bader Development, a multi-family property developer and manager, have partnered to develop a six-story, 155,000-sq.-ft., mixed-use redevelopment project in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

While Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market struggle to eke out sales growth and profit, Sprouts Farmers Market is quietly emerging as a perennial winner in the grocery sector.

Sprouts reported its third quarter results this week, and the company's financials exceeded company guidance and even Wall Street estimates.

The grocery chain reported results for the 13-week third quarter ended Sept. 27 that included:

• Net sales of $903.1 million, an 18% increase from the same period in 2014