eCommerce

Costco is adding a bit of digital expertise to its ranks with its latest new board member.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel recently interviewed people who had already finished their 2015 Christmas shopping. And while they might seem like “very, very sick people,” as Kimmel put it, in the e-commerce world they would be behind schedule. If you haven’t started prepping your online store for the holidays, it’s beyond time to get rolling. Here are four essentials of ecommerce holiday prep:

1. Have Yourself a Mobile Little Christmas

Amazon.com has joined the cadre of retailers weighing in on the hottest toys of the holiday season by curating a list of more than 1,000 toys for kids.

The retailer’s Hot Toy List includes products for kids of all ages and interests. In addition to highlighting Mom Picks and Kid Picks, Amazon’s holiday toy list also features new trend-focused categories: STEM, Movie Favorites, Retro, and Toys That Go.

Online beauty and grooming retailer Birchbox is moving into product development as the company launches its own brand of beauty products.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel recently interviewed people who had already finished their 2015 Christmas shopping. And while they might seem like “very, very sick people,” as Kimmel put it, in the e-commerce world they would be behind schedule. If you haven’t started prepping your online store for the holidays, it’s beyond time to get rolling.

Toys"R"Us is looking to make the holidays a lot merrier for the 15.5 million children living in poverty in the United States.

The retailer has launched its annual nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Now through Dec. 6, customers can spread holiday joy to children living in poverty by donating new, unwrapped toys at any Toys"R"Us or Babies"R"Us store across the country and online.

The latest retail data breach demonstrates that hackers will victimize whoever is vulnerable.

America’s Thrift Stores, an Alabama-based, 18-store for-profit chain that sells donated items and then contributes a significant portion of the profit to local charities, has been breached. Hackers used malware to compromise the systems of a third-party service provider, which gave them access to the America’s Thrift Stores network.

Downtown Los Angeles is in the middle of a profound revitalization, one that is bringing new energy to a sprawling area that had long been written off as a cultural wasteland — and ghost town after 5 p.m. New residential construction has brought an influx of new residents into the area, with retailers and restaurants rushing in to meet the new demands.

It’s officially fall and, for retailers, this means holiday shopping season is right around the corner. For most, the season is marked by increased sales, both on and offline, and an opportunity to tap the highly profitable demographic of holiday shoppers. Likewise, it’s a chance for merchants to explore new markets and test new locations for possible retail site development.