eCommerce

Austin, Texas – Labor Day is supposed to be a day of rest, but consumers are planning to work at shopping for the upcoming Labor Day holiday Sept. 7.

According to a recent RetailMeNot-Kelton survey, two in three (67%) people planning to spend money this Labor Day will spend an average of $144.

In addition, 13% anticipate their Labor Day spend will exceed $200. While 67% of consumers do actually plan to relax at home, one in three intend to visit the mall.

Target Corp. has a new finance chief and executive VP. Cathy Smith officially joined the discounter on Sept. 1, coming from Express Scripts, the nation’s largest pharmacy benefits manager, where she was also CFO.  

A seasoned retail leader, Smith also held CFO positions at Walmart International, GameStop, and others. Target recently posted a Q&A with Smith on its Bullseye blog. Here are some highlights:

What made you decide to take on this role at Target?

Fast-growing online furnishings retailer Wayfair.com plans to host a “Shark Tank-like” business competition for entrepreneurs.

Winners of the "Kitchen Cabinet" contest will receive a $2,500 home office makeover and a business consultation from the home furnishings and decor e-tailer.

Wayfair said the event will take place Oct. 2 and its Heart Home conference, a three-day gathering of bloggers, designers, and other entrepreneurs, at the Boston Copley Marriott. Participants must enter by Sept. 15.

A rapidly expanding retailer led by a former top Walmart executive is supposed to produce strong same store sales growth, leverage expenses and increase profits. So why isn’t Five Below?

Joel Anderson’s tenure as CEO of value priced retailer Five Below (where everything cost less than $5) is off to an uneven start. The company is achieving its profitability targets, but doing so with productivity improvement in its selling space that is surprisingly weak given the newness of its store base.

Internet retailers entering the physical space continues to be a growing trend, if the new Sole Society store in Santa Monica, Calif., is any indication.

The company opened the doors to its first brick-and-mortar retail store at Santa Monica Place this week. Launched in 2011, the Los Angeles-based online footwear brand kicked up buzz by delivering stylish $100-and-under shoes directly to consumers' doors. 

The founder and chairman of U.K.-based online luxury retailer Net-a-Porter has unexpectedly resigned from the company ahead of a merger with another e-commerce group.

Sam's Club is taking on Costco in the auto buying program business by teaming up with one of the biggest names in car-shopping in an effort to boost its auto business.

The all-new Sam's Club Auto Buying Program will now be powered by TrueCar, Sam's Club announced Thursday. Sams Club says members will have access to more than 10,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers nationwide, more than three times the nearest competitor in the warehouse club channel (i.e., Costco).

Despite reporting ho-hum sales for July, Costco said Thursday that its comps for the fourth quarter and fiscal year were up an impressive 6%.

The CEO of Genesco Inc. says the company had strong sales despite the later start to the back-to-school season and some pressures to right-size inventories.

Fairfax, Va. -- One of the Web’s leading “geek-gear” and collectibles retailer is going offline.

Online retailer ThinkGeek is partnering with its new owner, GameStop, to open a new store format focused entirely on collectibles. The first ThinkGeek store will open in the Florida Mall in Orlando, on Sept. 25, and additional stores are planned.