eCommerce

Cambridge, Mass. – It’s not only middle-aged women that like to browse retail stores.

Bucking demographic stereotypes that suggest men and millennials are more tech-oriented, it turns out both groups are more likely than other consumer groups to browse in-store.

At least that’s according to a new study from Adroit Digital, “Marketing to Millennials,” which found that 57% of millennials do the majority of their retail browsing in-store, close to the 61% of consumers 35 and older who are in-store browsers.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly planning to offer customers a new option for directly picking up orders.

According to GeekWire, Amazon is currently testing the service, called Amazon Flex, in its Kirkland, Washington, distribution facility.

A sign inside the facility instructs Amazon Flex users to take a ticket with a number, look for the number to be displayed, and then pick up their package. Amazon has not discussed exactly how Flex would work, or when or where it may roll out.

Minneapolis – For the second quarter in a row, Best Buy Co. Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue with large-screen TVs and mobile phones providing a major boost to its results.

Best Buy reported net income of $164 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, up 12% from $146 million the same period the previous fiscal year.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. met Wall Street expectations for profit but did not grow revenues as much as projected during a mixed second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Costs and expenses increased at a slower rate than sales, allowing net income to improve 9% to $37.61 million, from $34.33 million in the prior year period. Net sales increased 7% to $627.2 million, from $587.1 million. Same-store sales rose 1.8%.

Mike MacDonald, president and CEO, also attributed rising profits to merchandise selling strategy.

DSW says its investments in becoming a more “customer-centric” company are paying off, as the retailer reported sales and earnings growth in the second quarter.

Traffic problems and increased discounts led specialty apparel retailer The Children’s Place Inc.

 Specialty apparel retailer The Children’s Place Inc. saw its net loss grow and net sales drop in a difficult second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Fast growing e-commerce firm Instacart is now delivering groceries to a 17th major U.S. metropolitan area.

Beginning this week, customers can order from Whole Foods Market, Costco (no membership needed), Marsh Supermarkets, Georgetown Market and Petco stores and have everything delivered by Instacart in as little as one hour.

Not only is Amazon.com launching its one-hour Prime Now delivery service in its hometown of Seattle, but it's also adding a whole new category of deliverable products.

The retailer announced Tuesday it will add wine, beer and spirits to its assortment of eligible products for Prime Now delivery.

Seattle becomes the first U.S. city to include alcohol in the assortment of products eligible for the quick-delivery service.

Loft and Express are the strongest online players in contemporary apparel, with less promotional activity and strong assortments, according to a report analyzing key contemporary players and year-over-year changes by fashion trendsetting and analysis firm WGSN. On the other hand, Anthropologie and J. Crew lack a cohesive merchandising and pricing strategy.

The report is based on data is sourced from the WGSN INStock analytics platform, which monitors the e-commerce catalogues of 12,000 brands and retailers, 400 product categories and 40 million SKUs.