eCommerce

San Francisco – Never mind Gen Y, the millennial generation that roughly ends with young consumers born in 2000.

Williams-Sonoma tween and tween banner PBteen is targeting the post-2000 “Gen Z” audience with an original six-episode Web series called “Revved Up Rooms.”

International wholesale club PriceSmart keeps attracting shoppers to its stores, as the retailer reported an increase in same store sales for the third quarter.

Gap Inc. continues to suffer from a lack of traffic to its stores and Web site, but the sales decline abated somewhat in June.

The private equity firms that paid a premium to take Michaels private nearly a decade ago continue to gradually unwind their majority position in the nation’s largest arts and crafts retailer.

New York -- Although the list of retailers reporting monthly sales has grown considerably slim over the past few years, a handful are still going public with the metric.

Costco Wholesale Corp. announced on Thursday that its same-store sales fell 1% in June, following a 1% drop in its most recent quarter (ended May 1), which was the chain’s first quarterly drop since 2009.

New York -- Trader Joe’s is opening a store in the heart of what is arguably the nation’s hippest enclave.

The grocer has signed a lease to open an 18,000-sq.-ft. in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, reported Crain’s New York.

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Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening a combination store format.

The retailer will open its first “All-American Sports Center” on July 23 at McGowin Park in Mobile, Alabama. The concept features a Dick's Sporting Goods and a Field & Stream store in one location under the same roof.  

Customers benefit from an expanded assortment and the ability to move between the two stores once inside, creating a unique, exciting shopping experience, Dick’s said.

Wayne, N.J. – Toys “R” Us is taking e-commerce into its own hands.

In a move to optimize its e-commerce business and significantly improve the customer experience online, the toy giant announced plans to bring its U.S. e-commerce operations in-house. The plans include building and managing a new platform for Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com and FAO.com.

Toys “R” Us expects to launch its own online platform by the end of summer 2016.

Burlington, Ontario -- Ikea Canada announced the national rollout of electric vehicle charging stations at each of its 12 stores across Canada.  

The rollout, set to be completed by late August of this year, is the first national installation of EV charging stations in Canada by a retailer at all of its locations.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. is putting a spotlight on how the “Internet of Things“(IoT) will transform consumers’ homes and lives.

The company has opened an experimental space that provides an upfront and personal look at how the IoT can connects everyday items like thermostats and door locks. The move follows the opening of Sears’s “Connected Solutions” flagship in San Bruno, California.