eCommerce

Canadian retailer Arc'teryx has opened a stylish pop-up dedicated to its Veilance outerwear menswear collection.     Arc'teryx partnered with New York-based design firm Snarkitecture on the temporary store, located in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, which will be open until January 8, 2017.   

Sleepsherpa.com, an online sleep resource that offers reviews of mattresses, bedding, pillows and sleep devices, has entered the physical space.   The company has opened a mattress showroom in Edina, Minn., that allows customers to try out a selection of the online-only mattress brands that have sprung up the past few years and disrupted the traditional mattress-buying model by offering generous trial periods and low pricing.    

PREIT’s stated strategic shift to pack its portfolio with more relevant anchors is moving ahead at full steam.   At its Cumberland Mall in New Jersey this month, Dick’s Sporting Goods opened in a 50,000-sq.-ft. space vacated by J.C. Penney. In December, another former Penney’s space will debut as a Round One Entertainment location, and being readied for 2017 openings at other PREIT malls are Home Goods and Field & Stream stores, a Whole Foods Market, and a Legoland Discovery Center.  

REI has opened it largest location on the East Coast, a 51,000-sq.ft. flagship in Washington, D.C.   The store is designed to offer members of the outdoor community a place to meet and plan adventures — and shop for outdoor gear. It includes such features as a 1,052-sq.-ft. cafe, outdoor courtyard with a fire pit and tables, and a community space that offers a robust schedule of free and low-cost classes in-store classes for cycling, paddling, fitness, hiking and camping, climbing, snow sports, photography and wilderness medicine.

Boot Barn’s second quarter performance rose slightly, meeting Wall Street estimates. The western-influenced specialty retailer reported $134 million in revenue for the second quarter ending Sept. 24, 2016, a 3.3% increase from $129.7 million in the prior-year period. This jump also exceeded Wall Street’s estimate of $131.61 million. Boot Barn credited the increase to 13 new stores opened over the past 12 months, and a 1.8% increase in same-store sales. Two of those stores opened the chain during the second quarter.

Regardless of when retailers start their sales, Black Friday weekend is shaping up to feature the biggest deals yet.   According to BlackFriday.fm, a website that tracks the best Black Friday deals, news, and ad scans, “the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are going to be bigger than ever this year, “ said Rene Kirschbaum, director of BlackFriday.fm.   Among the retailers to watch include:  

Wayfair is making a bold move to grab more consumer wallet-share, and compete with brick-and-mortar retailers.   Complementing its private label credit card, Wayfar is offering a financing option to consumers purchasing furniture and decor. Through a partnership with financial services company Affirm, Wayfair shoppers now have the flexibility to buy now and make monthly payments for their purchases — a move that extend financing options to a broader range of customers.  

An extended holiday season could translate into an 11% increase in online sales with mobile devices leading the charge.   Adobe’s “2016 Digital Insights Shopping Predictions” report predicts that 53 consecutive days (57 calendar days in total) will exceed $1 billion in online sales, compared to 31 consecutive days last year — a 71% year-over-year (YoY) increase.