eCommerce

ModCloth, the online apparel retailer known for its indie and vintage-inspired styles, is opening up its first permanent store.   The company will open a 4,000-sq.-ft. location in Austin, Texas, in November, Bloomberg reported. Other locations are likely to follow.  

It’s that time of the year again — specifically, time for the holiday forecasts to start pouring in.

Let’s start with the good news. Early reports are calling for a solid season, with Deloitte predicting a 3.6% to 4% increase in total retail sales over last year.

As for the upcoming presidential election, it may be a temporary distraction in the early part of the holiday shopping season, but it’s not expected to have a negative impact on total sales. In fact, if past years are any indication, retailers may even benefit from a pickup in postelection consumer spending.

IoT is making it easier for retailers to interact with consumers via connected home-based devices that allow consumers to interact with brands without launching a website or mobile app.

The best known is Amazon Echo, a voice activated device designed with an artificial intelligence assistant app called Alexa. Dedicated sensors in the device connect the consumer’s home to their retailers of choice, allowing, via voice commands, consumers to add items to virtual shopping lists or make online purchases.

To create meaningful experiences, retailers should take a page from the menu

At the Converse store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, “customization maestros” help sneaker fans manufacture their dream shoe.

Shoppers, browsing the featured iPads, choose among 150 graphics, including those created by local artists. There is a wide selection of grommets, patches and lettering, along with swap-out drawstrings of various designs and color.

Do we come to bury Jeff Bezos, or to praise him?

When I was a boy, my Cioci Mary (cioci is Polish for aunt) would occasionally treat me to a trip downtown in the small city where I grew up. We’d get a burger at Pappas’ diner and then head to W.T. Grant’s and she’d buy me candy, a comic book and a small toy. I mist up a little just thinking about it now, more than 50 years later.

You think a child of today, decades hence, will recall his aunt buying him a pair of sneakers on her laptop as fondly?

Move over Black Friday.   The biggest shopping day in terms of holiday sales is expected to be Friday, Dec. 23, while the biggest day in terms of store traffic is expected to be Saturday, Dec. 17, according to RetailNext Inc. (See lists at end of story.) It’s the first time in many years that Black Friday failed to top either of the lists.    

Signet Jewelers Limited has closed its previously announced investment from Leonard Green & Partners.   The private equity firm invested $625 million in the form of convertible preferred shares. The Signet board, as previously disclosed, increased its authorized share buyback program by $625 million on August 25, 2016, in connection with the transaction.  

Ahold Delhaize on Wednesday announced that management board member James McCann had resigned to move into non-executive and advisory roles. The company has named Kevin Holt, Delhaize America CEO and Ahold Delhaize management board member, as his successor.