eCommerce

Amazon.com is making its Prime Now on-demand delivery service more accessible, but is not adding new markets.

Following several weeks of media speculation, Amazon has made the formerly smartphone app-only Prime Now available as a page on its e-commerce site. Members of the paid Amazon Prime loyalty program in one of the 27 metro areas where Prime Now is available can place orders for one- or two-hour delivery.

Well informed. Well connected. Price sensitive.

Those three terms sum up the modern American female consumer, according to a new study from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions, which reveals that that price holds the most weight (75%) when it comes to influencing a purchase, followed by quality (55%). Other factors affecting women’s purchase decisions include brand (31%), store (26%) and availability (14%).

Canadian footwear and accessory retailer The Aldo Group is streamlining e-commerce operations to better satisfy customers and ease international expansion.

Aldo’s previous e-commerce site had issues including inventory inaccuracy, a lack of flexibility and poor performance during high traffic periods. The retailer has overhauled its e-commerce architecture using the SAP Hybris Commerce solution as a new platform.

The Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled retail landscape continues evolving with the launch of what could be called a “fridge commerce” (or “f-commerce”) solution by Samsung.

After months of hype, the Samsung Family Hub connected fridge is officially available. The interactive device includes a number of features that streamline the digital grocery process.

Online sales and returns are taking toll on retailers’ bottom lines.

Operating earnings as a percent of sales has declined by up to 25% due to a shift from in-store to online sales, combined with e-commerce and omnichannel investments and the high cost of fulfilling e-commerce transactions, according to a study by strategic retail advisory firm HRC Advisory.

Retailers who fail to maintain a clean, well-maintained store are putting themselves at a strong competitive disadvantage.

That’s the takeaway from a new survey conducted by Harris Poll for the Cintas Corp., which found that 93% of U.S. adults would not return to a retailer if they experienced some type of issue related to the facility. The top five factors that would turn patrons away from a store were:

• General bad odor – 78%
• Dirty restrooms (e.g., floors, stalls, mirrors, odor) – 66%

Aeropostale will reportedly file for bankruptcy protection this week and subsequently close more than 100 of its 800 stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The struggling teen apparel retailer plans to reorganize under a Chapter 11 filing this week ahead of May rent payments, the report said. On Aeropostale has been struggling for some time. The chain has recorded three consecutive years of losses as its struggles to deal with a teen audience whose spending tastes now favor fast-fashion giants such as H&M as well as online retailers.

Consumers know the perfect gift when they find it, and 1-800-Flowers.com is trying to make the search a little easier.

The specialty gift retailer is offering a beta of “GWYN” (Gifts When You Need), an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered intuitive shopping experience across its brands. GWYN is based on the Fluid Expert Personal Shopper (XPS) software platform, which in turn is supported by IBM Watson.