eCommerce

When it comes to redeeming their holiday gift cards, consumers overwhelming prefer brick-and-mortar stores.

According to a survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers, 77% of consumers who received gift cards planned to redeem them in a physical store.

Unlike many of its department store peers, The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is not planning any major store closings. Instead, Penney CEO Marvin Ellison told Fortune that the company sees stores as an integral part of an omnichannel strategy that will include offering buy online pickup in store functionality in time for back-to-school season. [Fortune]

Aldi now has three co-presidents overseeing its rapidly expanding U.S. business following the promotion of Brent Laubaugh.

Laughbaugh, a 20 year veteran of the company, currently serves as VP of the Aldi division based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Saxonburgh, was named co-president of Aldi U.S. In that capacity, he joins David Behm and Chuck Youngstrom who will continue in their roles as co-presidents. All three report to Aldi CEO Jason Hart.

Photo: Frankie Grande, Rachel Smith, and Lyndsey Rodrigues host Style Code Live, Amazon's first, daily live show.

Specialty grocery delivery service Wholeshare takes what might be called a “democratic” approach to offering customers online access healthy food products.

“We let consumers buy natural and organic food as a group at wholesale prices,” said Matt Hatoun, co-founder of San Francisco-based Wholeshare. “We cut out the supermarket or natural foods store. We go to the same wholesalers they use.”

E-commerce has reached a new high at Dick’s Sporting Goods, but that doesn’t mean the nation’s leading sporting goods retailer is backing away from store expansion.

While online subscription box retailing is still a niche market, it is growing rapidly and consumers have selected their early favorites.

If you were an Uber user in Austin, Texas, this fall, you might have been surprised to see the option to take a horse and buggy instead of a car appear on your smartphone.

The tongue-in-cheek offer was part of Uber’s effort to inform and mobilize customers in its fight against what the company contended were antiquated regulations being considered by local government.