eCommerce

The giant of online retailing apparently is developing a taste for brick-and-mortar.

In news that is likely to set off a wave of speculation, Amazon confirmed it will open its second physical bookstore, this time at Westfield UTC mall in San Diego, California. Amazon Books is expected to open at the open-air shopping center sometime this summer.

eBay is providing a shipping optimization option to an increased range of sellers.

The online auction platform is extending its integration with Silicon Valley-based on-demand shipping startup Shyp. Having already run pilots of Shyp in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, eBay is now piloting the service in Los Angeles.

Shyp will pick up the items sellers have sold within 20 minutes, professionally pack them, and mail them straight to the buyer on their behalf.

Stein Mart has named a new CEO just a week after a tough fourth quarter in which the retailer posted a decline in profit.

The Florida-based company says it has appointed Dawn Robertson as CEO and a member of the board of directors. Robertson will also have the responsibilities of chief merchant for the foreseeable future, the company said. She succeeds Jay Stein, the company's founder and long standing CEO, who had advised the board of his desire to step back from that position but remain Stein Mart's chairman of the board.

Online deal provider Groupon is offering it merchants new digital tools designed to ease the creation and management of marketing campaigns across Web, mobile and tablet devices.

The updates are being provided under the Groupon Merchant brand, a new tablet app that allows users to track and manage their Groupon campaign and more self-service deal options. The goal is to deliver the ability to customize the structure and appearance of Groupon promotions.

Specific new digital Groupon offerings include:

Online delivery service Instacart may be deepening its relationship with organic grocer Whole Foods, but is still keeping its options open.

Instacart is now delivering goods from Landover, Maryland-based supermarket chain Giant Food to Washington, D.C., residents. Responding to customer requests, Giant is now offering home delivery via Instacart in as little as an hour to customers throughout Washington, D.C.

Soon Canadian technology enthusiasts will have a new, faster option for fulfilling online purchases.

Digital computer and electronics retailer Newegg is opening a physical pickup center at its warehouse in Vancouver. In September 2015, Newegg sought to decrease the time and cost associated with order fulfillment to customers in Western Canada with the opening of its Vancouver warehouse.

Adding the pickup center now gives customers in the Vancouver area the chance to fulfill their orders the same day, with no delivery fee.

Ikea had submitted plans to build its ninth store in the state of California, in the Bay Area suburb of Dublin.

Pending approvals, Ikea could begin construction of the store in spring 2017, with an opening in summer 2018. The retailer plans to evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current U.S. renewable energy presence at nearly 90% of its U.S. locations.