eCommerce

Scott Fenwick, Manhattan Associates

For the average consumer, the holiday season probably seems far away. As we recover from back-to-school mayhem, holiday shopping lists are not likely to be top of mind. Very soon, however, decorations will begin creeping onto store shelves, and seasonal commercials will make their first appearances during our favorite TV shows.

Cautious spending and a spending divide that has bifurcated the American holiday shopper into two distinct segments,  are two of the 10 big trends that are expected to drive the 2014 holiday shopping season, according to a new report from PwC US and Strategy&.

New York – Ann Inc. is opening its first Loft store in Mexico, continuing the company's international expansion. The store is located in the Antea Lifestyle Center in Queretaro, with additional locations planned for later this year in Mexico City's Parque Toreo Mall and Puebla's Angelopolis Mall.

Ann Inc. is working with its franchise partner Grupo Axo to establish its retail presence in Mexico.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. - Johnny Rockets has reached its first agreement to distribute private label menu items for home consumption. Blackwood Industries, Inc., based in Orlando, Florida, has been selected to distribute branded hamburger patties and other related products via retail, as of Oct. 1, 2015.  

This comes on the heels of a recent Johnny Rockets announcement to launch Johnny Rockets Route 66 and Johnny Rockets Express restaurant banners.

The 2014 holiday shopping season will be characterized by cautious spending, while economic realities create one of two American holiday shoppers — survivalists and selectionists — according to a new report released Tuesday from PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. and Strategy, titled "2014 Holiday Outlook: Top trends, consumer behaviors and implications for retailers."

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Curbside, a new startup that specializes in same-day pickup from local stores, launched its service on Monday with several retailers on board, including a pilot with Target Corp.

The new service is currently available in 10 Target stores across the greater San Francisco Bay area, including the retailer’s Metreon and Geary St. locations downtown.  

New York -- Uniqlo celebrate the opening of its store at Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York, on Oct. 3.

The Roosevelt Field store is the retailer’s ninth store in the state of New York, and its 32nd in the United States.

Uniqlo currently more than 1,400 stores in 16 markets worldwide. The company is a brand of Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, whose brands also include Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, J Brand, Princesse tam.tam, Theory.

Newegg has opened a high-tech warehouse and shipping today in Indianapolis. The leading technology e-retailer estimates that the new warehouse will allow 45 million people in the Midwestern U.S. to get their orders faster.

In addition to Indiana, customers in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin and West Virginia will see the greatest benefit, with noticeably shorter delivery times.