eCommerce

Hibbett Sports says strong expense control and footwear sales helped the retailer increase earnings in the third quarter.

The Alabama-based sporting goods retailer reported that for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, profit was $18.7 million, or 79 cents a share, up from $16.9 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier. Revenue increased 4.6% to $228.3 million. Same-store sales increased .6%.

Of all the major big-box retailers, only one has a digital IQ ranking in the “genius” range.

According to the new Big Box Digital IQ Index from business intelligence firm L2 Inc., Home Depot stands along among big-box chains with a genius-level digital IQ score of 144. IQ scores measure performance in four key areas of site and e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, and mobile and tablet.

Francesca's has lost its chief financial adviser just weeks after naming a new head merchant and a new senior marketing executive.

The Texas-based company announced that CFO Mark Vendetti has resigned from the company effective Dec. 4. Cindy Thomassee, Francesca's current VP of accounting, has been appointed to the role of interim CFO and will report directly to CEO Michael W. Barnes while the company conducts a search for a CFO.

Fresh Market’s new CEO Rick Anicetti said he is making changes as fast as possible to restore growth to a retailer he contends has enormous untapped potential.

Just in time for the holidays, Google is revamping its Google Shopping online marketplace to make it more mobile-friendly.

In a blog post, Google explains that mobile shopping-related searches now exceed desktop-based shopping-related searches, meaning online shopping has shifted from a “marathon” to “moments.” To help better capture mobile consumers at the moment they are looking to buy a product, Google is now displaying the most commonly searched categories in response to broad search terms.

Destination XL says it is on pace to open its 175th store next year as the big and tall retailer also posted a jump in same-store sales and filled a newly created position with a veteran from Genesco.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, same store sales at the company increased 4.3%. Destination XL also narrowed its loss to $5.47 million, or 11 cents a share. In the previous year period, the company reported a loss of $6.28 million, or 13 cents a share.

Retailers looking to satisfy customers this holiday season need to be sure all channels are aligned and working properly.

An analysis of Amazon.com’s holiday pricing for its best-selling items reveals two key strategic trends.

According to research from product intelligence technology provider 360pi, Amazon’s top two price dynamic categories: were best-selling office/school products (55% repriced one day to the next) and best-selling toys/games (45%).

Other categories that saw a high level of price dynamism were electronics and clothing, which are both highly contested gift categories.