eCommerce

Between new formats, e-commerce efforts and supply chain initiatives, interesting times are ahead for Bed Bath & Beyond – even if second quarter sales were weak and profits declined.

As of Oct. 1, retailers who do not comply with the Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) security standard that relies on embedded chips in payment cards face a shift in card fraud liability. Many EMV issues have not yet been resolved. Here are three big ones:

Swipe left out
Retailers have been warned repeatedly that if they do not implement EMV-compliant POS terminals, they will bear liability for any fraud resulting from an EMV card transaction.

Ross Stores Inc. is continuing an aggressive growth strategy for both its Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discount banners. The new store openings are part of the retailer’s 2015 expansion program, totaling approximately 90 new locations during the year.

Ross Dress for Less will open four new stores on Oct. 10. These include two new stores in the Chicago area: a 25,000-sq.-ft. store in Palatine located in the Deer Grove Centre, and a 24,000-sq.-ft. Joliet store is located in Joliet Commons.

Dallas -- Trademark Property Co. announced that BuzzBrews,’ Cinépolis USA and Café Victoria will join Victory Park, a 75-acre mixed-use development in downtown Dallas. BuzzBrews’ and Café Victoria to open in early 2016 and Cinépolis USA, targeted for 2017.

The emphasis on omnichannel commerce has largely laid to rest (at least for now) the debate of online versus offline. Indeed, A.T. Kearney put it best in the title of a recent study, “On Solid Ground: Brick and Mortar is the Foundation of Omnichannel Retailing.”

American Dream has added more fire power to its retail lineup.

The Triple Five Group of Companies, the developer of the long-delayed retail and entertainment mega-center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Monday announced the names of 10 new retail tenants who will be setting up shop there. These include: Aritzia, Banana Republic, Gap, Lululemon, Mac, Microsoft, Pink, Uniqlo, Victoria's Secret and Zara.

The Running Specialty Group is uniting its various store banners under one of its newest brands: JackRabbit.

Shopify is keeping busy these days. The cloud-based omnichannel retail platform is launching a new credit card reader that will allow U.S.-based Shopify merchants to securely accept chip and PIN, tap, and swipe credit and debit cards.

The reader will also accept contactless payment technologies like Apple Pay. The device is designed for Shopify POS, the company’s iPad and iPhone POS used by retail and pop-up stores. Shopify is currently accepting pre-orders, with card readers to ship in the fourth quarter of this year.