eCommerce

Executing merchandise optimization, or at least performing it so the end game is won, can be confusing and convoluted since “optimization” seeps into almost every retail activity. Are we talking assortments, space, price, promotion, categories, merchandise or some combination?

Terms are irrelevant. Results are not. Merchandise optimization must deliver and reverberate success among every store and online channels. It must drive shopper loyalty, and must be executed to maximize margins, beat competitors and draw in your shoppers.

Another digital-native retailer is going the mall route. And this one is aimed at shoppers who love to play with makeup.

NYX Professional Makeup on Oct. 2 will open its first-ever physical store, at the Westfield Santa Anita Mall, Arcadia, California. The Los Angeles-based brand, which was acquired by L'Oreal in June 2014, says it plans to roll out additional stores nationwide and globally in select urban centers throughout 2016.

IBM aims to increase the solutions and services it offers the retail industry with two new centers. On Sept. 24, IBM opened a new global headquarters for IBM Commerce and new hub for its Watson artificial intelligence platform in San Francisco.

In addition, IBM is partnering with The Fung Group on a new large-scale laboratory for rapid experimentation with omnichannel retail technologies, which opened in Shanghai, China on Sept. 24.

For specialty men’s apparel retailer Knot Standard Inc., custom fit is everything.

The New York-based omnichannel retailer, with seven showroom stores in the U.S. and Dubai, as well as a global e-commerce business, tailors clothing to its customers’ dimensions. This customized approach also fits its IT strategy.

“We built all our systems from scratch using PhP [development language],” explained Matthew Mueller, CEO and co-founder of Knot Standard. “There is no off-the-shelf technology.”

There may not be a return of the annual “Running of the Brides” sales event, but a legendary discount retailer is back in business. Filene’s Basement has launched an e-commerce site that combines its traditional bargains with new omnichannel features.

Life just got a little easier for merchants who sell goods on Shopify. The cloud-based e-commerce platform is partnering with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for direct, discounted shipping.

Retailers can now buy and print discounted shipping labels directly within the Shopify platform. Labels will be up to 60% off retail rates. In addition to saving money when purchasing shipping labels, merchants will now have the ability to either drop prepaid shipments off at USPS offices without having to wait in line, or they can schedule a free home pickup.

Cincinnati -- Steiner + Associates and Bucksbaum Retail Properties released the names of 24 additional retailers to join super-regional, mixed-use Liberty Center in Cincinnati, which is scheduled for a grand opening on Oct. 22.

The 64 acre, 1.2 million sq. ft. Liberty Center is located at the junction of the Liberty Way Interchange at I-75 and SR 129 in Cincinnati. The project includes more than 800,000 sq. ft. of retail, restaurants and entertainment, 75,000 sq. ft. of office space, 240 luxury apartments and the 130-key hotel.

Front-end customer engagement is only as good as its back-end support. Realizing this fact, omnichannel specialty beauty retailer Sigma Beauty is enlisting eBay Enterprise to provide fulfillment and freight services. T