eCommerce

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma set a milestone in 2014 as it reported that, for the first time ever, e-commerce sales made up more than 50% of all yearly revenues.

Williams-Sonoma said its fourth quarter net revenues grew 5.2% to $1.542 billion versus $1.466 billion in the prior year quarter.

Same-store sales grew of 5.1%.

Target has been hit with a slew of negative reports recently, and now the retailer is trying to do something positive for its image by making its return policy more shopper-friendly.

Target Corp. announced an enhanced return policy Wednesday covering all of the retailer’s 32 owned and exclusive brands, which extends the return window to one year from the date of purchase. The retailer also rolled out a one-year return guarantee for guests using Target’s baby, college or wedding gift registry.

Rite Aid has become one of the key retail partners in a first for the U.S. market: a coalition loyalty program called Plenti that includes the likes of American Express, AT&T, Direct Energy, Exxon/Mobil, Hulu, Macy's and Nationwide.

New York -- J. Crew Group Inc. saw fourth quarter namesake sales and traffic counts fall, which dragged down results for the quarter ended Jan. 31.  J. Crew reported a loss of $30.6 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $5.9 million in the year-ago period. An impairment charge contributed $26 million to the negative results.

DSW Inc. says it plans to open as many as 35 new stores this year after reporting that its profits shot up 10% in the fourth quarter.

The specialty footwear retailer reported net income of $30.8 million, up 10% from $28.1 million the same quarter a year earlier. Cost of sales grew at a slower pace than actual sales, helping boost profits.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. exceeded Wall Street expectations with profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. The specialty footwear retailer reported net income of $30.8 million, up 10% from $28.1 million the same quarter a year earlier.

Cost of sales grew at a slower pace than actual sales, helping boost profits. DSW plans to open 35 stores in fiscal 2015, including eight to 10 small format stores. Sales rose 12$ to $640 million, from $572 million.

New York - EBay and Sotheby’s are jointly launching live auctions on EBay. Part of EBay’s new live auctions platform, the service is now available for browsing and advance bidding on Sotheby’s items leading up to the launch of Sotheby’s first live auctions on eBay on April 1.

EBay and Sotheby’s originally announced plans to partner on live auctions in July 2014, and have since worked together to deliver a virtual experience. Sotheby’s first live auctions on eBay will be a themed New York sale and a photographs sale.

Foothill Rach, Calif. – A winning bidder has reportedly emerged for the assets of The Wet Seal Inc., which declared bankruptcy in January 2015. According to the Wall Street Journal, Versa Capital Management LLC will take over at least 140 store leases and invest $10 million in the specialty apparel chain.