eCommerce

By Shah Karim, Saferock

If it hasn't done so already, the consumer experience will undoubtedly include omnichannel shopping, mobile, and social media as part of what consumers do naturally. Based on this inevitable evolution of how customers engage with retailers, here are seven retail “megatrends” which will become reality by 2020.

Sears Holdings continues to lose money –- lots of it –- and same store sales declined again during the holidays, but the severity of the company’s losses have diminished, which has Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert believing further improvement is coming as the company transforms to what he calls “a leading integrated membership-focused company.”  

Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery service not just to all of Manhattan, but to other New York City boroughs as well, with unknown implications for the retail industry.

The e-commerce giant won't say, but it will say it has expanded its Prime Now same-day delivery service out of Manhattan for the first time and into select neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

The service allows Amazon Prime subscribers in neighborhoods such as Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights to get free delivery on a limited selection of goods within two hours of ordering.

Milwaukee -- Contracts are finalized and on-site work will soon begin on The Corners of Brookfield, a new 750,000-sq.-ft. premier lifestyle center that will be located on approximately 19 acres of land bounded by West Bluemound Road, North Barker Road and I-94 near Milwaukee.

The final development agreement has been signed with the Town of Brookfield, demolition of the vacant Menards building on The Corners project site will begin in the coming weeks and a formal groundbreaking is planned for spring 2015.

RadioShack has received court approval for its plan to sell the leases to more than 1,100 stores that it will close by the end of February, according to Reuters.

Best Buy is following the lead of Target and other retailers by partnering with a new app called Curbside at some of its stores.

Best Buy has signed a deal with Curbside, which allows shoppers to pick out what they want online. Curbside employees then buy the items and are there to meet shoppers outside the store an hour later. The app was launched by two former Apple engineers who raised $9.5 million to expand the service, which is free to shoppers.

New York – Ann Inc., parent of Ann Taylor and Loft. is reportedly working with financial firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. on a potential sale. According to Bloomberg, the $1.6 billion Ann Inc. has spoken with other retail chains and at least two buyout firms and a private equity firm.

Fort Worth, Texas – RadioShack Corp. has received bankruptcy court approval to sell more than 1,100 stores it plans to close by the end of this month. According to Reuters, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon in Wilmington, Delaware, has officially approved the closing and auctioning of the stores.