eCommerce

New York - Retail sales in the U.S. will reach $4.87 trillion for the full year 2015. According to EMarketer analysis, this represents a 4% increase from 2014.

U.S. retail e-commerce sales will total approximately $350 billion in 2015, up 14% from $305.7 billion the prior year. Despite rapid growth, retail ecommerce will still account for just 7% of total retail sales in the U.S. during the current year, EMarketer estimates.

Build-A-Bear Workshop was busy building a lot of bears this holiday season, if the retailer’s same store sales are any indication.

The company reported that same store sales were up 9.9% for the quarter, with a 8.5 percent increase in North America and 14 percent increase in Europe. Build-A-Bear also saw an $11.8 million profit for the fourth quarter, more than double the $5.4 million profit it reported in the prior-year quarter.

By Matthew K. Harding

With demand from national, local and franchise companies across a broad range of categories picking up markedly in the Northeast, this is an opportune time to take a look at the movers and shakers that are defining the next generation of retail tenancy. And interestingly, the most successful concepts are embracing a new reality that leverages technology and creative approaches for reaching consumers.

Categories to watch

Minneapolis – Best Buy Co Inc. has added service from the Curbside mobile shopping app to several stores in the Bay Area, including San Francisco and San Jose. Curbside enables consumers to purchase items from local retailers and then pick them up outside of local stores with deliveries directly to their cars.

Melville, N.Y. -- A&G Realty Partners, a leading commercial real estate, advisory and investment group, has been retained by C. Wonder to manage the sale of the three retail store leases and several office locations in New York City and Long Island, following the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Increased traffic and better than expected same-store sales growth at Walmart’s U.S. stores were bright spots in the retailer’s fourth quarter earnings. But the big story in Thursday’s earnings release was the announcement that approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time associates at Walmart U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs will receive pay raises in the first half of the current fiscal year.  

Boston – Nail and beauty care chain MiniLuxe, which operates eight stores in the Boston area, is coming to North Texas. MinLuxe has opened the first of 10 stores planned for North Texas in the West Village shopping center in Dallas.

The investor group behind MiniLuxe also backs Chipotle, with Silverado Interests' founding partners Rick and Dan Slaven also participating.
 

The brand rennaissance of apparel e-retailer ShoeBuy is complete: The company has relaunched its e-commerce site after taking cues from customer feedback and consumer research.

The 15-year old retailer founded in Boston aims to deliver a more intuitive website, a refreshed rewards program and a commitment to building an engaging shopping experience. New features added to the ShoeBuy shopping experience include a virtual fitting tool, expert insights and blogs, customer reviews, and online customer service chat.