eCommerce

Retailers looking for ways to enhance the customer experience could learn from a new attraction at Hershey’s Chocolate World.

This summer, guests at Hershey’s Chocolate World will be treated to a delicious new Chocolate Tasting Experience, find their favorites in Hershey’s Largest Candy Store and mix their favorites at the new Amazing Candy Machine.

In the new Chocolate Tasting Experience, guests can immerse themselves in the flavorful world of chocolate tasting.

Green Bay, Wisc. — Shopko continues to expand, with the opening of 15 Shopko Hometown stores across eight states this July.  The  new locations join 20 stores Shopko opened earlier this year and more than 15 additional stores the company plans to open in October.  

Simon Property Group is giving shoppers a reason to come to that mall that doesn’t involve shopping.

The company is teaming up with Refinery29 to transform mall shopping into a summer festival experience with fashion "stages," beauty bars, and live musical performances. Style Festival takes inspiration from the music festival culture that has become a millennial rite of passage.

Costa Mesa, Calif. — Anna's Linens Inc. announced it filed for  Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection on June 14. The retailer said it is working to negotiate a sale to DW Partners, a multi-strategy fund manager with $6 billion in assets.

The asset management firm would become “the stalking horse” bidder, and make the initial bid in a bankruptcy auction sale.

Always on the hunt for quicker and less costly deliveries, Amazon is considering paying ordinary people (as opposed to shippers such as FedEx or UPS) to deliver packages as part of a crowdsourced delivery program, according to The Wall Street Journal. They would drop off the packages to customers on the way to their own destinations.

The service is referred to internally as "On My Way," the report said, and no other details are available. The report also noted that the plan may not move forward. 

Philadelphia — Except for a momentary spike during the 2014 holiday season, conversion and add-to-cart rates have been dropping steadily year-over-year. However, according to the global Ecommerce Quarterly report from Monetate, personalized, relevant product recommendations help brands avoid this issue.

Fast growing grocery delivery service Instacart is adding a value-oriented chain to its network of grocery stores.

The company announced it is teaming up with Smart & Final to allow customers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area to choose from virtually any items carried at their local Smart & Final store and have them delivered in as little as one hour.

Prices on Instacart will match Smart & Final's everyday low in-store prices, excluding special offers.

Wayne, N.J. — Toys ‘R Us Inc. has opened a new distribution center in Saint-Fargeau-Ponthierry, France to support the company's expanding e-commerce business throughout France and in select sections of Europe. The 550,000-sq.-ft. facility will service retail distribution to the country's 48 store locations and e-commerce operations throughout France.