eCommerce

The Michaels Companies overcame weak same store sales growth to deliver strong profit growth in the first quarter.

The Texas-based retailer reported that for the first quarter ended May 2 its net income increased to $67 million or 32 cents per share from $47 million or 25 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Net sales for the quarter grew 2.4% to $1.08 billion from $1.05 billion in the same quarter last year. Same store sales increased by 0.3%.

San Jose, Calif. – The eBay Valet professional selling service will now accept high-end clothing in addition to shoes, handbags, electronics and other popular household items. eBay Valet provides features such as price estimates for potential buyers, taking professional pictures, and shipping.

eBay partnered with fashion blogger Garance Doré to officially debut the expansion of eBay Valet. Dore provided tips and tricks on what to sell and how to sell fashion items.

Target.com won’t beat Amazon.com, but Target will by following three core philosophies the retailer’s top digital executive and Amazon.com alum Jason Goldberger shared with attendees at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exposition.

Dallas - Neiman Marcus Group customers will be able to purchase items through the new “Buyable Pins” e-commerce service across Pinterest, including the company’s Pinterest page, later in June. Millions of pins on Pinterest will now become buyable, meaning customers will be able to purchase Neiman Marcus items they have pinned or discovered on any iOS-enabled device with a few taps.

Walmart has unveiled upcoming changes to its website, stores and employee badges ahead of today's shareholders' meeting in Bentonville, Ark.

According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Walmart execs told a meeting of employees on Wednesday that it plans to spend at least $1.5 billion in upgrades to its e-commerce sites, store design and employee name badges.

Boston - For the third year in a row, Amazon claims the top spot in Reputation Institute’s annual survey of America’s top 50 most reputable companies in the retail industry. Amazon is the only company of all the retail companies surveyed to achieve an excellent reputation.

Supermarket chains moved up in the ranking this year, with Publix ranking second and Whole Foods jumping five spots to third place in 2015.

America’s top 10 companies in the retail industry in 2015 are:

1. Amazon.com

Sam's Club is looking to gain an edge over Costco by overhauling its already first-in-its-category buy online, pick up in store service to appeal to more business customers.

St. Petersburg – HSN Inc. is partnering with the Card Services division of Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) to provide private label credit card services for its Cornerstone business unit. Alliance Data will develop loyalty-driven card programs for five of Cornerstone's seven multichannel brands -- Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and Improvements – each incorporating a tailored approach for their unique customer base.