eCommerce

Another opening in 2014 made plenty of headlines. Azalea Regional Shopping Center, opened in August by PrimeStor Development in South Gate, California, houses the new branded concept by Forever 21: F21 red, which offers an increased depth of product at a significantly lower price point. The Azalea store, which opened in May, was the brand’s debut; three other F21 red stores have since opened in New York and Minnesota.

Azalea Regional Shopping Center has plenty to shout about on its own. The 32-acre, Los Angeles County-area project grew out of a vacant site and delivers 400,000 sq.

New York - The U.S. retail and consumer sector experienced a strong first quarter in 2015 for merger & acquisition (M&A) activity, which was driven by seven megadeals (deals with a value of more than $1 billion). According to PwC's U.S. retail and consumer deals insights report, 39 deals were announced for the quarter (with values more than $50 million), up 11% from fourth quarter 2014, but down 9% from first quarter 2014.

Amazon has climbed to the top of the social shopping ranks, thanks in part to the introduction of #AmazonCart and #AmazonBasket.

Smart & Final Stores Inc. credited strong merchandising and marketing initiatives with the retailer's impressive jump in same store sales for the first quarter.

New York – Retailers who offer or are considering offering online grocery shopping may be on the right track. One-quarter of 30,000 online global respondents surveyed in the new Nielsen Global E-commerce and the New Retail Surv say they are already ordering grocery products online for home delivery and more than half (55%) are willing to use it in the future.

While other retailers try to hone their social media and omnichannel skills, Victoria's Secret is creating excitement once again the way it knows best: by announcing a new team of crystal-decorated, 6-inch-heel wearing models.

Beijing, China -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled plans to countermand slowed growth in China with 115 new stores in the country by 2017 and creating some 30,000 jobs. The announcement adds about 35 new stores to the retailer’s building plans as Wal-Mart previously targeted 480 total stores in China by 2016, up from around 400 now.

CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement that "China is a key strategic market for Walmart. Over the next three years we will increase investment across our diverse business operations in China.”

San Diego – Engaging consumers online seems like it should be easy – after all, virtually every consumer is actively online and using multiple social media platforms at this point. However, this also means that all of your competitors are also trying to engage the public across multiple online and social channels, resulting in a huge morass of digital noise. To stand out, retailers need to ensure their digital engagement strategy is consistent, timely and personalized.