eCommerce

Columbus, Ohio -- JC's 5 Star Outlet, formerly the outlet store division of J.C. Penney, is winding down operations and closing its 15 stores. "Going out of business" sales will start Wednesday, offering shoppers deeper discounts than the usual outlet prices of 25% to 75% off retail.

The 5 Star Outlet stores, which had been designated for closure by J.C. Penney, were acquired by SB Acquisitions in October 2011, and rebranded JC's 5 Star Outlet.
   

Seattle -- Nordstrom Rack will make its Philadelphia debut, opening an approximately 39,000-sq.-ft. store on Chestnut Street in fall 2014. The property is owned and managed by JEMB Realty Corp.
   
The new Nordstrom Rack will move into a completely renovated space that was originally home to department store Bonwit Teller and was most recently held by Daffy's. The store will occupy the first three floors of the historic, eight-story building.
   

Dallas – Neiman Marcus Group is offering free standard shipping and returns for all domestic purchases made online through Neimanmarcus.com and Bergdorfgoodman.com as well as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores.

"The customer has always been at the center of the Neiman Marcus business model. Permanent free shipping and returns have been a top request and we are happy to be able to make this change just in time for the holiday shopping season." said Wanda Gierhart, chief marketing officer, Neiman Marcus Group.

Lewisville, Texas – Consumers prefer prepaid cards that can be used anywhere to gift cards from specific retailers and physical cards to digital cards.

According to the new “People Prefer Prepaid Rewards” study from Parago, more than half of shoppers prefer prepaid cards over gift cards from Amazon, iTunes, Target, Walmart, Home Depot and more. In addition, two out of three shoppers prefer physical cards over digital cards.

Pittsburgh – Internet coupon provider MyCoupons.com is launching a responsive design website. The new website presents a cleaner, contemporary, responsive design that adapts itself to all digital platforms: web, tablet, and mobile.

The new infrastructure also improves the user experience with better and faster search capabilities for the thousands of coupons and promotional codes available on the site from more than 9,000 online merchants.

San Bruno, Calif. -- Walmart announced it is opening two new warehouses dedicated to filling online orders, one in Fort Worth, Texas, and one in Bethlehem, Pa., which will be its largest center to date. The new facilities are part of a next-generation fulfillment network that the retailer said will deliver U.S. customer orders faster and at a lower cost.

Washington, D.C. -- More than half (55%) of all retail-related Internet time in June 2013 originated on smartphones and tablet devices combined, compared with just 45% originating from desktop devices. According to a report produced in partnership by the National Retail Federation (NRF) with comScore and The Partnering Group and released at Shop.org's Annual Summit, smartphone Internet usage in June 2013 totaled 44% of retail Internet minutes, up from 17%in June 2010. Tablet internet usage accounted for 11% of total minutes on retail sites.

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New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th plans to open a second store in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 3. On the same date, the retailer plans to open its newly relocated store at Potomac Mills in Woodridge, Va.

Los Angeles – Halloween shoppers age 18-34 are seeking online promo and coupon codes. According to the new Trend Report on the shopping behavior of young adults for the upcoming Halloween holiday from BluePromoCode.com, 49% of young adult Halloween shoppers use promo codes when purchasing costumes online and 57% stated their decision to purchase a costume was effected by the availability of a retailer’s coupon code.