eCommerce

Atlanta – Independent bookstores are reportedly growing sales at a healthy rate despite stiff competition from Amazon.com. According to an article in Fortune, American Booksellers Association figures show that independent bookstore sales in the U.S. grew 8% last year and are on track to grow at a similar pace this year.

New York -- Holiday sales are expected to climb to between $963 and $967 billion, representing a 4% to 4.5% increase in November through January holiday sales (excluding motor vehicles and gasoline) this year from last year’s season, according to the new Deloitte holiday sales forecast. The growth rate is on par with last year's 4.5% gain.

In addition, Deloitte forecasts a 12.5 to 13% increase in non-store sales. Nearly three-quarters of non-store sales result from the online channel with additional sales coming from catalogs and interactive TV.

Traditionally, retailers relied on advertising and direct response to succeed. To make more money, retailers simply let more people know about their stores and products.

Glendale, Calif. -- Nordstrom has unveiled its new, relocated store at Americana at Brand, the Caruso-owned luxury shopping center in Glendale, Calif.

Seattle-based Nordstrom was formerly located at nearby Glendale Galleria, but closed that store to reopen in 135,000 sq. ft. at Americana at Brand, featuring a refreshed interior design over three levels, farm-to-table restaurant Bar Verde, updated beauty experience, and an expanded selection of designer fashion brands including the first TopShop and TopMan in-store boutiques in Los Angeles.

Pooler, Ga. — With the addition of seven new leases, GBT Realty Corporation’s Village on Pooler Parkway is 95% leased months before its scheduled opening in the first quarter of next year. Anchored by T.J.Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Michaels and PetSmart, the 143,000-sq.-ft. development has now added Kirkland’s, Hibbett Sports, Visionworks, Legacy Nails, Sprint, GNC and Kay Jewelers to the mix.

Meriden, Conn. — A TJX Marshall’s store has leased a 23,137-sq.-ft. space at the Meriden Mall in Meriden, Conn. Charter Realty and Development represented the TJX Company in the transaction. Charter Realty is TJX’s exclusive broker for Connecticut, and this is the 25th lease TJX lease the company has arranged.

Anchored by Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Macy’s, the 894,435-sq.-ft. mall, owned by The Westfield Group, has 142 stores and ranks as the seventh largest mall in Connecticut.

Indianapolis — Simon Property Group and Tanger Factory Outlet Centers have announced that construction has begun on Charlotte Premium Outlets. The first phase of the planned 400,000-sq.-ft. center will open in the summer of 2014. The project is a 50/50 joint venture between Simon and Tanger.

Charlotte Premium Outlets will feature Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and more than 90 other outlet stores.

Tanger is providing site development and construction supervision to the venture. Simon is providing management services and marketing.

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Staples Europe has launched a new Staples.es website aimed at helping small businesses locate and purchase products.

The site has a new look and feel and offers many new features to improve the overall shopping experience including personalized shopping with product recommendations based on customer preferences, an updated search engine and filtering tools, streamlined reordering for frequently used products, and quick checkout with a mini-cart that designed to ease inserting coupons, saving addresses and reviewing orders.

Chico, Calif. – Online home improvement retailer Build.com is using Adobe Marketing Cloud as the cornerstone of its digital marketing strategies, diving deeper into visitor data to better understand what they are looking for, how they navigate online, where they are coming from, and what drives purchase decisions.

York, Pa. - The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. board of directors has unanimously elected Steven Silverstein to its board, effective immediately. Silverstein will serve on the Human Resources and Compensation Committee.