eCommerce

New York -- SmartFocus announced that U.K. department store retailer House of Frasier has selected SmartFocus' Insights technology to gain a holistic view of their customers and continually deliver personalized interactions that increase engagement.

By Greg Smith, president & CEO of Accudata Technologies

The holiday season is right around the corner, and you know what that means — shopping, upon shopping, upon shopping! This is a great time for any e-retail business, but are you ready?

Atlanta - Manhattan Associates Inc. is releasing a new capability within its omnichannel Order Management application. Known as Available to Commerce (ATC), this capability gives retailers the power to offer specific units of inventory available for sale in the most appropriate channel (online, store, same-day delivery, etc.) and then optimize how the order is fulfilled, all based on a variety of strategic planning and daily operational variables.

By Matthew K. Harding, president, Levine Management

Moving into the final months of 2014, the outlook for retail in the Northeast remains quite positive. We are seeing demand from national, local and franchise companies across a broad range of categories.
 

Macy’s is gearing up for the holiday by hiring approximately 86,000 seasonal employees at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers — a 3.6% increase from last year. In particular, the company’s seasonal workforce has grown in its network of online fulfillment centers thanks to increased sales generated by its omnichannel business strategy.

A global report by Capgemini, a leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, claims that consumers consider social media a less important part of their customer journey — from awareness, through to post-sale activity — compared to two years ago.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc., will open a new store in Houston, on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Mission Bend Shopping Center in the Mission Bend neighborhood.

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate more than 150 locations in 15 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014.

With the retail CFO’s role evolving so quickly in the last few years, what changes will the future bring? Look for CFOs to be hired from outside the company, oversee more divisions and spend significant time overseas in an increasingly global retail world.

The finance function, of course, will continue to be critical, especially for public companies.

Also the CFO role may encroach further on operations, particularly in an era of consolidation — store closures necessitated by mergers likely will fall under the domain of the CFO.