eCommerce

By Christoph Stehmann, Pitney Bowes

Imagine that it’s a breezy Friday morning and tonight is your nephew’s birthday party. It’s completely slipped your mind, and there just isn’t time in your day to go shopping. However, you’re not stricken with panic, because this solution is routine. You go online, find the hottest toy, and hit Amazon Prime Air. You quickly hop in the shower, scarf down a breakfast, and on your way out the door, a small “Octocopter” is touching down on your doorstep to save your day.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Office Depot Inc. will transfer the listing of its common stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company expects its common stock to cease trading on the NYSE effective at the close of business on Sept. 25, and to commence trading on Nasdaq on Sept. 26, when the market opens.

The company will retain its current ticker symbol “ODP” when trading begins on Nasdaq.

La-Z-Boy has appointed Aaron Thomas Brown as VP, strategy and analytics, a newly created position. Brown will report to Kurt Darrow, La-Z-Boy's chairman, president and CEO, and will spearhead strategic planning across the enterprise.

E-commerce as a segment of the total retail market is growing at 30% per year and will reach $2 trillion in sales in 2015, according to e-commerce platform Bigcommerce.

Based on research conducted across its more than 55,000 clients, and combined with third-party research from Sagence, Bigcommerce’s Democratization of E-commerce Report also predicts that the U.S. small and medium business ecommerce market will exceed $100 billion in total sales in 2015.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. plans to open four new stores on Sept. 18. The new stores will be located at the Pinnacle Promenade in Rogers, Arkansas, Ingram Festival in Ingram, Texas, Waugh Chapel Town Center in Crofton, Maryland, and Evansville Pavilion in Evansville, Indiana.

Stores offer the DSW Rewards loyalty program, and customers can also participate in the Shoe Lovers program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Ulta Beauty reported a 22.2% boost in second-quarter new sales and drove its best comps since the secondquarter 2012 thanks in large part to successful new products and brands as well as growth in e-commerce. Meanwhile, the beauty retailer continues to forge ahead on its new strategic plan.

Charlotte-based Belk has teamed up with Project Runway season 12 winner Dom Streater. The exclusive collection designed by Streater, "Dom," offers classic, premium designs in modern prints and is now available in 30 Belk locations, including belk.com.

By Gary Lee, CEO, InReality

Webrooming, showrooming ... I'm guilty of it all. Surprised? You shouldn't be. After all, it is all about me, the everywhere consumer, and my super power ... the power to choose. I can shop in-store, but I can also, just as easily, shop online; my only concern is that my needs and expectations are met.