eCommerce

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid beat analyst expectations in third quarter 2013 as the generic wave and retention of Express Scripts customers helped drive better-than-expected adjusted EBIDTA and produced the company's first profitable quarter in five years.

"I am proud that we have achieved this significant milestone by putting our customers first and challenging ourselves to better serve them," Rite Aid president, chairman and CEO John Standley said in a conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday morning.

Washington, D.C. -- Executives at Amazon, Kohl’s, Crocs and Lululemon have been named recipients of the National Retail Federation’s annual awards. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos received the Gold Medal Award, recognized for serving the industry with distinction and achieving a national reputation for excellence.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — Pier 1 Imports could be in for powerful home sales this holiday season as a result of its investments in its omni-channel strategy.

The company recently revamped its website as well as its mobile commerce site with help from Demandware, a leading provider of e-commerce solutions.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples plans to triple the size of its e-commerce and IT staff by 2014, and has unveiled a new Velocity Lab at Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., to kick off its accelerated online growth initiative.

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Kohl’s has activated its largest solar project to date at its million-sq.-ft. e-commerce fulfillment center in Edgewood, Md.

Kohl’s, a leader in renewable energy usage, opened the facility in 2011, and recently earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council at the gold level. The location is Kohl’s sixth solar site in Maryland. It is also the company’s first LEED-certified logistics facility.

Anxiety over Amazon.com is at an all time high this holiday season and a top executive at Nordstrom shared insights recently on competing successfully.

Reston, Va. — Survey results released Monday by comScore revealed that the most recent work-week saw four individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Green Monday with $1.275 billion.

comScore, which has monitored holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 44 days of the November–December 2012 holiday season, reported that to date $33.8 billion has been spent online, marking a 13% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

Minneapolis -- Investment firm Joh. A. Benckiser Group agreed to acquire Caribou Coffee Co. for approximately $340 million.

Caribou will continue to be based in Minneapolis and operate under its own brand and management, the companies said in a statement. As of September 30, 2012, the company had 610 coffeehouses, including 202 franchised locations, in 22 states, the District of Columbia and 10 international markets.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot has added PayPal to its selection of online payment options, giving customers a secure way to pay for purchases.   

Using PayPal on the chain’s website simplifies the online checkout process by providing shoppers with a quick and secure option to pay for purchases without sharing financial information, Staples said.

Purchase, N.Y. -- A SpendingPulse report released Monday by MasterCard Advisors found that after a three-week recovery of retail spending growth that started two weeks after Superstorm Sandy and lasted through the week ending Dec. 1, a slowdown occurred in the week ending Dec. 8.  

After a surge in growth in late November some key sectors such as Specialty Apparel slipped into negative growth in early December, according to the report.