eCommerce

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — The first of 39 former Zellers stores Walmart bought from Target in Canada celebrated its grand opening as a Walmart store earlier this month.

According to Walmart Canada, the 69,000 sq. ft. store located in Newmarket, Ontario, will feature easy-to-navigate aisles with directional signage, and a bright interior color palette to define the store's merchandise areas along with lower shelving to improve sightlines. The store will also conain a pharmacy.

An 8% same store sales increase is atypical for a food retailer which is why The Fresh Market’s second quarter performance is so noteworthy.

Target’s second quarter sales increased 3.5% to $16.5 billion and the company’s profits grew 2.9% to $1.06, five cents better than analysts expected.

The company’s second quarter results were negatively affected by pre-opening expenses related to next year’s entry into Canada. Excluding those expenses, Target said its profits would have increased 4.6% to $1.12 compared to $1.07 last year. Including expenses related to Canada, Target increased its full year profit forecast to a range of $4.20 to $4.40 from an earlier guidance range of $4.10 to $4.30.

BURLINGTON, Mass. — New Balance is engaging Demandware to power its new e-commerce sites for its New Balance, Warrior, Cobb Hill, Aravon and Dunham brands. New Balance plans to use Demandware to launch additional sites in new international markets and for other brands, including PF Flyers.

July may not be a big month for online shopping, but traffic numbers at Target.com are heading in the wrong direction.

The online audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix reported that Target.com had approximately 25.8 million unique visitors during July 2012 compared to roughly 26.5 million during July 2011. Despite the decline, on a positive note, Target was ranked 46^{th on the firm’s monthly Top 50 Web Properties report, making it the only traditional retailer beside Walmart to appear on the top 50 list.}

NEW YORK — U.K. retailer John Lewis has become the first company outside of the United States to partner with Barnes & Noble for the sale of Nook devices.

John Lewis will offer Nook products at  37 U.K. stores and on www.johnlewis.com. As previously disclosed, Barnes & Noble will also offer Nook devices and content to U.K. customers this autumn through its own online storefront, www.nook.co.uk.

Palo Alto, Calif. — Shopkick has been named by the World Economic Forum as one of the world’s most innovative technology startups for 2013. Shopkick is one of two mobile companies selected worldwide.

Previously honored companies include Twitter, Dropbox, Wikipedia, Palantir, Bloom Energy and Google.

BALDWYN, Miss. — Hancock Fabrics reported that net sales for the second quarter increased 5% to $60.5 million from $57.8 million for second quarter of last year, and comparable-store sales improved by 5%.

Earnings per share increased by 3 cents, or $0.6 million with a net loss of $3.3 million, or 17 cents per basic share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to a net loss of $3.9 million, or 20 cents per basic share in the second quarter of fiscal 2011.