eCommerce

Target created A Bullseye View a little more than two years ago as an innovative digital platform to achieve a deeper level of engagement with those who have an interest in all things Target. Billed as a behind-the-scenes magazine, A Bullseye View was recently relaunched to incorporate new features and functionality to build upon its original mission.

Brooklyn, NY. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm will open a new store in Huntington Station, N.Y. at the Walt Whitman Shops on Nov. 7. The 9,948-sq.-ft. store is the brand’s first location on Long Island.

“We are excited to continue to grow the West Elm brand with new locations around the world,” said Jim Brett, president of West Elm. “The Walt Whitman store will be a creative, community-driven space with products and services designed to help customers discover their personal style at home.”

New York – Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity was strong in the retail and consumer industry during the third quarter of 2013. Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that transaction values on M&A deals in the retail/consumer sector rose 112% compared to the same quarter a year earlier.

New Albany, Ohio -- Abercrombie & Fitch reported weak net and comparable store sales and laid out plans to restructure its Gilly Hicks brand as part of a strategic review in advance of releasing its full results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013.

Philadelphia – Native apps, or mobile apps developed in the native operating language of a hardware platform, figure prominently in the plans of many holiday shoppers. In a survey of 500 consumers conducted by Artisan Mobile, 80% of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they are purchasing and browsing products on native apps more than ever before, and 77% intend to make purchases through a mobile and/or tablet app this holiday season.

Lands’ End will offer free shipping to all customers on purchases more than $50 as part of its standard customer offerings. U.S. customers will also have the option to upgrade to two-day UPS shipping for $5.

Los Angeles – A large number of shoppers do not appear to be setting aside any money for holiday spending this year, and four in 10 do not even intend to do any shopping for the upcoming holiday season.

According to recent GoBankingRates.com polls, more than 63% of respondents didn't allocate any savings toward holiday gift buying. In addition, more than 40% of respondents said they would not be buying holiday gifts this year at all.

Other findings include:

LeapFrog Enterprises is rolling into the holiday with its strongest product lineup ever but concerns about consumer spending have the leading educational entertainment company tempering its view of fourth quarter sales.