eCommerce

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that it completed the $270 million sale of 11 full-line Sears store locations to General Growth Properties.

Sears said the stores will continue to operate as Sears locations into 2013 or 2014, with final closing dates to be announced later this year. The stores are in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Washington.

Sears announced in December it would close between 100 and 120 stores to raise cash after a disappointing holiday season.
 

With its sleek all-white interiors and dramatic glass-steel storefront, Lord & Taylor’s store at Westchester’s Ridge Hill, Yonkers, N.Y., is its most contemporary to date.

NEW YORK — Macy's will soon have a Brazilian feel when the company debuts "O Mercado, the Market at Macy's" on April 22 in about 300 stores and online at Macys.com. The company describes O Mercado as a curated shop of Brazilian products, and it is the next installation of the retailer's "Brasil: A Magical Journey" campaign, which will officially kick off on May 16.

MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy on Saturday revealed the locations of the 50 stores that it is closing this year, including seven in California, six in Illinois and six in the company’s home state of Minnesota. The chain has already closed two locations: one in Missouri and one in Arizona.

Most of the remaining 48 stores will close by May 12, with three stores scheduled to close this summer.

Duluth, Ga. -- Airport retailers around the globe are missing out on valuable opportunities to generate more revenue from time-starved and mobile-enabled travelers, according to a recent survey by NCR Corp., a leading provider of airline and airport self-service, retail, wayfinding and mobile solutions.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Tuesday it will hire 100 additional developers in India as part of its @WalmartLabs unit, which is focused on growing the retailer’s social media and mobile presence globally.

In November, WalmartLabs, under the retailer’s global e-commerce group, will build an operation in India to use social media and digital technology to attract shoppers.
 

Atlanta -- A study released Tuesday by commerce provider Innotrac Corp. provided insights into how today’s e-tailers are faring in terms of online progression.

The study, called SmartHub, evaluated 100 leading U.S. e-retailers across six different product categories in February. It found that the average number of checkout pages required to complete an order was three. Only 7% of merchants surveyed offered one-page checkout as an option.

In other findings:

Recovery is a relative term when applied to retail real estate. It’s taken a couple of years of determined optimism, but most in the industry have now reconciled themselves to the realities of the new world order. A world where capital is cautiously invested and most retailers, even those that are opening new stores, have flattened growth rates. Gone are the days of expansive, unrestrained development — replaced instead by measured, deliberate decisions and a renewed focus on redevelopment, relocation and re-evaluation of portfolios.

On the banks of the Missouri River, in the northwest corner of the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, historic St. Charles is home to more than 65,000 people. At the gateway to this fast-growing area, a “mini-city” is emerging: The Streets of St. Charles, developed by Cullinan Properties of Peoria, Ill., will deliver an enticing 1 million-sq.-ft. mixed-use community.

To be truly fashion-forward, a closet must be refreshed periodically. This is equally true for premiere, class “A” regional malls that pride themselves on offering the hottest apparel and most fashionable retail the industry has to offer. If wardrobe success depends on what’s hanging in your closet, shopping centers hang their success on merchandising savvy and tenant mix.