eCommerce

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco reported net sales of $8.1 billion for May 2013, an increase of 7% from $7.6 billion during the same period last year.

For the 39-week period ended June 2, the company reported net sales of $77 billion, an increase of 8% from $71 billion during the same period last year.

The company’s same-store sales rose 5% in May, but they were lower than anticipated because of the negative impact of changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle has announced that it has closed the sale of Tifton Corners in Tifton, Ga., to Tifton Retail. JLL represented RCG Ventures in the transaction.

Anchors at the 186,629-sq.-ft. Tifton Corners include Big Lots, Save A Lot, Tractor Supply Co., Dollar Tree, Citi Trends and Hibbett Sports. The property is currently 84% leased.

JLL noted that Tifton is near I-75, a major north-south interstate, in south central Ga., two hours north of Tallahassee and three hours south of Atlanta.

New York -- Some of the largest retailers in the United States and United Kingdom are not keeping pace at adapting their store operations to changing consumer buying habits.  

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens on Wednesday posted third-quarter sales of $18.3 billion, up 3.3%.

Same-store sales were up 1.3%, with front-end comparable store sales up by 0.3% and pharmacy comp sales up 2%. Prescriptions filled were up 7% for the quarter.

Walgreens reported that more than 72 million Walgreens faithful have signed on for the company's Balance Rewards loyalty program through May.

Online marketplace Rakuten Inc. has acquired Webgistix, a Las Vegas-based logistics and services company specializing in cloud-based fulfillment technology for e-commerce retailers. The acquisition is Rakuten’s second logistics investment outside of Japan and its first in the Americas. 

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. continues to expand East with plans to open its stores in the states of New York and Massachusetts.

The hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise retailer will open an 88,000-sq.-ft. store in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, N.Y., in fall 2014, and a similarly sized one in the Boston suburb of Berlin, in spring 2015. The exteriors of both locations will reflect Cabela’s signature log construction, stonework, wood siding, metal roofing and a large glass storefront.

Chicago -- During a morning keynote session on Wednesday at the Internet Retailer Conference in Chicago, former Vice President and self-described “recovering politician” Al Gore related a couple of interesting facts about how the Internet is shaping modern commerce. First, he stated that when an online network increases in size its value increases by a squared amount, so that for example a network that doubles its number of users quadruples in value.

CHICAGO, Ill. — Mercent, a leading technology company that enables retailers to reach and convert more shoppers online, has signed a strategic partnership with Shop.com, the e-commerce arm of Market America. 

This latest partnership expands Mercent’s portfolio of online shopping destinations supported by its SaaS platform and offers leading retailers the ability to market and sell to millions of consumers on the Shop.com third-party marketplace.