eCommerce

New York City -- Best Buy has become the latest retailer to offer free shipping for select online orders for the holidays.

The chain said the offer, which is good through Dec. 21, is valid on hundreds of thousands of items, including all CD’s, Blu-Ray and DVD movies, as well as gaming software and accessories.

Other retailers have begun offering free shipping programs to entice shoppers to open their wallets this holiday season, including Wal-Mart Stores, J.C. Penney and Target Corp.

San Francisco -- W. Howard Lester, chairman emeritus and former CEO of Willliams-Sonoma, died Nov. 15 from cancer at his home in Indian Wells, Calif. He was 75.

Lester purchased the company with a partner in 1978, when it generated $4 million in annual sales and had four stores. During his time as CEO, from 1978 to 2001, and later as chairman, Lester took Williams-Sonoma public and expanded it to 600 stores and more than $3.4 billion in sales, the company said yesterday in a statement.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter earnings rose 22.6%, beating analysts' estimates, boosted by improvements in its credit-card business and rising food sales. The chain also projected a strong holiday, saying it expects an important sales measure to rise more sharply than it has in three years. It is hoping to lure more shoppers during the holidays with its updated store layout and a new credit-card program that offers 5% off all purchases.

Miami -- Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp. said that The Sports Authority, HomeGoods and a selection of retail shops and restaurants are opening and coming soon to The Shops at Midtown Miami, a 645,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use retail, dining and residential center.

The Sports Authority plans to open a 34,544-sq.-ft. store in 2011. HomeGoods opened a 25,351-sq.-ft. location in late fall 2010.

Hammond, La. -- Hammond, La.-based Stirling Properties, the developer of Hammond Square, has announced that The Children’s Place will open a store at Hammond Square, the company’s power-lifestyle shopping center.

The Children’s Place will occupy 4,290 sq. ft. on Main Street across from Encore Shoe Department. The new store is slated to open early spring 2011.

Pittsburgh -- Dick’s Sporting Goods’ net income for the quarter ended Oct. 30 dropped to $16.9 million, compared with net income of $18.9 million for the year-ago period.

Sales rose 9% to $1.08 billion, from $990 million.

Same-store sales increased 5.1%, with a 3.8% increase in Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, a 2.4% increase in Golf Galaxy and an 82.4% increase in e-commerce.

Chicago -- Black Friday sales are expected to increase by 3.8% and Cyber Monday sales to grow by 2.5% this holiday season, according to BDO USA’s Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, which polls chief marketing officers at 100 leading U.S. retailers. Black Friday and Cyber Monday expectations are more bullish this year compared with 2009 when both were expected to rise by 1.8%.