eCommerce

New York -- Hurricane Sandy is being held responsible for reducing U.S. retail sales in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region by about $4 billion last week, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.

According to the report, the region, which accounts for about 24% of retail sales nationwide, typically generates $18.7 billion in sales for that particular week ended Saturday, the Associated Press reported. But revenue came in at about $15 billion. (The figures exclude auto sales.)

Third quarter sales at OfficeMax declined 1.7% to $1.74 billion and same store sales dropped 2.1% due to weak demand for office products.

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot Inc. reported Tuesday a loss of $61.9 million for the third quarter, compared with net income of $100.9 million in the same period last year. Results still edged analysts’ expectations.

Revenue dropped 5.1% to $2.69 billion, missing Wall Street’s expected $2.89 billion revenue mark.

Revenue for the office supply chain has fallen for the past three quarters.

Atlanta -- Shapewear hosiery marketer Spanx has opened its first standalone location, a 1,200-sq.-ft. store in Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va.

"With a growing product collection and fan base, our own dedicated space was inevitable,” said Spanx CEO Laurie Ann Goldman.

Two additional stores are set to open this fall, in King of Prussia, Pa., and Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J.

Woonsocket, R.I. -- CVS Caremark Corp. reported Tuesday that net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 jumped 16% to $1.01 billion, compared with $868 million in the year-ago period. Results were boosted by a 13.3% increase in revenue to $30.2 billion, which edged Wall Street’s forecast of $30.09 billion in revenue.

Drugstore revenue rose 5.5% to $15.5 billion, and same-store sales climbed 4.3%, helped by the influx of Walgreens customer who switched to CVS during the split between Walgreen Co and Express Scripts Holding Co.

Dallas -- Neiman Marcus Group said Tuesday it has launched international shipping and payment options for online sales via a relationship with global e-commerce expansion platform FiftyOne Global Ecommerce.

The move will allow Neiman, which has only a domestic bricks-and-mortar presence, to expand its online reach to 100+ countries. It kicks off with a promotional flat-rate shipping offer on all international purchases through Dec. 10.

If the economy is improving someone forgot to tell Office Depot’s customers. The company reported a third quarter loss of $70 million loss on sales that declined 5% to $2.7 billion.

New York -- According to a Monday report by Reuters, Staples will install Amazon lockers inside its U.S. stores, providing consumers an alternative location to receive packages from the online retailer.

According to the report, customers are sent an email code with a pickup code for opening the locker. Shoppers then have three days to retrieve the package.