eCommerce

New York City -- Macy’s took the top spot in the annual Digital IQ Index, which ranks retailers according to their online competence. The index measured the digital footprint of 64 brands via 350 data points across four dimensions: Site, Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Mobile. Based on these scores, each brand was assigned a Digital IQ and a corresponding class of Genius, Gifted, Average, Challenged, or Feeble.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Best Buy, Sears and Target ranked as the top three cross-channel performers in a study by CrossView, a provider of cross-channel commerce solutions. The study, which examined the cross-channel capabilities of 25 top retailers, found that a majority of retailers are providing an unsatisfactory cross-channel experience. 

Highlights of the study, which is due to be released Aug. 30, include:

• Only 12% of studied retailers could access a customer’s pending web order in store;

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters' second-quarter net income more than doubled to $19.7 million from $9.7 million in the year-ago period. The teen retailer credited the jump on increased revenue, growing online sales and fewer markdowns.

Revenue for the period ended July 30 rose 4 percent to $675.7 million from $651.5 million, surpassing Wall Street's $652 million estimate. Same-store sales were flat compared with a 1% decline in the prior-year period.

By Liana Hill, [email protected]

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Tuesday by the National Retail Federation and conducted by BIGresearch showed that department stores, clothing stores and websites are expected to attract most of the last-minute back-to-school purchases.

According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School survey, the average family has completed 43% of shopping for K-12 students, similar to last year’s 43.2%. College students and their parents have completed 44.3% f their shopping, up slightly from last year’s 43.1%.

Talk about visibility. Target went way beyond the norm in the retail industry earlier this year when it said that within six or seven years sales would reach $100 billion and earnings per share would double to at least $8. Expressing such a long term outlook is not without considerable risk, chief among them is the rapid pace of change in the retail industry and the fact that the competitive landscape and the factors influencing consumer demand could look very different within six or seven years.

New York City -- Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, through his Inmobiliaria Carso SA investment fund, spent $8.8 million to up his stake in Saks, according to Bloomberg. 

Slim, who was Saks’s largest shareholder before the purchases and last acquired the New York-based retailer’s shares in April 2009, raised his stake to 16% from 15.7%, the report said. Slim has made it a practice to add to his investment holdings when the markets slump.

It’s not easy keeping up with the comings and goings of retail executives these days. Every day seems to bring a change at -- or near -- the top. Among the most recent announcements was the news that Terrance Marks, CEO of The Pantry and architect of the chain’s turnaround strategy, was stepping down to take a position in Atlanta. Also hot off the wire: Mark Cosby, former president of stores at Macy’s, has been named president of CVS/pharmacy.