eCommerce

More Americans this year are expected to put their tax returns in the bank. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 46% of those expecting a refund this year will put their money into savings, up from 44% last year and the highest percent in the survey’s history.

Safeway has confirmed that it is in discussions concerning a possible transaction involving the sale of the company. However, the company declined to comment further at this time.

"Although the discussions are ongoing, the company has not reached an agreement on a transaction, and there can be no assurance that these discussions will lead to an agreement or a completed transaction," Safeway stated as part of its earnings release.

More momentum for Pinterest and the emergence of social shopping are among the top social media trends that research and analytics firm Blueocean Market Intelligence predicts will impact the retail industry this year.

The firm analyzed the online sales data of the nation’s top 100 retailers from September through December 2013 as part of an ongoing global study assessing the business impact of top retailers social media efforts in a report called, “Social Media Effectiveness Index for Retailers”

Revionics, a leading provider of end-to-end merchandise optimization solutions, has named the company’s president and CEO Marc Hafner as chairman of the board.

Hafner has served as president and CEO since 2010 and with this newly added role he will lead the company’s strategic planning and accelerate its global growth.

Amazon has never been shy about tooting its own horn and the most recent example involves the company’s content engine known as Amazon Studios.

Since launching in November 2010, aspiring screenplay writers have submitted more than 20,000 movie scripts and 6,000 series projects. Amazon recently debuted a second batch of original series and one week later the company is heralding positive feedback from reviewers and customers.

Delia’s is still in the early stages of its turnaround efforts, but losses in the fourth quarter prompted the multichannel retailer that caters to teenage girls to offer preliminary results.

The company said that headwinds which continue to pressure the retail industry hampered its progress in the quarter.

Omnichannel marketers have gained a new personalization weapon to engage with shoppers thanks to a partnership between nGage Labs and Web Decisions.

The firms announced a new arrangement that combines nGage’s personalized mobile customer engagement capabilities with Web Decision’s omnichannel marketing database solutions to create a fully integrated database-drive mobile customer engagement solution.

Richard N. Cabela, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the $3.6 billion chain of 50 Cabela’s stores, has died at his home in Sidney, Neb.

Cabela served as chairman of the board until June 2013, when he transitioned to chairman emeritus and Jim Cabela became chairman. Cabela and his wife, Mary, and brother, Jim, founded Cabela’s in 1961. He is survived by his wife, Mary, and their nine children and their families, as well as two sisters and three brothers.