eCommerce

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.

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores is partnering with FabricTraditions, a leading producer of printed fabrics for the home sewing industry, to bring the Creating New Traditions collection of fabrics made entirely in the United States to all Jo-Ann stores nationwide and Joann.com.

FabricTraditions will donate a portion of sales to The National Military Family Foundation.

Jos. A. Bank is in the process of acquiring Everest Topco, a portfolio company of Golden Gate and parent company of the Eddie Bauer brand.

The purchase price for Eddie Bauer consists of a combination of $564 million in cash and approximately 4.7 million new shares of common stock of Jos. A. Bank, issued to Everest Topco at $56 per share, a premium to the pre-announcement share price.

Despite a challenging retail environment, GNC performed well during the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013, generating what chairman, president and CEO Joe Fortunato described as solid top and bottom line growth.

For the quarter, net income slightly rose to $47.7 million from $47.4 million in the same period the prior year.

Rakuten has acquired Viber, a pioneering messaging and VoIP company, for $900 million.

Viber has a global user base of 300 million registered users. The acquisition will enable Rakuten to penetrate new markets with multiple digital content offerings, in combination with its e-commerce and financial services platforms.

Shopkick, a real-world shopping app, has expanded testing of its shopBeacon technology. The new technology, which was deployed in late November at two Macy’s stores, will be active in thousands of stores nationwide by the end of the first quarter.