Mass Merchant

(The following is an excerpt from the new book, Extraordinary Experiences: What Great Retail and Restaurant Brands Do, by Denise Lee Yohn.)

Scott McClelland seems an unlikely candidate for his picture to appear under a "Why Is This Man Smiling?" headline. As spokesperson and president of the Houston food/drug division of Texas-based grocery store chain H-E-B, McClelland has plenty of reasons to be worried.

Dillard’s joined Macy's and Nordstrom Monday in struggling against weaker than expected traffic and sales in the third quarter.

Popularity and resale value do not always correlate when it comes to gift cards.

Visa is tops in a ranking of the gift cards expected to be most popular this holiday season.

Rounding out the top 10: American Express; iTunes; Wal-Mart; Target; Starbucks; Netflix; eBay and Google Play. The ranking is from CardHub, a credit card comparison Web site owned by Evolution Finance.

Target is embarking on its most omnichannel holiday season ever with more services designed to add convenience and value for shoppers.

In a new blog post and infographic posted on Target.com, the retailer details how the intersection between stores and mobile play a big role in the Target shopping experience: Nearly 25 percent of Target.com sales will be fulfilled by a store, either through Order Pickup or shipping from a store.

Target recently introduced two new "click-and-mortar" features designed to improve the shopping experience.

In a new expansion of food and retail, Urban Outfitters Inc. is acquiring a Philadelphia-based restaruant chain.

Amazon.com has been busy expanding its same-day Prime delivery options across the U.S., and now it is hopping the pond.

Amazon U.K. has launched Amazon Pantry, a nationwide service for Prime members. Amazon Pantry offers more than 4,000 everyday grocery items, including food and drink, household supplies, baby and child care, pet, and health and beauty products.

Target Corp. is giving the bargain-priced, impulse section located in the front of its stores a makeover.

The retailer is transforming the popular department into “Bullseye’s Playground,” and the chain’s iconic mascot, Bullseye, will be located on the top of each display.