Retail

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.

The Integer Group, a leading global promotional, retail and shopper marketing agency, has named Todd Miller as SVP/executive creative director.

Whole Foods Market said total sales for the first quarter ended Jan. 19 climbed 10% to a record $4.2 billion. But those results reportedly missed analysts’ expectations, and the company has lowered its earnings outlook for 2014 as a result.

Momentum at Whole Foods — as well as shares — slipped. Comparable store sales for the quarter increased 5.4%, compared to a 7.2% increase in the prior year.

Consumers leveled off post-holiday shopping and spending in the beginning of the year due in part to severe winter weather in much of the country. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), January 2014 retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, were flat seasonally adjusted month-to-month, yet increased 3% unadjusted year-over-year.

Newgistics, a leading provider of end-to-end e-commerce solutions for top retailers and brands, has entered into a partnership with ShipStation, a leading Web-based shipping solution for online merchants.

Newgistics seeks to leverage the partnership to streamline shipping operations and bolster its ongoing strategy to drive rapid and sustainable growth for its customers using expert logistics solutions.  

Kind filed a lawsuit against Clif Bar in federal court in Manhattan seeking to prevent Clif from releasing its Clif Mojo snack bars in packaging which Kind contends mimics its bars’ unique and distinctive packaging.

The Buckle has promoted Kari G. Smith to the newly created position of EVP of stores. In her new role, Smith will continue to provide leadership related to all aspects of the in-store shopping experience, including the education and development of the company’s sales team.

At a press conference this week, the National Retail Federation called for widespread adoption of chip-and-PIN payment card technology by U.S. retailers and their partners.

“The chip validates that it’s the real card,” said Tom Litchford, VP retail technologies for NRF. “The PIN provides two levels of validation.”