Retail

London, U.K. - Almost half (47%) of consumers will order gifts online this Christmas with less than a week until Dec. 25. According to the latest ECustomerServiceIndex results from EDigitalResearch and IMRG, when asked what date they would be comfortable placing a holiday online order, the majority of consumers (53%) said Wednesday Dec. 17 or before.   

Watsonville, Calif. –- A tax valuation allowance related to its Canadian operations helped reduce net income at West Marine Inc. to $4.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 24% from $6.5 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net revenues were $196.5 million, a 2% jump from $193.4 million, and same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

New York -- Retail e-commerce in the US grew 16.5% in 2013 to reach $264.3 billion, and will increase another 15.7% in 2014 to reach $305.7 billion, or 6.5% of all U.S. retail sales, according to Emarketer.      In other findings, mobile retail sales in the U.S. totaled $42.28 billion in 2013, 16% of all U.S. retail ecommerce sales, and will increase another 37.3% to reach $58.07 billion in 2014, accounting for 19% of the total US ecommerce market.   

Sidney, Neb. –- Cabela’s Inc. missed Wall Street estimates for earnings and revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income rose 8% to $53.8 million from $49.9 million, dampened by provisions for income taxes.   The retailer said it plans to open 13-15 stores per year for the next several years.  

New York -- Investor website Seeking Alpha reported on Thursday that Sears Holdings Corp. is closing more than 100 stores and laying off at least 5,457 employees. The report, which Sears said was inaccurate, said the shutterings include 30 Sears stores, 31 Sears Auto Centers and 46 Kmart stores.  

Dallas -- Cypress Equities companies announced that its affiliated Cypress Acquisition Partners Retail Fund has closed on the acquisition of The Corner Shopping Center in Dallas. The project is a community shopping center, located on the northeast corner of Walnut Hill and the US-75 Central Expressway.   

Sparks, Nev. -- BH Properties, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in acquiring and repositioning challenged or distressed real estate properties, has purchased Los Altos Crossing, a retail center located at Sparks Boulevard and Los Altos Parkway in Sparks, Nev., for $6 million.  

Toronto, Canada - An $87 million, 200,000-sq.-ft., 50-store expansion has been opened to the public at Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, operated by Ivanhoe Cambridge. The expansion on the east side of the property features an Event Court, a digital lounge and a Sport Neighborhood.