Retail

Detroit is not the only town that spent the past few decades building outward before looking inward. In June, the Las Vegas City Council approved a master plan for its Downtown district, focusing on both historic attractions and new development to drive more traffic there.

To make it happen, it hired RTKL, an architecture and urban design firm whose completed projects include Mirdif City Centre in Dubai and L.A. Live. Its plan calls for the establishment of a tech business center, expansion of its health care services and at least 5,000 new residents.

CommerceHub, a distributed commerce network for retailers and brands, is expanding its existing partnership with Walmart, integrating directly with Walmart’s online third-party marketplace.   Under the new agreement, CommerceHub’s network of approximately 9,500 customers, including many of the largest retailers, marketplaces and brands in North America, will be able to team up with Walmart.com.    

A little over one year since it acquired rival Family Dollar, Dollar Tree reported revenue that missed Wall Street expectations amid lower customer traffic.     Dollar Tree and other discounters are also feeling the impact of a recent change by some states regarding the criteria for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which has made thousands of households ineligible for benefits.      

Update on retail’s most important time of the year

It’s no secret that online shopping and changing consumer preferences continue to impact physical retail traffic. Despite the shifting landscape, retail sales remain largely intact and, more importantly, are expected to increase year-over-year this holiday season.

November and December are prime time for physical retailers.

West Elm doesn’t believe in cookie-cutter stores.   The home furnishings retailer will open its location in the state of Rhode Island, in Providence’s Wayland Square neighborhood on Sept. 1. The 11,473-sq.-ft. store will incorporate unique design elements that pay homage to Rhode Island’s history and coastal proximity.  

Chain Store Age recently sat down with Stefan Weitz, chief product and strategy officer of omnichannel commerce and service provider Radial (formerly eBay Enterprise), to discuss how retailers can offer a seamless experience and have a successful holiday.
    
What is the biggest challenge retailers face when trying to enable omnichannel?

In many cases, it’s thinking they can do omnichannel by themselves.

The cranes have arrived at the 92-acre lot along Clovis Avenue in Fresno, California, to erect the parking garage at what will be Fancher Creek Town Center, and the locals couldn’t be happier.   “I think it’s super. We need something. You have to catch the freeway and go up north to get to anything,” resident Diana Williams told KFSN news in Fresno this week.  

Ikea is expanding its renewable energy commitment with state-of-the-art fuel cell technology.

Based on the success of a pilot installation, the Swedish home furnishings retailer plans to install biogas-powered fuel cell systems at four stores in California.

A year ago, Ikea completed installation of a similar project at its location in Emeryville, Calif., one of the company’s two San Francisco-area stores.