Sales & Marketing

Wayfair now allows Apple iOS 11 users to visualize 3D furniture and décor in their home before they buy it.   The furniture e-retailer’s “View in Room 3D” app is now available on Apple’s on iOS 11 platform. Supported by Apple’s ARKit augmented reality technology, the app is now accessible on iPhones and iPads.   

Nearly all shoppers will be shopping a variety of channels this holiday season.   Ninety-six percent of shoppers plan to make a purchase from a retailer who has both a physical and an online presence, with 40% of them buying online and picking up in-store, according to a report by the International Council of Shopping Centers. And 81% of those shoppers plan to make additional purchases when collecting their item(s).  

Albertsons Cos. has become the first national grocery retailer to acquire a prepared-meals company.   The nation's second largest supermarket chain is acquiring online meal company Plated in a deal that is expected to close later this month. The move taps into Americans' growing demand for meal delivery services and also shores up Albertsons' defenses against Amazon, which has become a key player in grocery with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market.    

Overall positive economic conditions will propel retail sales online as well as of offline this coming holiday season.   That's according to a report by Forrester, which predicts that U.S. online holiday sales will grow 12% to reach $129 billion in 2017, compared to $115 billion last year. Offline holiday sales will inch up 0.3%, to reach $549 billion in 2017.  

Design Within Reach has unveiled its new location at NorthPark Center in Dallas.    At nearly 13,500 sq. ft., the space is three times the size of the previous temporary space the company occupied at the center. The retailer partnered with New York-based architecture firm DFA to bring the new store to life.  

PREIT announced that it has fully leased the space vacated by Sears at Magnolia Mall, nine months after the store closed shop at the Florence, South Carolina, property.   Burlington opens in a 46,000-sq.-ft. space there this week. It will be joined by HomeGoods (20,000 sq. ft.) and Five Below (8,500 sq. ft.) in the spring. Also slated to open at that time is a 20,000-sq.-ft. H&M store.  

The continued popularity and development of town centers and lifestyle centers have made it clear that retailers can no longer go it alone. They must co-exist in a symbiotic live-work-play environment, and that means they must also co-exist with the different demands and cost structures of residential and office spaces.  

Ikea is looking to expand its presence in Arizona.    The home furnishings retailer plans to open a store in Glendale, Arizona. It would be the company's second location in the state.