Sales & Marketing

The workforce at Macy’s will swell by 50% in the coming month as the department store retailer looks to elevate service levels during the holiday season.

Macy’s said it plans to hire 85,000 workers, versus 86,000 last year, for temporary positions at its Macy's and Bloomingdale's stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers. The company had roughly 167,000 employees at the end of its fiscal year on Jan. 31, 2015.

A leading pizza chain is testing beacon technology – in stores in China.

Yum Brands subsidiary Pizza Hut is using devices from global beacon technology provider Sensoro at all 1,471 locations in mainland China through Sept. 23.

The Home Depot is building physical infrastructure to support online operations. The home improvement giant is officially opening the third of three facilities designed to support its online business, IT transformation and overall interconnected retail strategy.

The new 1.6 million-sq.-ft. facility is located in Troy Township, Ohioand is expected to eventually employ 500 workers. Home Depot is opening the center as online sales continue to grow and currently account for 5% of total revenues.

Nordstrom Inc. has opened its first international flagship location. The luxury retailer opened its new store at Pacific Centre inVancouver, British Columbiaon Friday, Sept. 18.

The 230,000-sq.-ft. flagship store offers a curated selection of merchandise from accessible to luxury price points.

The J.C. Penney Co. Inc. is reportedly planning to overhaul how it serves plus-size customers with a new in-store and online format called “The Boutique.” According to Women’s Wear Daily, Penney will open dedicated plus-size “The Boutique” sections of 12 stores

Target Corp., which has operated a proprietary innovation lab in San Francisco since 2013, is eyeing a more outward-focused approach to innovation. Target is partnering with startup accelerator Techstars to open a new retail accelerator program in its hometown of Minneapolis.

Ikea is expanding yet another of its older U.S. stores.

The home furnishings giant has begun demolishing a covered parking structure where it will construct a new, larger store in Renton, Washington, across the 29-acre parcel from its current Seattle-area store.

Razing the building will make room for construction of the new Renton store, slated to open in spring 2017.

Actual store construction likely will commence later this year after completion of the demolition and site preparation.

In recent years, the omnichannel world has turned retail on its ear. But after all the innovation, retailers have spoken: the store is back - and employees are going to be a key driver to its success. Retailers are trying to provide services in stores that consumers just can't get online, and for that, store employees become a clear differentiator.

But do retailers have the workforce they need? And what tools does that workforce need to be successful?