Sales & Marketing

Cambridge, Mass. – It’s not only middle-aged women that like to browse retail stores.

Bucking demographic stereotypes that suggest men and millennials are more tech-oriented, it turns out both groups are more likely than other consumer groups to browse in-store.

At least that’s according to a new study from Adroit Digital, “Marketing to Millennials,” which found that 57% of millennials do the majority of their retail browsing in-store, close to the 61% of consumers 35 and older who are in-store browsers.

Recent turmoil in the stock market hasn’t dimmed Best Buy’s outlook for the third quarter while the release of better than expected second quarter results has validated the company’s strategy, according to CEO Hubert Joly.

Strength in categories such as major appliances, large screen televisions and mobile phones, offset by weak tablet sales, helped Best Buy achieve a 2.7% domestic same store sales increase and pushed revenues up 3.9% to $7.9 billion during the second quarter ended August 1. Online comparable sales increased 17%.

New York -- Not only is Amazon.com launching its one-hour Prime Now delivery service in its hometown of Seattle, but it's also adding a whole new category of deliverable products.

The retailer announced Tuesday it will add wine, beer and spirits to its assortment of eligible products for Prime Now delivery.

With the launch of Prime Now in Seattle, it's the first U.S. city to include alcohol in the assortment of products eligible for the quick-delivery service.

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. met Wall Street expectations for profit but did not grow revenues as much as projected during a mixed second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Costs and expenses increased at a slower rate than sales, allowing net income to improve 9% to $37.61 million, from $34.33 million in the prior year period. Net sales increased 7% to $627.2 million, from $587.1 million. Same-store sales rose 1.8%.

Mike MacDonald, president and CEO, also attributed rising profits to merchandise selling strategy.

Bentonville now has something in common with Buenos Aires, Seoul, Bangalore and Istanbul.

Walmart’s home town is now home to Tyco Retail Solutions’ newest Retail Experience Center, a 5,000-sq.-ft. facility designed to showcase the capabilities of a global company best known for its broad range of security and inventory management solutions.

Cleveland – Sherwin-Williams is launching a colorful omnichannel program designed to ease the process of selecting paint colors. Called ColorSnap, it integrates online and offline tools and includes a new in-store display.

Sherwin-Williams is launching a new omnichannel tool designed to radically simplify how customers pick a paint color.

ColorSnap is a comprehensive system with an in-store display that helps customers select colors -- in 60% less time than with the previous display, according to in-store testing conducted by Sherwin-Williams. ColorSnap will also be available for iPhone, iPad, Android and online, allowing customers to scan each take-home color chip for instant access to inspirational room scenes.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly planning to offer customers a new option for directly picking up orders.

According to GeekWire, Amazon is currently testing the service, called Amazon Flex, in its Kirkland, Washington, distribution facility.

A sign inside the facility instructs Amazon Flex users to take a ticket with a number, look for the number to be displayed, and then pick up their package. Amazon has not discussed exactly how Flex would work, or when or where it may roll out.