Sales & Marketing

New York -- A study released Wednesday by Deloitte found that smartphones – which already influence 5.1% of all retail store sales in the United States – are expected to impact 19% of total store sales, amounting to $689 billion, by 2016.

WABAN, Mass. — Publix, Hy-Vee, H.E.B., Sam's Club, ShopRite, Aldi, Giant Eagle and JCPenney were among the highest-rated companies for customer service, according to new research from the Temkin Group.

Other companies earning top marks included Chick-fil-A, credit unions and Starbucks. Meanwhile, companies with the lowest ratings included Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Citibank, Qwest, Cigna, and Bank of America.

Moorestown, N.J. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust said that Cinnabon has opened a 210-sq.-ft. kiosk at Moorestown Mall, located in Moorestown, N.J.

Cinnabon opened at Moorestown Mall on the heels of Books for Less, while Play N Trade and Nailery are set to open at the mall this summer.

MINNEAPOLIS — Food distribution company Nash Finch has named Gary Spinazze as chair of the NFC Foundation for a two-year term. The NFC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of Nash Finch. Board member Paula Docken, business analyst, chair of the community outreach committee was named as chair elect.

Downers Grove, Ill. -- Survey results released Wednesday by CompTIA, the non-profit association for the IT industry, found that innovations in information technology continue to transform the retail sector, with digital signage, payment processing, customer engagement and other solutions playing increasingly important functions.

Seventy-two percent of retailers surveyed rate technology as important to their business, CompTIA's Retail Sector Technology Adoption Trends Study revealed. That figure projects to increase to 83% by 2014.

Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft said Wednesday that Lowe's Home Improvement is engaging its services to help improve customer service. The retailer will implement Microsoft Office 365 across more than 1,745 stores, 200,000 employees and its corporate offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Office 365 will help Lowe’s improve customer service by providing collaboration tools to increase communication among its stores and employees.

REDMOND, Wash. — Lowe's is engaging the services of Microsoft to help improve customer service. The company has agreed to implement Microsoft Office 365 across more than 1,745 stores, 200,000 employees and its corporate offices in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Office 365 will help the home improvement retailer improve customer service by providing collaboration tools to increase communication among its stores and employees.

ATLANTA — RedPrairie, a global supply chain and retail technology provider, has released its RedPrairie Commerce Suite 2012.1, a scalable suite of solutions that help retailers generate sales and customer loyalty by creating seamless and dynamic all-channel shopping experiences, with a 360-degree view of orders, merchandise and customer behavior, and integration with RedPrairie fulfillment solutions, the company said.