Omnichannel

Featuring 250 boutiques and designers from the U.S. and Canada, online marketplace site Garmentory connects brick-and-mortar boutiques and emerging designers to shoppers all over the globe via their online platform and mobile site, according to a CNBC.com report.

Ace is the place with the helpful hardware store, and the retailer is extending its classic motto to the digital realm.

As an independently-owned retail cooperative, Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corp. operates more than 4,400 stores and a distribution network of 14 retail support center across the U.S. The company leverages this physical footprint to help meet the needs of online shoppers.

Sleek. Minimalist. Innovative. Modern.

Those were among the words used most often by mystery shoppers to describe Apple’s next-generation store, located at Shops of Saddle Creek South in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis.

The shoppers are part of Field Agent, which provides on-location auditing and research via a network of 650,000 “agents” who collect data that can be monitored in real time by its clients. The company deployed several agents to visit and then review the store. The majority of the comments were glowing:

Consumers are shopping online more than ever before, and are especially fond of one particular platform to support the activity.

According to the comScore “2016 U.S. Cross-Platform Future in Focus” report from comScore, desktop and mobile digital commerce accounted for 15% of U.S. consumer spending in fourth quarter 2015. This was up from 12.5% the same quarter a year earlier and also represented an all-time high percentage.

Walmart and its financial services partners have added a loyalty component to credit, debit and prepaid card offerings that provide an extra incentive to make online purchase.

On-demand delivery provider Postmates is priming consumers for a new free delivery subscription service.

Called Postmates Plus Unlimited, the service offers users free delivery and zero service fees on any purchase more than $30 from Postmates Plus merchant partners, who include American Apparel. Postmates Plus Unlimited purchases will be accepted instantly for faster response.

Chain Store Age recently spoke with Stefan Weitz, head of product and strategy at eBay Enterprise, about the changing nature of omnichannel retail and what it means for fulfillment strategies.

How important is it for today’s retailers to have omnichannel fulfillment capability?

Inland Real Estate Corporation has changed its name to IRC Retail Centers Inc.

The company unveiled a new brand identity in line with its name change, which coincides with the acquisition of Inland by funds managed by DRA Advisors LLC. The updated identity includes a new logo, tagline and updated website.