Omnichannel

E-commerce platform Shopify wants to help retailers engage customers, regardless of location or platform.

Having already launched integrations with major social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, Shopify is branching out in a big way. The company is allowing developers to build new connections it calls “sales channels,” which can include links to apps, platforms and digital marketplaces.

Ethnic grocery chain H Mart is expanding its partnership with Instacart nationally.

Lyndhurst, New Jersey-based H Mart, which operates more than 45 U.S. and Canadian stores, specializes in Asian grocery products. H Mart is now offering Instacart deliveries in as little as one hour to consumers in Philadelphia. Coming soon, the retailer will also offer Instacart services in markets including Orange County, Washington, D.C., suburbs, Atlanta, Chicago suburbs, Los Angeles, and Houston. Instacart prices will match H Mart in-store prices.

The Cheesecake Factory is known for offering a wide variety of food items, and now is also expanding its range of payment options.

Starting in April, The Cheesecake Factory will roll out a new mobile payment app called CakePay. To use CakePay, guests will check in and receive a four-digit code they give to the server at the time their order is taken. The server will then enter the order and the code into the POS system.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are on notice – shifting customer demographics will require far-reaching redesign of the physical store by 2025.

According to a new study from technology market intelligence firm ABI Research, millennials are driving a revolution in how stores use technology to provide a shopping experience.

Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair Inc. is having success with a proprietary feature that may have been inspired by one of the hottest emerging social platforms.

According to Wayfair, its Idea Boards feature is growing rapidly in popularity, especially among users of the retailer’s mobile app. Idea Boards is an online tool that enables customers to save and organize their favorite Wayfair products in one location.

Retail CFOs are bullish on online sales growth, but they are focusing fewer dollars on building out their online presence in 2016 as they look instead to enhance the in-store experience in response to omnichannel expectations.

Specialty candy supplier Jelly Belly Candy Company is modernizing its direct-to-consumer website with help from cloud-based e-commerce technology provider Mozu.

Jelly Belly has replaced its homegrown e-commerce system with Mozu’s SaaS-based cloud commerce platform. With the Mozu platform: Jelly Belly has launched 40 new global sites, expanded organic site traffic by 21%, doubled the efficiency of website speeds, established a single platform for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and worldwide commerce, and increased mobile sales by 300%.