Omnichannel

A familiar name factors heavily into the online holiday shopping plans of consumers.

According to a new poll from Reuters and Ipsos, 51% of consumers plan to do most or all of their online holiday shopping at Amazon.com. This dwarfs the next-most-popular specific retailer, Walmart, favored by 16%.

Other traditional and online retailers combined for the second-highest response of 18%. Other popular retailers with low responses include Target (3%) and Macys (2%).

Gordmans Stores ended its same-store sales dry spell and successfully launched an e-commerce site in the third quarter, leaving CEO Andy Hall upbeat about the company’s prospects.

Gordmans, operator of 102 off price department stores, said same-store sales increased 0.8% and total sales increased 4.9% to $153.9 million in the third quarter ended Oct. 31. The company also noted that gross margin improved 50 basis points to 44.4% due to reduced markdown activity.

Just in time for the holidays, Google is revamping its Google Shopping online marketplace to make it more mobile-friendly.

In a blog post, Google explains that mobile shopping-related searches now exceed desktop-based shopping-related searches, meaning online shopping has shifted from a “marathon” to “moments.” To help better capture mobile consumers at the moment they are looking to buy a product, Google is now displaying the most commonly searched categories in response to broad search terms.

Williams-Sonoma says its customer-focused strategy and brand portfolio led to its earnings spike in the third quarter and will further position the company for growth into the holiday season.

Specialty apparel retailer New York & Company is targeting social media-savvy young women with a new promotional campaign that brings jeans into the digital realm.

New York & Company is promoting its new line of Soho jeans with a rich media campaign featuring American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson. Through the trends section of its main e-commerce site (avoiding any content silos), New York & Company displays images of Hudson that can bring the customer directly to a product page for purchase.

Of all the major big-box retailers, only one has a digital IQ ranking in the “genius” range.

According to the new Big Box Digital IQ Index from business intelligence firm L2 Inc., Home Depot stands along among big-box chains with a genius-level digital IQ score of 144. IQ scores measure performance in four key areas of site and e-commerce, digital marketing, social media, and mobile and tablet.

The North Face puts its passion for adventure and the great outdoors front and center in its new flagship on Regent Street in London. The two-level 4,300-sq.-ft. space is designed to inspire customers to explore the world and equip them with not only the necessary gear, but also knowledge and support.

(For more photos of The North Face, London, click here.)

More robust omnichannel capabilities have Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly confident about his company’s ability to execute during the holidays, but his views on overall demand for consumer electronics are another matter.

Best Buy said it expects weak demand for consumer electronics in the fourth quarter and forecast flat same-store sales at domestic locations following a 0.5% third quarter comp increase that was aided by an 18% online increase.