Omnichannel

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc., famous for the “easy button,” is partnering with UPS to ease the shipment of UPS packages from any U.S. store location. Customers now can charge the cost of shipments at Staples to their UPS account, which means they don't have to prepare labels ahead of time and will see the invoice, and any customized rates, on their regular UPS invoice.

San Mateo, Calif. — Online membership shopping service ShopRunner is adding some well-known fashion brands to its mix.

ShopRunner has signed new partnership agreements with Alexis Bittar, Alice + Olivia, Bebe, Joie, Kooba and Lucky Brand.

Seattle – Amazon.com may be preparing a pre-emptive strike against a rival e-commerce platform before it even officially takes off.

According to CNBC, Piper Jaffray Internet analyst Gene Munster says Amazon s considering a purchase of Jet.com, a subscription-based e-commerce site that is currently in beta and set to officially launch next week.

Munster said that Jet.com does a good job in gamifying the online shopping process and in selling fast-moving consumer goods, two things Amazon has not historically done well.

Digital promotions platform RetailMeNot has found a new partner to provide retailers with enhanced marketing analytics. 

New York — Coming soon to a mall near you…robots?

Mike Kercheval, president and CEO of the International Council of Shopping Centers, is making the case for the use of robots in shopping malls. In an op-ed commentary on CNBC.com,  Kercheval says the robot's potential on the front lines of retail is limitless—and soon, he adds, “it will be difficult to imagine a visit to the local mall without them.”

Here are three reasons Kercheval says we need robots in malls:

Seoul, Korea – Samsung is testing a mobile wallet solution, but it may be a while before U.S. consumers get to join in the fun.

The consumer electronics giant announced in a blog posting that Korean consumers can now use a beta version of its Samsung Pay mobile payment application.

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook is increasing its buy-in for the high-stakes poker game of social commerce.

According to BuzzFeed, Facebook has begun piloting online storefronts located within the pages of a number of retailers.

Mall of America is adding a big experiential retail destination.