Omnichannel

Hoboken, N.J. – The countdown is on for the latest competitor to Amazon.com to take off. Jet.com, which hopes to compete with the Amazon Prime membership service using “profit-free” pricing, has an online clock on its homepage counting down to launch at 6 a.m. ET on Tuesday, July 21.

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.

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.