Omnichannel

A new character line with first-of-its-kind multimedia elements is now available on Build-A-Bear Workshop’s web site and in its 400 stores.

Chain Store Age recently published a list of the top 10 most-read stories of the first half of 2015, and eight are directly focused on brick-and-mortar stores. This is no great surprise because even as retail and society and general enter a true “Digital Age,” physical stores remain as crucial as they were in the pre-industrial era.

Here are three reasons that brick-and-mortar stores are still a vital part of any retailer’s omnichannel strategy.

Wayne, N.J. – Toys “R” Us is taking e-commerce into its own hands.

In a move to optimize its e-commerce business and significantly improve the customer experience online, the toy giant announced plans to bring its U.S. e-commerce operations in-house. The plans include building and managing a new platform for Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com and FAO.com.

Toys “R” Us expects to launch its own online platform by the end of summer 2016.

Target Corp. is putting a spotlight on how the “Internet of Things“(IoT) will transform consumers’ homes and lives.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. is putting a spotlight on how the “Internet of Things“(IoT) will transform consumers’ homes and lives.

The company has opened an experimental space that provides an upfront and personal look at how the IoT can connects everyday items like thermostats and door locks. The move follows the opening of Sears’s “Connected Solutions” flagship in San Bruno, California.

Toys“R”Us Inc. plans to bring its U.S. e-commerce operations in-house, including building and managing a new platform for Toysrus.com, Babiesrus.com and FAO.com, by the end of summer 2016.

New York -- The online checkout space keeps getting more crowded.

American Express on Thursday launched Amex Express Checkout, an alternative online payment method that its U.S. card members can use to check out and pay on partnering websites and apps. Unlike other online payments tools currently in the marketplace, Amex Express Checkout does not require a card member to create or manage a new account.

The online checkout space keeps getting more crowded.