Omnichannel

San Jose, Calif. – Black Friday (Nov. 28) is expected to be the busiest shopping day of 2014. According to data from in-store analytics provider RetailNext, it will be followed in order by four days in December: Dec. 20, 21, 13 and 19.
For the broader holiday period spanning November and December 2014, RetailNext predicts store traffic will be down 4% from the 2013 holiday period, while sales will be flat to 1% lower, conversions will be up 0.5% and average transaction value will rise 3.5%.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS Health has officially announced it will signed a lease for the creation of a new digital innovation lab in Boston. The new 15,130-sq.-ft. center will serve as a hub for the rapidly growing CVS Health digital team, which will remain headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Polaroid is opening three locations of its Fotobar experiential retail concept in the Los Angeles area, with the first debuting Nov. 18 at Westfield Culver City. The 300-sq.-ft.micro-stores offer a cube shape and Polaroid Color Spectrum logo, and customers can take a seat at the Fotobar and transform their pictures instantly from their smartphone, Facebook or Instagram  into three different size Polaroid pictures which can be collected in unique Polaroid shadowboxes or other picture accessories.  

Increased use of tablets and smartphone this holiday season will help online sales grow 16% to a record $61 billion, but desktop computers still dominate, according to the online measurement firm comScore.

The company said online sales during the November and December timeframe would be primarily driven by desktop computers, but noted that mobile devices are growing at a faster rate. Spending using desktop computers is projected to grow 14% to $53.2 billion while mobile commerce is projected to grow 25% to $7.9 billion and account for 13% of total e-commerce sales.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. is looking to make shopping as easy and convenient this holiday season– regardless of whether shoppers  prefer to shop online, in stores or on their  mobile device.  Plans include the launch of an online Wish List tool that allows shoppers to create a list of most-wanted items from across all five of the company’s brands: Gap, Banana Republic & Banana Republic Factory Store, Old Navy, Athleta and Piperlime.

Following in the footsteps of other major retailers, Bi-Lo Holdings, the parent company of Winn-Dixie, Harveys and BI-LO grocery stores, has announced that it will begin accepting Apple Pay in its retail locations.

“Customers want a shopping experience that is convenient, easy and secure,” said Bert DuMars, vice president of digital marketing at Bi-Lo Holdings. “Bi-Lo Holdings is prioritizing digital mobile solutions for our customers, and Apple Pay is an exciting first step in our journey.”

Austin, Texas - Deals2Buy, a U.S. product offers website, is launching a new site design that streamlines navigation. New features include responsive design, expiration countdown for deals, “hottest” and “newest” deal categories, improved navigation, and sharing of deals on social media.

Buckinghamshire, U.K. – Omnichannel U.K.-based mass merchandise retailer Argos has selected Paragon’s advanced home delivery (HDS) software solution as part of a large-scale project to revolutionize its home delivery operation. Paragon’s HDS software enables Argos to offer optimized time windows to customers at the point of order.