Omnichannel

Costco has extended its product offering to shoppers in mainland China by establishing a storefront on the Tmall e-commerce platform operated by Alibaba Group.

New York -- REI has launched a news mobile app that allows users to check snow conditions at popular ski destinations.   The recently introduced iPad app offers an optimized shopping and product research experience and gives users access to a broad and inspiring product selection of the top brands in camping, backpacking, cycling, climbing, skiing, fitness and more.   

Finish Line and IBM have created a new mobile app to enable the operator of more than 1,000 athletic footwear and apparel stores to fulfill its omnichannel vision.

Finish Line said the new app is focused on providing services and conveniences that reward its Winners Circle loyalty program customers with points and perks, reinforce brand interactions, improve customer service and sales and also provide  timely information about customers’ favorite product releases.

San Francisco -- Gap Inc. plans to hire more than 63,000 seasonal associates—more than Walmart—at its stores, call centers and distribution centers nationwide for the 2014 holiday season. (Walmart previously announced it was hiring 60,000 seasonal associates.)  

By Dov Cohn

San Francisco –- The Pay with OpenTable mobile payment service from online reservation provider OpenTable, a subsidiary of The Priceline Group, is now available in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. To pay with OpenTable, diners who book at participating restaurants add a credit card in the OpenTable iPhone app before they dine and can then view and pay their check with a few taps.    

Smart machines, mobile and digital business transformation all weigh heavily in tech research giant Gartner’s top 10 predictions for IT organizations and users in 2015 and beyond.    Here is an overview of Gartner's top 10 trends:     1) By 2018, digital business will require 50% fewer business process workers and 500% more key digital business jobs, compared with traditional models.  

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware Inc., a provider of enterprise cloud commerce solutions, has acquired CQuotient, a cloud personalization provider. The acquisition of CQuotient will accelerate Demandware’s plans to turn the data created across its community of retail brands into actionable insights for business optimization and differentiated consumer shopping experiences.