Omnichannel

QVC’s Claire Watts has resigned from her role as CEO of U.S. operations, effective Friday, Sept. 5, to pursue other opportunities.

Naples, Fla. -- ACI Worldwide, a leading global provider of electronic payment and banking solutions, announced that Auchan Group, one of the world’s largest food retailers, has selected the company to deliver its new SEPA-compliant European card payments platform, the first of its kind in Europe.

Staples has enhanced its omnichannel offerings, enabling small business owners to buy products online and pick them up in stores within hours, pay online via Visa Checkout, use in-store kiosks and download and use a dedicated iPad app.

Boca Raton, Fla. – Keith Sherwell, who served as CIO of Sears Holding Corp from March 2010 to June 2013, has been named CIO of the Office Depot international division, effective Sept. 15. Sherwell advised the board of OfficeMax during merger negotiations with Office Depot, and has served as a technology integration consultant to Office Depot since the completion of the merger in November 2013.

New York -- The department store wars are sure to heat up in Manhattan with the announcement that Neiman Marcus is coming to the Big Apple. The luxury retailer will open its first-ever location in Manhattan, in 2018. The 250,000-sq.-ft. three-level store will help anchor the new Hudson Yards development, a multi-use project located on the city's West Side, between 30th and 34th Streets.

Framingham, Mass. – Staples has released a series of enhancements to its omnichannel experience. The enhancements include the new Visa Checkout digital payment service, the ability to buy products online and pick them up in-store within hours, new in-store kiosks, and, Staples’ first iPad app.

Nordstrom Inc. has become the first retailer to launch the Like2Buy platform, which allows Nordstrom.com customers to directly purchase items featured on the retailer’s Instagram page. The commerce-enablement of visually oriented social platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest and Vine, is an inevitable development as social media becomes more focused on photos and videos and less on text. The preference most Millennials have for visually oriented social media reinforces the value that commerce enabling these platforms has for retailers.

Chicago -- Peet’s Coffee & Tea is growing its footprint in the greater Chicago area, opening 16 stores in a phased rollout across the market this fall. Chicago is part of Peet’s aggressive U.S. expansion effort that began last year, which will bring its store total to nearly 300 locations nationwide by the end of the year.