Omnichannel

Home furnishings retailer West Elm has rolled out a wedding and gift registry enables consumers to register in stores, online or via smartphone app.

The registry includes exclusive offers from West Elm partners Riley & Grey and Minted as well as shopping guides, registry tips and home decorating advice from bloggers and industry experts, including Bash Please, Brooklyn Bride, Snippet & Ink and Style Me Pretty.

Emma & Roe, a new concept from Australia-based, global jewelry retailer Michael Hill International, has opened its doors in Queensland, Australia. Focused on the jewelry charms business, Emma & Roe stands out for its bold but feminine visual stylings. Clean lines are accented with touches of elegance to balance Emma & Roe’s sophistication and moments of playfulness. The color palette features a signature berry color, complemented by a fresh, youthful bright pink and a neutral slate grey.

Walmart plans to roll out Savings Catcher nationwide later this summer. The receipt comparison tool is designed to eliminate the need for customers to visit multiple stores to find low prices, the company said at one of its annual shareholders events.
 
Built on proprietary technology, Savings Catcher looks at other retailers’ ads and gives customers an eGift card for the difference if a competitor’s offering is lower than the price they paid at Walmart.

New York -- Mobile shopping, same-day delivery, and growing volumes of data from online channels are forcing retailers to a tipping point to remain competitive and better respond to evolving customer needs and preferences, according to a new research report by Capgemini Group.
 

San Francisco -- Kenshoo, a provider of predictive media optimization technology, announced the beta release of its newest digital marketing targeting solution, Intent-Driven Audiences (IDA), which matches clicks on search engine ads to audiences on Facebook in real-time. This allows marketers to show ads to consumers that have searched for specific keywords and also use Facebook’s targeting capabilities to find more customers like them.

eBay Enterprise, an eBay company, plans to increase adoption of omnichannel commerce technologies globally after securing 451 clients and 862 extension and renewals in the first half of 2014.

Leading brands that turned to eBay Enterprise to power their retail growth include Alex and Ani, BOXPARK, Destination XL, Karmaloop, MailPix and StubHub.

Current clients have also added new services to enhance the consumer experience.

Toronto -- Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC) swung to a profit in its first quarter, boosted by strong sales at Saks Inc., which it acquired last year. Hudson's Bay has announced plans to bring Saks to Canada, starting with two locations in Toronto in 2015.

Las Vegas -- The Hershey Company has opened a retail flagship, Hershey’s Chocolate World at New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

The store, which occupies two floors and has an eye-catching 74-ft. high Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar that visitors can walk through, is designed to provide shoppers with an experiential concept that immerses them in more than 800 candy and chocolate offerings.