Omnichannel

Dallas -- The Merchant Customer Exchange announced Tuesday that Bed Bath & Beyond, Dillard's, Dunkin’ Brands, Gap, Sheetz and Wakefern Food Corp. are among those joining the existing lineup of merchants who are committed to creating a seamless mobile-commerce solution.

NEW YORK — Research released Monday by Citigroup and published by Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch found that digital sales for the holiday 2012 shopping season are expected to increase at least 20%, thanks to two additional shopping days and amped-up retail marketing efforts.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us on Tuesday said it will offer a price-match guarantee on all items in its namesake and Babies “R” Us stores this holiday season.

Beginning immediately and continuing through Christmas Eve, the company said it will match competitors’ in-store pricing on identical items, any time a customer presents a local competitor’s current print advertisement showing the item available for less.  

New York -- Smartphone and Internet users actively seek out and prefer to engage with mobile-friendly sites, but such sites must meet certain expectations in order to convert users from visitors to consumers, according to a Google study conducted by independent market research firms Sterling Research and SmithGeiger.

Cherry Hill, N.J. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust said that upscale salon Essensuals London has officially opened at its Cherry Hill Mall property in Cherry Hill, N.J.

The 1,530-sq.-ft. salon – the company’s first on the East Coast – joins the recently opened North Face and Henri Bendel. Pottery Barn is set to open this fall.

New York -- Research released Monday by Citigroup and published by Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch found that digital sales for the holiday 2012 shopping season are expected to increase at least 20%, thanks to two additional shopping days and amped-up retail marketing efforts.

Vancouver -- LightHaus  announced that Foot Locker has deployed the LightHaus Visual Customer Intelligence (VCI) solution to measure customer traffic and sales conversion rates at all of its Champs Sports stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as its Foot Locker Canada stores. The chain is adopting LightHaus VCI in stores in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Chicago -- An online grocery delivery service is launching "virtual grocery stores" at commuter rail stations across the country.

Peapod.com, owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Dutch supermarket operator Royal Ahold, announced it would launch more than 100 of the virtual grocery stores at commuter rail stations in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, New Jersey and Connecticut. Commuters in the markets Peapod serves spend an hour in transit to and from work each day, according to Census data.