Omnichannel

SEATTLE — Zoomingo, the shopping discovery app that helps consumers find the best deals in their local stores and online, has launched a new "back to school" section that lets parents and young adults find the best deals for their back to school essentials, whether they are on the go from their smartphone or from the convenience of their home computer. The new back to school section is available both in English as well as in Spanish through a newly released Spanish language version of Zoomingo's Android application.

Seattle -- Nordstrom on Thursday reported an 11% decline in its second quarter profit, with its performance affected by the timing of its biggest sale of the year. The retailer also raised its profit and sales outlook for the year, and said it would accelerate the expansion of its Nordstrom Rack outlet-store concept.

NEW YORK — Supermodel Heidi Klum will serve as the face of Jordache's latest ad campaign. 

Cincinnati -- Macy's reported a nearly 16% increase in net income for its second quarter as the chain benefited from cost controls and its ongoing strategy of tailoring its fashions to local markets. The company said it was raising its full-year profit forecast.

Macy's net income rose to $279 million for the three-month period ended July 28, up from $241 million in the year-ago period.

Seattle -- Mobile payments took another step forward with the announcement that Starbucks Coffee Co. has entered into a partnership with Square, a mobile-payment start-up. Starbucks will invest $25 million in Square -- part of the latest round of financing -- and Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz will join Square’s board of directors. Square was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, creator of Twitter.

Atlanta -- First Data Corp. announced that Bank of America Merchant Services will offer the First Data OfferWise solution to all eligible merchants’ 650,000 U.S. locations through 2Go Media’s iDeals Marketing Platform.

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Storesannounced it will convert its Elder-Beerman nameplate in two markets in Michigan. Elder-Beerman stores in Howell and Monroe will be converted to the company’s Carson’s nameplate.

“We are making this strategic change in nameplates as a result of a marketing review,” said Brendan Hoffman, president and CEO. “The usage of Carson’s nameplate will allow us to communicate more effectively and provide us the opportunity to expand our outreach to more consumers.”

By Jundong Song, [email protected]

In mid-June, Safeway, the number three U.S. food retailer after Wal-Mart and Kroger, capped two years of testing in selected markets and rolled out its enhanced reward program, “Just for U,” chain wide.

It’s a key move in loyalty card programs that all retailers should be watching.