Omnichannel

New York -- Lowe's is going on the offensive, and investing in a wide array of initiatives to win shoppers from rival The Home Depot.

“Everything we did [in the past] was store-centric. Today, we are all about the customer. So, it's about meeting the customer on their terms, no matter how they choose to interact with Lowe's: Whether it is in their room, at their jobsite, on the phone or on the web,” Robert Hull, CFO, Lowe’s, told Reuters.

Amazon wasn’t always a threat to Walmart, but as the only retailer grows and offers more of the same products as traditional mass retailers, it has become hard to ignore. This article from Businessweek examines how Amazon has influenced Walmart’s approach to online.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- A study released Tuesday by customer feedback management firm CFI Group found that social media may be blunting the impact of negative word-of-mouth.

According to the findings of its annual Call Center Satisfaction Index, CFI Group said that social media commentary after a call center experience can have a counter-intuitive impact.

Seattle -- ExtraHop Networks, a provider of network-based application performance management (APM) solutions, announced that it has won four new customers in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, including Axstores, a retail group in the Nordic region with more than 390 beauty, fashion, home furnishing, and department stores.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — HSN has acquired lifestyle brand Chasing Fireflies. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

The purchase, which was made through the multichannel retailer’s Cornerstone Brands segment, will accelerate HSN’s move into content-driven lifestyle businesses.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN announced Monday it has acquired lifestyle brand Chasing Fireflies. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

The purchase, which was made through the multichannel retailer’s Cornerstone Brands segment, will accelerate HSN’s move into content-driven lifestyle businesses.

NEW YORK — Saks Inc. has selected Oracle's retail merchandising, planning and optimization applications and the Oracle e-business suite 12.1 to help integrate business operations and improve margins and profitability across all channels.

The implementation is part of a business-wide initiative by Saks to establish a modern, flexible and scalable IT platform that will provide finance, human resources, merchandising, commerce and store operations teams with real-time, mobile access to sales, inventory and performance data they require.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express announced the launch of Express Next, a new points-based loyalty program open to all Express customers throughout the United States. It replaces the previous loyalty program that was only available to Express Credit Card holders, and is designed to meet the Express shopper's habits both in-store and online, as well as reward brand interaction via social media.