Omnichannel

Cleveland -- Forest City Commercial Management today announced the launch of 15 redesigned retail center websites. The new sites feature enhanced interactive shopping, social media experiences and content from PlaceWise Media’s Shoptopia.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Consumers are looking for a more personalized shopping experience, and are willing to share select details about themselves with their favorite retailers to help educate brands on exactly how, when and where to approach them, according to the third annual consumer survey by IBM.

New York City -- Starbucks Corp. is closing in on its retail deal with India’s Tata Coffee Ltd., which makes and exports instant coffee and plantation coffee, Reuters reported.

Tata Coffee plans to open a Starbucks coffee shop by the end of this year, the report said.

San Jose, Calif. — eBay announced that revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 increased 35% to $3.4 billion, compared with the same period of 2010. The company reported fourth quarter net income on a GAAP basis of $2 billion, or $1.51 per diluted share, and non-GAAP net income of $788.6 million, or 60 cents per diluted share. The year-over-year increase in the fourth quarter GAAP earnings per diluted share was driven primarily by a gain on the sale of the company's remaining investment in Skype.

DALLAS — JCPenney Co. will host a two-part launch event where senior management will outline its much-anticipated plan of transformation on the mornings of Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 in New York City.

Dallas -- J.C. Penney Co. will host a two-part launch event where senior management will outline its much-anticipated plan of transformation on the mornings of Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 in New York City.

New York City -- Ahold USA, the U.S. division of Amsterdam-based Ahold, has selected the NCR Advanced Marketing Solution from NCR Corp. to manage offers and promotions to customers. The solution is designed to allow retailers to streamline the management of multichannel promotion delivery by eliminating systems and business processes, while also reducing operations and IT support requirements.

New York City -- Retailers need to respond to technology-savvy consumers by creating digitally rich, easy-to-use, technology-based experiences in the store to expand basket size and increase margins, according to the results of a new survey by Cisco. The survey also found that cross-channel shopping behavior is prevalent and desired by most consumers, with nearly 74% of all respondents conducting online research before making in-store purchasing decisions.