Omnichannel

Trending Stores: Adidas has opened its largest store in the world — a 45,000-sq.-ft., four-story flagship on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Sleek and ultra-modern with industrial accents, the store marks the debut of the athletic giant’s stadium retail concept, a format inspired by high school stadiums. It features high-school reminiscent bleacher stands for live-game viewing on big screens, locker room-style dressing rooms, and track and turf sections where customers can try out products.

Two big retail names, Dollar General and Abercrombie & Fitch, recently unveiled new store formats that differ dramatically from their traditional concepts. Here’s a look at their new initiatives:

Dollar General

One of the nation’s fastest-growing retailers is putting the focus on convenience, targeting a new demographic with a smaller-store concept called DGX.

Dollar General debuted the new format, which has 3,400 sq. ft. of selling space, in Nashville, Tenn. A second location is set to open in Raleigh, N.C.

Video game retailer focuses on improving online post-purchase experience

GameStop’s shoppers are becoming increasingly digital — an evolution that is also narrowing the window between when shoppers purchase merchandise and when they expect to receive it.

Eager to stay engaged with shoppers within this shrinking post-purchase gap, GameStop launched a new e-commerce strategy just prior to its holiday rush focused on driving post-purchase revenue and creating more satisfied customers during this critical selling period.

Strong online sales were not enough to help Target Corp. overcome a very disappointing fourth quarter, whose sales and earnings were far below Wall Street expectations. And the discounter offered a weak outlook for 2017.   Target on Tuesday issued a full-year profit forecast that was far below market expectations, and said it plans to invest more money into enhancing its digital online platform and cutting prices. The chain said it would sacrifice gross margins this year to stay ahead of the competition.  

A new digital payment process promises to improve in-store experiences, deliver operational efficiencies and create more consistency cross-channel.   Mastercard and Oracle are joining forces to expand the card issuer’s QKR! with Masterpass mobile app, a platform that enables consumers to seamlessly order and pay for goods and services via their smartphone. Targeting retail stores, restaurants and hotels, the platform reduces friction and drives more security for the consumer.  

J.C. Penney is extending its appliance showroom footprint and also delving deeper into the category.        The retailer will expand its in-store appliance showroom concept from its current 500 stores to an additional 100 locations in early 2017, and also add new appliance brands to the merchandise mix, company chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison said on Penney’s quarterly earnings call.    

The world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, Walmart, has eliminated the membership fee on its two-day shipping program ShippingPass – its strongest response yet to the growing dominance of Amazon Prime (which is not estimated to 65 million members worldwide).    

A 33-year-old make-up brand is looking to make inroads in the U.S. market with a jazzy-looking that is big on interactivity.