Store Systems

Lincolnshire, Ill. – Reports of the store’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

According to the annual Global Shopper Study from mobile solutions provider Zebra Technologies Corp., more than three-quarters (76%) of shoppers feel positive about shopping in stores and nearly one-half think that technology solutions are helping retailers enable and improve their shopping experience.

Internet retailers entering the physical space continues to be a growing trend, if the new Sole Society store in Santa Monica, Calif., is any indication.

The company opened the doors to its first brick-and-mortar retail store at Santa Monica Place this week. Launched in 2011, the Los Angeles-based online footwear brand kicked up buzz by delivering stylish $100-and-under shoes directly to consumers' doors. 

New York -- Apple is getting ready to unveil its next generation of store design — and the industry is already buzzing over the details.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many available — and the few that are don’t seem very revolutionary. What little specifics known about the store are based on remarks made by Rick Millitello, who presented the new store plan on behalf of Apple to the Germantown Design Review Commission for review. (And yes, it was approved.)

Here are three details:

Apple is about to embark on a whole new path when it comes to the design of its retail stores, starting with its next project in Memphis, Tenn.

According to the Memphis Daily News, Apple’s new location at the Shops of Saddle Creek mall in Germantown will see several departures from the company’s traditional retail look and feel, with the facade set to feature “a matte granite reinforced panel on the exterior wall," among other differences.

Boise, Idaho -- Haggen’s acquisition of 146 Albertsons and Safeway stores is shaping up as a disaster and the reasons why are detailed in a new lawsuit that puts the blame squarely on the parent company — Albertsons Holdings — of the divested stores.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is embarking on an effort to make its iconic in-store experience more fun than ever for kids of all ages with the opening of a new format at America's largest shopping mall.

Part of a company-wide brand refresh, the reformatted store, located on the first level in the north wing, officially re-opened its doors this morning after a multi-month renovation. The ribbon-cutting ceremony featured special guests from Parents in Community Action, Inc., a private, nonprofit that operates Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Hennepin County, Minn.

Burbank, Calif. -- Ikea on Wednesday broke ground on a new store that is located less than one mile away from the company’s first-ever store in California and oldest location in the Western United States.

Ikea is building a new, larger store in Burbank, California. Until it opens on the new site in spring 2017, customers can continue to shop at the existing 242,000-sq.-ft. Ikea in Burbank, which was its sixth overall U.S. store and opened in November 1990.

Austin, Texas – A new study has identified the most popular retail POS system.

According to research by Software Advice, Lightspeed takes the top spot.

Software Advice assigned Lightspeed a combined score of 4.9 on a five-point scale for its user adoption level, search traffic and social media presence. Following Lightspeed were Microsoft Dynamics (4.7), Vend (4.4), Revel (4.4), Shopkeep (3.8), AP (3.5), NCR (3.2), Bindo (3) and CashierLive (3).