Store Systems

Omnichannel access to the best merchandise in the world is the objective behind a new digital initiative at Neiman Marcus that has the retail embedding high resolution screen in shoe department tables.

The upscale department store operator worked with touchscreen technology provider T1Visions to create the interactive retail tables which are now live at Neiman’s Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles area stores.

New York -- For the second consecutive year, security ranks as the top spending priority of CIOs in an annual survey by PiperJaffray, with 75% of respondents expecting to increase spending in 2015, up from 50% last year.  

The results reflect Network (firewall) and endpoint security were the top two segments of the market expected to see an increase in spending.

Long Beach, Calif. -- Epson America, a supplier of value-added POS solutions, announced a partnership with Touch Dynamic, a manufacturer in all-in-one POS systems, to address the growing importance of mobile POS as the overall mobile expansion in retail and hospitality continues.

By bundling Epson’s new ultra-compact Mobilink P20 receipt printer with Touch Dynamic’s new 7" and 10" Quest Tablets specifically designed for mobile POS, merchants can increase sales and improve customer service.

Things are not looking up at Wet Seal, which has announced that it will close 338 stores, or about 66% of its total portfolio, “on or about” Jan. 7, resulting in the termination of some 3,695 full- and part-time employees.

The struggling teen apparel retailer said the decision to close the stores was based on its overall financial condition and an inability to negotiate meaningful concessions from its landlords.

The company said the 338 stores represented approximately 48% of its sales for the nine months ending on November 1, 2014.

Chicago -- Nearly a quarter (21%) of consumers said that they are likely to return or exchange at least one of the presents that they received this holiday season. Additionally, male respondents expressed a greater interest in returning or exchanging gifts (30%) than female respondents (20%) by as much as 10%. That’s according to a survey by Retale, a location-based mobile platform connecting shoppers with their local retailers

Burlington, Mass. -- Demandware said that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is using Demandware Commerce to power global expansion across Asia. The retailer recently launched 10 new e-commerce sites for its Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister brands with the Demandware platform, serving China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. All of the sites are mobile-optimized through responsive web design.

Armonk, N.Y. – Retailers are suffering fewer cyber attacks, but for hackers it is becoming a situation of quality over quantity. According to findings released by IBM, despite a 50% decline in the number of cyber attacks against U.S. retailers, the number of records stolen from them remains at near record highs.

Grapevine, Texas – Gamers whose friends and family mistakenly gave them holiday gift cards for retailers that do not sell video games have a new option. GameStop is now exchanging unwanted gift cards from other retailers for a GameStop gift card online and in select stores.

Upon verifying the information and completing the transaction, a GameStop e-gift card is emailed if completed online or a gift card is given if the transaction is completed in-store. Customers can either use the gift cards at any U.S. GameStop store location or online.