Store Systems

Philadelphia -- Nearly one-quarter (24%) of retailers expect a significant increase (5% or more) in year-over-year sales during the 2014 holiday season, while another 70% are predicting sales will be on par with the 2013 season, according to a survey by global management consultancy Hay Group.

Ace Hardware has expanded its partnership with eBay Enterprise to enhance its omnichannel capabilities as the company ramps up its efforts to stay competitive, drive sales and acquire new customers.

By David Ashen, dash design

Lately you can't turn on the television or pick up the newspaper without seeing a story about Millennials, also known as Generation Y. People are endlessly fascinated by their traits, values, work habits and shopping patterns. Why all of this focus on the group of people born between the early 1980's and 2000's?

Westlake Village, Calif. -- Hhgregg ranks highest among appliance retailer websites, with a score of 865, up by a significant 41 points from 2013, according to the J.D. Power 2014 Appliance Shopper Website Evaluation Study. The improvement is attributed to an increase in the speed of the website, up 63 points to 875, and a redesign of the website review section to include the highest and lowest customer appliance ratings at the top of the site.  Following Hhgregg in the rankings are The Home Depot (842) and Best Buy and Lowe's in a tie (839).

Overstock's Android app — which includes Google Wallet checkout, allowing shoppers to check out quickly with the press of a button, and alerts shoppers to daily flash sales — has earned the top ranking in the Google Play Store's Editors' Choice.

New York -- Amazon and the U.K.-based mobile payments company, Bango, have teamed up with Germany’s Telefónica Deutschland to deliver carrier billing services on Telefónica’s network in Germany.  The service will allow people who buy paid apps and make in-app purchases through Amazon’s appstore to charge that directly to their phone bills.

The service will be deployed gradually through next year on certain Amazon mobile applications running on Telefónica devices in Germany.

West Sacramento, Calif. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s GreenChill Partnership announced that Raley’s Family of Fine Stores received a GreenChill 2013 Achievement Award for extraordinary leadership and initiative in achieving the Partnership’s mission to better protect the Earth’s ozone layer and reduce the impact on climate change through innovative refrigeration systems.

Louisville, Colo. -- QuikTrip is North America’s favorite convenience store chain, according to a study by Market Force Information, a leader in customer intelligence solutions. More than 5,000 consumers were polled for the study, designed to uncover which convenience stores consumers prefer and why.