Store Systems

True Value's Mobile Order App for smartphones is putting more power into the hands of retailers, according to the co-op.

The True Value mobile ordering app, which began as a concept about 18 months ago, is now in its sixth month of operation. It's in use at about 1,800 retailers making thousands of orders, said Rosalee Hermans, head of information technology for True Value.

Arcadia, Wis. -- Ashley Furniture HomeStore, the largest furniture retailer in the U.S., celebrated the opening of its 500th store in Longview, Texas, on Feb. 21. It is the chain’s 48th store in the Lone Star state.

The company, whose sales exceeded $3 billion in 2013, has 50 additional HomeStore openings on tap in 2014.

Dallas -- Tuesday Morning Corporation has appointed Douglas B. Sullivan as senior VP for real estate and Michael J. Jones as senior VP and CIO. Most recently, Sullivan served as executive VP for development at Michaels Stores, where he led the company's real estate strategy development and rollout.  

Jones's recent experience includes serving as executive VP and CIO for Florida-based Systemax (TigerDirect), where he was responsible for strategic business systems development, website, technology and support.

Roam, an Ingenico company and a leading mobile commerce platform provider, has expanded its mPOS solutions to include chip and PIN acceptance with the RP750x mobile card reader.

The new cloud-based solution is fully compatible with Roam’s mobile commerce platform, which supports new mPOS players with all mobile card acceptance types: magnetic stripe, NFC, chip and sign and chip and PIN.

Features of the RP750x include:

By Catherine Tabor, CEO, Sparkfly

Beacons provide retailers with an opportunity to increase engagement and help direct the in-store experience, and they indicate a shift in many brands’ digital and in-store marketing and merchandising strategies. However, they need to be connected to other consumer touchpoints to deliver their full potential value to retailers.

Merging the Physical and Digital

Recent news that Starbucks will soon start offering a feature on its Square payment app that automatically prompts customers to leave a tip for appropriate purchases and also calculates “basic,” “better” and “best” tip amounts serves as a reminder of the three rules of modern CRM. Automate, automate, automate.

Pittsburgh – Dick’s Sporting Goods opens a new store in Panama City Beach, Fla., on March 7. The store will be located at Pier Park North and will be the retailer's 25th store in the state of Florida and its 559th nationwide.