News Briefs

 L'Occitane en Provence has launched  a new store design that offers a more personalized shopping experience. 

The updated design was unveiled at the brand’s remodeled store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It’s one of five locations set to open this fall, including remodeled spaces at The Mall at Short Hills, Short Hills, N.J.; Newark International Airport, Newark, N.J.; and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. A new store will open at Belmont Park Village in Elmont, N.Y.

The Upper West Side boutique has been redesigned in the spirit of the brand's birthplace: Provence, France.  Upon entering the shop, storytelling envelopes the customer through a luxurious palette of authentic Provençal materials and a series of archways, a nod to the ever-present arches found throughout Provence.  

A herringbone pattern of terracotta tiles, reminiscent of the craftsmanship local to the Provence region, lies beneath the archways.  The traditional cashier counter has been replaced with a mobile POS system that allows  for frictionless checkout anywhere throughout the store. 

The store also offers an array of curated services designed to enhance customers’ connection with the brand, including mini-facials,  hand massages and detailed skin analysis using a magnifying skin scanner.  Customers can also take advantage of complimentary gift wrapping and remote private shopping with a beauty host.

"We are very excited to expand our presence in New York City through the opening of this boutique, in the heart of such an iconic neighborhood," said Yann Tanini, managing director of L'Occitane North America. "This store offers a distinctive experience, immersing visitors in the essence of L'Occitane’s origins. It encapsulates everything that makes our brand exceptional—the sense of community, the rich heritage of Provence, and the passionate people who bring our products to life."

Merchants have a favorite day when it comes to dropping coupons for shopping.

Friday emerged as the day with the highest number of new coupon releases, offering shoppers the best opportunity to find fresh deals when shopping online, according to a study by SimplyCodes, a social savings and AI-powered promo code platform. Saturday and Sunday showed a significant drop in coupon activity, while Sunday consistently had the lowest number of new coupon releases.

The study, which analyzed coupon release patterns in marketing emails from 30,000 merchants, found that a noticeable surge in coupon releases occurs midweek, specifically on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Women's clothing, skin care and adult beverage stores were identified as the categories with the most active coupon releases on Fridays.

"In today's digital age, consumers are bombarded with promotional emails, often missing valuable savings hidden within," said Allison Mac, VP of marketing at SimplyCodes. "Our study reveals a clear pattern in coupon releases, with Friday emerging as the prime day for deals. Retailers typically release new offers towards the end of the week to capitalize on the weekend shopping rush. Since many people receive their paychecks on Fridays, stores aim to capture that fresh spending power."

SimplyCodes recommends that consumers don't be so quick to delete promotional emails received Wednesday through Friday, and consider making planned purchases on Fridays and through the weekend to access more valid coupons.

The full study can be found here.

Costco Wholesale Corp. is giving some app users a sneak peek at in-stock items.

According to Fox Business, the membership-based warehouse club retailer is beta testing a tool on its mobile app that lets customers click a "warehouse" button, located between the "account" and "cart" buttons at the bottom of the app, to bring up a search bar.

The search bar enables customers to enter the names and/or descriptions of items they wish to buy to see if they are in stock at a selected store. Costco reportedly began testing mobile store inventory search in June 2024, and there have been a number of posts from customers on X (the social network formerly known as Twitter) referring to the new app feature.

Read more Fox Business coverage here.

Other recent moves from Costco include installing membership scanning devices at the entrances to all its stores and increasing its annual membership fees by $5 in the U.S. and Canada.

Costco currently operates 884 warehouses, including 611 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 108 in Canada, 40 in Mexico, 33 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 18 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, four in Spain, two in France, and one each in Iceland, New Zealand and Sweden.

Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

Walmart will soon feature hundreds of pre-verified sneakers from online marketplace StockX directly on its site.

According to Yahoo Finance, StockX has selected Walmart as its first strategic marketplace channel, with inventory from StockX to be offered for sale via the Walmart Marketplace third-party e-commerce and mobile commerce platform starting the week of Sept. 9, 2024.  The partnership is the first time StockX has  integrated its inventory into an outside marketplace. 

Walmart told Yahoo Finance that thousands of items from StockX, including sneakers, fashion and collectible products, will become available via Walmart Marketplace during 2025.  The StockX marketplace allows buyer and sellers to place bids on items in real time at prices line with current demand. Shoes are verified new and come in their box.

According to the retailer, Walmart Marketplace has achieved more than 30% sales growth in each of the past four quarters and is helping drive double-digit U.S. e-commerce growth for six consecutive quarters. The number of sellers listing items on Walmart.com grew 20% during fiscal 2023.

"Walmart’s vast customer base — many of which are new to StockX — will get to experience the platform in a way that is convenient for them," StockX said to Yahoo Finance in a statement. “StockX sellers can also reach this built-in audience of loyal Walmart customers without sacrificing their current volumes on StockX, as products will be listed across both platforms at scale, delivering massive demand to StockX sellers."

Read more Yahoo Finance coverage here.

Walmart has been expanding the scope of Walmart Marketplace. At its annual "Let’s Grow! 2024 Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit," the discount giant announced new offerings including a resale storefront, expanded categories, and several fulfillment and logistics services.

Other recent examples include offering third-party sellers of Chinese products a new avenue to sell directly to Walmart customers and connecting tire sales on its online marketplace to its in-store auto care centers.

Rally House has arrived in one of Texas’ major cities.

The sports merchandise and gifts retailer is continuing to grow its footprint in the Lone Star State by opening its first store in the Austin area. The location at Lakeline Mall in neighboring Cedar Park is the company’s 30th store in Texas. 

Rally House’s entry into the Austin market follows the retailer’s recent entrance into Houston over the summer. Earlier this year, Rally House reached the milestone of its 200th store after openings in Philadelphia, Louisville, West Virginia, Chicago and Buffalo.

"We are always looking to expand in Texas and extend our reach to some of the most passionate sports fans in the country,” said Aaron Johnson, VP of marketing strategy at Rally House. “Rally House Lakeline Mall provides students, alumni and residents in Austin the outlet to shop the best selection of officially licensed sports apparel and merchandise around. Rally House is ready to go for the [University of Texas] Longhorns' first season in the SEC!"

Rally House stores offers a large selection apparel, hats, gifts and home décor representing local NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS teams in addition to locally inspired apparel, gifts and food. The Austin store will carry Texas fan-favorite teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Austin FC, San Antonio Spurs, and other various Texas college teams.

[READ MORE: Rally House expands into a new state]

Based in Lenexa, Kas., Rally House operates more than 225  locations across 21 states.

Sierra Trading Post opened its 100th store this spring and is fast moving on to its second hundred.

The TJX Companies brand that offers top-brand apparel and gear for outdoor and athletic pursuits at 20%-to-60% discounts and gear top-brand outdoor has signed leases for five locations with Cafaro Company, owner of the 3 million-sq.-ft. Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles, Ohio.

Its first openings are set to take place this year in a 17,000-sq.-ft space at Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pa., and an 18,000-sq.-ft. store still under construction in Kentucky Oaks Mall in Paducah, Ky.

The third store will be a 24,000-sq.-ft. stand-alone building now under construction at Eastwood that will open its doors in 2025.

Sierra started as an online seller in the mid-1980s and quickly became popular with outdoor enthusiasts, offering low prices on market-leading brands such as Carhartt, The North Face, Merrell, Bogner, Mountain Hardwear, and Keen. 

It opened its first brick-and-mortar location in 1990 and was acquired by TJX, owner of T.J. Maxx and HomeSense, among other value brands, in 2012.