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For developers, architects and commercial construction professionals, designing and building retail spaces is a highly specialized skill that requires experience and considerable expertise to master. While brand standards, design consistency and proven buildout processes lead to some welcome efficiencies, sometimes unavoidable constraints and specific requirements that are mandated both by retailers and landlords can also create unique logistical and development challenges.

Despite J.C. Penney's disappointing sales results, the chain still performed better than its peers in the first quarter. What’s more, Penney an array of new initiatives lined up to help it connect better with a new era of shoppers. To read more, click here

While you wouldn’t know it from first-quarter slump among department stores, total retail sales posted their biggest increase in April in a year, allaying fears of a consumer falloff.

J.C. Penney continued a pattern set by Macy’s, Kohl’s and Nordstrom and reported dismal first quarter sales as traffic declined. Penney’s sales for the quarter fell to 1.6% to $2.81 billion, below analysts’ forecasts of $2.92 billion, from $2.86 billion in the year-ago quarter, as traffic declined and cool weather dampened demand for apparel. Same-store sales slipped 0.4%.

American Girl, an early pioneer of experiential retailing, is set to shake things up again, this time with a digital twist. The company, a division of Mattel, will move its Manhattan flagship from Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center, where it will open a totally revamped store concept, reported Racked New York. Created by FRCH Design Worldwide and digital agency MJD Interactive, the store will emphasize customization and personalization.

The ubiquity of consumer smartphones offers retailers a new purchase channel, as well as a new tool for customer outreach. According to the fourth quarter 2015 Mobile Wallet Report from Nielsen, 37% of more than 3,700 U.S. adult smartphone and tablet users said their purchases start with mobile shopping more than one-quarter to half of the time.

Virtual reality (VR) has been gaining traction in retail recently, with major retailers turning to the bleeding-edge technology as a customer engagement tool. But how exactly is VR poised to change the ways consumers interact with and buy products from retailers? Here are three key ways. A full view

Even luxury department stores got no love from shoppers in the first quarter. Following a pattern set by Macy’s and Kohl’s, Nordstrom reported dismal results for the first quarter, including a steep drop in profit, with the only positive sign being the company’s off-price division. The retailer lowered its full-year outlook.

The Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed overtime regulations are one step closer to becoming a reality for the American workforce. On March 14, 2016, the DOL submitted their final version of the regulations to the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, signifying the last step in the regulation becoming law.

There will not be a tattoo parlor in the new 365 by Whole Foods Market chain. But there will be less products, less employees and more bright color accents compared to a traditional Whole Foods—and there will also be a robot, according to a report in The New York Times.