News

The back-to-school shopping season is in full swing, and Office Depot is ready.   With back-to-school spending expected to reach $83.6 billion, an increase of more than 10% over last year’s $75.8 billion, according to the National Retail Federation, Office Depot is eager to grab its portion of this back-to-school wallet share. To achieve this goal, the office supplies retailer is diversifying assortments and stepping up fulfillment efforts.  

Despite retailers’ efforts to deliver sophisticated shopping experiences, crucial gaps between digital and in-store touchpoints still exist.   That's according to “The State of Omnichannel Commerce: A Mystery Shopping Study.” The report, from Kibo, assessed the personalization and omnichannel sophistication across 30 popular and growing retailers’ desktop, mobile and in-store buying touchpoints.   

Anthropologie has brought its large format retail concept, Anthropologie & Co., to the new Bedford Square development in downtown Westport, Connecticut.    The 35,000-sq.-ft. store boasts dedicated spaces for clothing, footwear, furniture, jewelry, home decor, and more — accented with one-of-a-kind decor from the retailer's talented visual team. It also features a beauty boutique and wedding gown department.  

For the third straight year, L.L.Bean has beat out Amazon in a customer service ranking.   The outdoor outfitter came out on top in Prosper Insights & Analytics’ annual review of service excellence among retailers, with Amazon a close second. Rounding out the top five; Lands’ End, Fingerhut, and Kohl’s.  

American Apparel’s website has been hinting about a summer relaunch for some time — now its parent company is making good its promise.   Gildan Activewear, which purchased the specialty retailer at a bankruptcy auction earlier this year, is preparing to relaunch the brand’s e-commerce website, according to Bloomberg. However, this is only the first project on its list of retail plans.  

The retail industry lost jobs in July.   Retail industry employment declined slightly in July, decreasing 1,700 jobs from June, according to the National Retail Federation. On a three-month average, retail jobs have decreased by 4,200 jobs as calculated by NRF. (The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.) On a positive note, the economy overall saw gains of 209,000 jobs in July, exceeding growth expectations for the month.  

The Tile Shop is entering the most populous metropolitan market in Texas   The specialty retailer of manufactured and natural stone tiles has opened its first store in the Houston market, in the suburb of Webster. Throughout 2017, The Tile Shop will open several other stores in the greater Houston area, including a second location in mid-August, in Sugar Land. With the two Houston openings, the retailer will have a total of 132 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia,