News

Barnes & Noble produced a same-store sales increase in its third quarter which, although meager, is an impressive accomplishment given intense competition from Amazon.

Sales for the company’s third quarter ended Jan. 30 declined 1.8% to $1.4 billion, due to lower online sales and some store closure. Same-store sales increased 0.2% and if the company NOOK products are excluded the comp increase was 1.3%.

The discounter plans to invest some $1.8 billion in 2016 on capital projects, with the majority going to e-commerce and supply chain improvements, as well as in-store improvements. And starting in 2017, Target will ramp up its tech spending even more, Fortune reported. [Fortune]

In fourth quarter 2015, mobile phones served as the primary engine of online retailing.

According to the fourth quarter “Demandware Shopping Index,” mobile phones were responsible for all growth in digital visit (112%) and basket (104%) size. Rates exceeding 100% indicate that digital visits and baskets actually shrank among users of tablets and PCs.

Mobile phones also accounted for a solid 68% of majority of digital order growth, with tablets and PCs accounting for the other 32%.

Barnes & Noble produced a same-store sales increase in its third quarter which, although meager, is an impressive accomplishment given intense competition from Amazon. In announcing its results on Thursday, the company also revealed that it will open four new prototype stores in its current fiscal year. The first is expected to open sometime this summer.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) convened its 31st annual Supply Chain Conference earlier this week. RILA’s Caroline Stec provided a recap of an event which drew record attendance.

Warm weather was a problem for most retailers in the fourth quarter, but Houston-based Stage Stores also got hit by weakness in the energy sector and the Mexican Peso.

Super Tuesday shed a very strong light on what the general election campaign is going to look like as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump performed well and solidified their frontrunner status.

More importantly, it was essentially a validation of Donald Trump's campaign style and strategy so far. Whether you are a fan of The Donald or not, it is clear that part of that strategy has been focusing on social issues like immigration, race and other political hot potatoes and pushing issues important to Main Street merchants to the back burner.

Rite Aid on Thursday announced February sales results of its retail pharmacy segment. For the five weeks ended Feb. 27, total drugstore sales for the five-week period increased 0.1% with sales of $2.6 billion. Prescription sales accounted for 69.4% of drug store sales, and third-party prescription sales represented 98% of pharmacy sales.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is exploring the possibility behind opening a retail pharmacy stake in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Friday. Though current government restrictions prevent corporate-owned pharmacies from setting up shop, that could change as "the government has commissioned an independent review of pharmacy regulations, which is due to report in March 2017," the paper reported.

Both Wegmans and Publix were named to Fortune's 2016 top-100 list of "Best Companies to Work For," and both grocers - the only retail pharmacy operators on the list - have placed in the top 100 for the past 19 consecutive years.

Both Wegmans and Publix are two of 12 companies that have earned spots on Fortune's "Best Companies" list every year since the list began.