News

The numbers are in and one specific device clearly served as a major catalyst for increased e-commerce sales during the 2015 holiday season.

According to the MarketLive 2015 Holiday Flash Report, smartphone revenue during the just-completed holiday season (Nov. 23, 2015 – Jan. 3, 2016) increased 50%. Overall e-commerce revenue grew 8% during that period.

Mahopac, N.Y. -- Heidenberg Properties announced The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company has executed a lease to occupy 54,000 sq. ft. at Lake Plaza Shopping Center in Mahopac, New York.

The new Stop & Shop will be built from the ground up, replacing the existing 24,000 sq. ft. Key Food and the 7,800 sq. ft. CVS. This redevelopment will be more than 25,000 sq. ft. larger than the two existing stores, expanding Lake Plaza Shopping Center from 141,000 to over 166,000 sq. ft.

The Finish Line has promoted its president to CEO and plans to close a quarter of its stores as the retailer said supply chain problems hurt its third quarter performance.

The retailer announced that Sam Sato will succeed Glenn Lyon as CEO of The Finish Line, Inc., effective Feb. 28. Lyon will transition to the role of non-executive chairman of the board.

Consumers are changing the way they browse and shop for goods using mobile devices.

According to the State of Retailing Online 2016 study from Forrester Research, Shop.org and Bizrate Insights, growing use of smartphones by consumers, a shift in investments by technology companies and continued optimization strategies from retailers has landed smartphones on top as a driver of mobile sales and traffic for retail companies.

Leading department store operator Hudson’s Bay Company confirmed months of speculation and agreed to pay what appears to be a modest sum to acquire online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe.

Hudson’s Bay, which operates 470 department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue and the Off 5th discount format, said it agreed to pay $250 million for Gilt in a deal that will add $500 million to 2016, $40 million in adjusted operating profit by 2017 and countless synergies to leverage the combined companies’ infrastructure and customer databases.

Less than 12 hours after Macy’s shared bleak holiday results, J.C. Penney Co. said enhanced digital capabilities and strong demand for its private-label offerings helped it to produce strong holiday season same-store sales growth, which allowed the company to reaffirm its full year profit forecast.

Walgreens Boots Alliance on Thursday reported net sales of $29 billion, representing an increase of 48.5%, for the first quarter 2016 that ended Nov. 30, 2015. The significant growth was attributed to the inclusion of Alliance Boots consolidated results, the company reported.

Macy’s said warm weather took a huge toll on holiday sales, which were much worse than expected, prompting the company to announce major cost-cutting moves.

Macy’s lowered the ax on Wednesday, announcing major cost-cutting moves on the heels of holiday sales that were much worse than expected.

Building customer loyalty is key for retailers and, while part of that is obviously offering desirable, high-quality products, consumers in today’s world want something more — they want to be a part of something larger than themselves - a community they can engage with.