News

The National Retail Federation issued a statement Wednesday supporting patent reform legislation seeking to protect retailers and other businesses from overly litigious patent trolls.

Uber is reportedly planning to launch a same-day online retail delivery service, with hundreds of major retailers eyeing the service as an option. 

Glen Allen, Va. – Imagine being not only smart, but a billionaire as well. Smart mirrors are in this enviable position, according to a new study from industry analyst firm N-Tech Research.

Dallas – On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina is partnering with NCR Corp. to offer mobile payment at all of its corporate restaurants. Using the NCR Mobile Pay solution, seamlessly integrated with the NCR Aloha POS solution, On The Border allows customers to pay their check using their mobile device.

Irvine, Calif. – La Jolla Group, vertical retailer of multiple specialty apparel brands, knows a thing or two about keeping the bad guys out of its network. The company has been using Dell SonicWall TZ series firewall technology to ensure security at both corporate headquarters and its 18 retail stores.

By Sherrie Mersdorf, director of marketing, NewBrand

Minneapolis – Net earnings at Supervalu Inc. fell 14% to $36 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 from $42 million in the identical period a year earlier. Higher selling and administrative expenses, including store closure and benefit costs, helped reduce profits.

San Jose, Calif. – PayPal Inc. is reportedly now offering its One Touch single-touch electronic payment capability to online purchases. According to Reuters, PayPal is extending the reach of the previously mobile-only One Touch to help reduce the $4 trillion in merchandise that consumers annually abandon in online shopping carts.

Customers will be able to use One Touch to make purchases across all PayPal-enabled sites without re-entering login information.

New York – Consumers might be a little nicer to Mom this year than last year. IBISWorld expects total Mother’s Day spending to reach $20.8 billion, representing an increase of 2% from 2014 spending, and an annualized increase of 6.5% since 2010.

Average household spending on Mother’s Day is also set to grow, with the standard family shelling out an estimated $169.21, representing a 4% increase from the 2014 average.

Carle Place, N.Y. – Net loss at 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. grew to $10.81 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 from $1.74 million in the same quarter the prior year. Higher operating expenses in areas including marketing and sales and technology and development helped boost net loss.