News

Families this year are ready to splurge on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch and apparel for mom.

According to NRF’s 2015 Mother’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on mom this year, up nearly $10 from $162.94 last year and the highest amount in the survey’s 12-year history. Total spending is expected to reach $21.2 billion.

Executives at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. think that taking the sex out of its ads will solve the retailer's traffic problems, according to new reports. But the retailer may have more work to do than just firing the beefcake models.

Office Depot will urge its stockholders to support a merger with Staples by asking them to vote in favor of the $6.3 billion acquisition by Staples at an annual meeting, according to a regulatory filing.

Gas, beer and cigarettes still dominate convenience store sales, but fresh items are making some surprising inroads.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook said the launch of the company's new watch has been "overwhelmingly positive" just as another seemingly unstoppable surge of iPhone and App Store sales helped Apple Inc. post a 33% increase in profit for the second quarter, setting a record for its best March quarter ever.

Toronto – Sears Canada Inc. is reportedly reducing some departments while expanding others in a move to capitalize on the retreat of Target from the Canadian retail landscape. According to the Toronto Globe & Mail, Sears Canada plans to stop selling electronics altogether while also reducing its tool and hardware assortment by more than 50%.

New Albany, Ohio – Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is overhauling both how its stores operate and how it markets its brand image. According to the Columbus Business Journal, Abercrombie will focus on the in-store customer experience with features like order-in-store technology and techniques to keep lines short.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. – Kohl’s Department Stores is wasting no time in releasing an Apple Watch app. The retailer launched its shopping app for Apple Watch users April 24, the same day Apple Watch became officially available to the public.

Kohl’s Apple Watch app functions similarly to its mobile app, allowing customers to track their savings offers, including Kohl's Coupons, Yes2You Rewards and Kohl's Cash. These offers can be scanned from Apple Watch at checkout
 

London – Net-A-Porter is reportedly partnering with Harper’s Bazaar on an interactive ad. According to Luxury Daily, Net-A-Porter’s display ad on the Harper’s mobile site lets consumers type in a keyword that will help personalize the landing page they go to.

Predictive text helps consumers more quickly fill in the keyword. They are then brought to a customized landing page with products relating to their keyword.
 

Hackensack, N.J. – Frequency of customer visits and customer delight are crucial indicators of customer loyalty. According to a new survey of 1,000 adult U.S. consumers from branding firm Strativity Group Inc., almost 40% of customers interact with their favorite company at least weekly.