News

Healey named to Target's board of directors
Target's board of directors has added a former executive of the retailer's largest supplier.

The board announced it has elected Melanie Healey, former group president, North America, of the Procter & Gamble Company, as a new director, effective immediately.
Advance Auto CEO to retire as growth slows down
Advance Auto Parts announced its CEO is stepping down as the retailer also reported a decline in third quarter profit and nearly flat same-store sales.

The auto parts retailer reported that for the third quarter ended Oct. 10, same-store sales increased .5%. Profit declined 1.4% to $120.5 million, or $1.63 per share. Revenue ticked up slightly to $2.3 billion.

Money moves PayPal in new direction

PayPal Inc. is continuing its evolution from serving as the digital payment platform for former parent company eBay Inc.

Since its July split from eBay, new PayPal initiatives have included serving as a payment option for a number of new retail partners, reversing a policy that previously excluded U.S.-based online gambling sites from accepting PayPal, and expanding a global free returns service in the U.S.
Regional grocer delivers e-commerce

Grocery e-commerce has thus far mostly been the province of large vertical players like Kroger, mass merchandisers like Target and Wal-Mart, and online platforms like Amazon and Instacart.

However, a successful regional grocer is throwing its Stetson in the grocery e-commerce ring. Texas-based H-E-B, one of the nation's largest regional grocery retailers with more than 370 stores in Texas and Mexico, is making 50,000 food, drugstore and general merchandise products available to purchase and ship at its corporate site.
At Dick's Sporting Goods, Black Friday is all about social media

While all the major retailers will be offering deals and discounts on Black Friday weekend, Dick's Sporting Goods plans to woo shoppers with an exciting social media promotion.
eBay provides close look at parents

What if you could target parents based on their specific stage of parenthood, such as expectant or parents of a newborn? According to The Drum, eBay Advertising is rolling out a new tool that will let retailers using its service do just that. [The Drum]
At Dick's, Black Friday is all about social media

While all the major retailers will be offering deals and discounts on Black Friday weekend, Dick's Sporting Goods plans to woo shoppers with an exciting social media promotion.
Can Walmart restore sanity to Black Friday?

Walmart’s Thanksgiving weekend promotional strategy is taking a more digital, less promotional turn that may hurt sales but should lessen the scenes of customer chaos and conflict that find their way onto YouTube.
Kohl's grows sales, but not by much

Strong back-to-school sales allowed Kohl's to upstage Macy's in the third quarter.

Kohl's reported that for the third quarter ended Oct. 31, same store sales increased 1%. It had net income of $120 million, or 63 cents per share, compared with net income of $142 million, or 70 cents per share, in the same period a year before. Revenue rose 1.2% to $4.43 billion.
Shopify visualizes easy e-commerce

Image-based e-commerce is becoming more popular on the consumer side, and now Shopify is making the retailer side more visually based.

The new Sello mobile app from e-commerce platform Shopify allows retailers to create a free online store by taking and posting photos of the products they want to sell, and then adding price and a brief description. No coding is involved.
Retailers can also use Sello to promote and sell products via platforms such as social media, email and SMS text. The only charges are fees from payment processors.