News

New York - The House has passed a long-delayed tax bill that will help retailers remodel their stores and also move a wide range of individuals including welfare recipients and veterans into the workforce. The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 now heads to the Senate.   The package includes two key provisions on depreciation that affect retailers who remodel their stores and another that helps with hiring.  

Months after announcing a major upgrade in its e-commerce capabilities, Belk reported that its online sales grew 46% in the third quarter.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based operator of 300 department stores in 16 states attributed the increase in Internet sales to the company’s “Yes! We Have It” item locator program and store fulfillment of digital sales initiatives.

Retailers looking to grow their physical store presence have an ally in Simon Property Group, as the retail real estate leader is poised to expand its portfolio of Premium Outlets properties by adding 6.4 million square feet and a total investment of $2.5 billion.

In its latest push to provide customers with digital health technology, Walgreens announced that it is partnering with MDLive on a new telehealth offering that would give customers virtual, on-demand care.

The company is rolling out a mobile app that will give Walgreens.com customers 24/7 access to U.S. board-certified doctors. The service will first be available to users in California and Michigan, and additional states and markets will be added over time.

In-store mobility is transforming the way retailers engage customers. These new customer engagement programs are resulting in dramatic changes to the store network to ensure successful rollouts. Customers will seek out stores that easily enable them to use their mobile devices to research products, read reviews, and check prices to gain the confidence required to make the right purchase.

Eighties sensation Weird Al Yankovic is offering RadioShack a new hope for the holidays.

Yankovic is appearing in the chain's holiday ad campaign called "Gift Smart.” In the ad, he sings his own unique take on the holiday song “Toyland.”

"He's tech-savvy, smart and a social media guru," said RadioShack chief marketing officer Jennifer Warren. Yankovich has more than 3.5 million Twitter followers and 1.6 million Facebook fans. "I don't think there could be a better fit for our brand right now."

A new report looking at consumer shopping habits on mobile phones shows that Sunday is the best day of the week when it comes to sales from mobile shoppers.

"Online shopping has become a major force in global markets. And, with the holiday shopping season upon us in the United States, we see mobile's share of that market accelerating," said Larry Moores, vice president for consumer mobile reporting and analytics at Opera Software, a leading mobile internet and advertising company.

Eastern Mountain Sports has enlisted JustEnough Software Corp., a leading provider of demand management solutions for retail, wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses worldwide, to improve its inventory capabilities for its brick-and-mortar as well as its Internet site.

Kroger is highlighting its efforts to fight the U.S. obesity epidemic at a nutrition forum in Italy this month.

Social media is front and center at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores this holiday season with the retailer tapping into customers’ desire to share with the introduction of the Holiday Hub.