News

Target joins the Instacart bandwagon
Target is entering the grocery delivery fray by offering its customers same-day delivery of groceries and other items through Instacart as a way to challenge Amazon and other retailers.

Target announced Tuesday it would begin testing an on-demand grocery delivery service via Instacart that initially will only be available in parts of Minneapolis, where Target is headquartered. But the retailer noted in a release on its blog A Bullseye View that the two companies are already exploring plans to expand the service into additional areas and markets in the future.
Target faces class action suit
It’s official – Target Corp. will face a class action lawsuit related to its November 2013 data breach.

A federal judge in Minnesota has granted class action status to a suit brought by five financial institutions – Umpqua Bank, Mutual Bank, Village Bank, CSE Federal Credit Union and First Federal Savings of Lorain.

Gymboree takes happiness omnichannel
Report: PayPal takes a gamble

According to CNBC, PayPal has quietly begun partnering with online gambling sites to accept PayPal funds for payment.

Although PayPal has been consistently accepted by some foreign gambling sites, it has not been used by any U.S. gambling sites since its 2003 acquisition by eBay Inc. Now that PayPal is operating as a separate company, it has apparently started working with U.S. gambling sites again.
Founder of Men’s Wearhouse back in the game with new retail concept

Men’s Wearhouse founder George Zimmer has returned to the retail arena with a new concept that aims to do for men’s evening wear what Rent the Runway did for fancy dresses.

Zimmer, the founder and ousted CEO of Men’s Wearhouse, is launching Generation Tux, an online tuxedo and suit rental company. The start-up will rent 17 different styles of house-brand tuxedos, with a flat rate of $95. But customers can also add accessories, including shoes and cuff links, to put together a complete for $150 or less.
Olapic becomes marketing partner of major social network

Visual marketing platform provider Olapic, which turns consumer-generated photos and videos into brand assets for use in marketing, is teaming up with a major social network.

Olapic is now part of the Facebook Marketing Partner Program.
Christmas spirit arrives early at Hobby Lobby

Arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby is embarking on a mission to give away millions of Christmas gifts to chidren in need this holiday season, a mission that will likely appeal to many consumers in its target market.

The retailer announced is partnering with the world's largest Christmas project of its kind, Operation Christmas Child, which is a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
Survey: E-commerce, spending on the rise this holiday season

Virtually all U.S. consumers will do at least some holiday shopping online this year.

According to the new Consumer Pulse survey from Rubicon Project, more than one-third of shoppers anticipate conducting the majority of their shopping online.

Consumers who conduct most of their holiday shopping online plan to spend 20% more than consumers who plan to do the majority of their shopping in-store. Amazon.com is the top holiday shopping destination, followed by Walmart and Target.
Strong cost cutting, weak sales at Toys 'R' Us

Toys ”R” Us says a planned decrease in promotions led the retailer to report a drop in same-store sales in the second quarter.

The retailer singled out declines in the baby, entertainment and seasonal categories as contributing to the comp drop as well. However new CEO Dave Brandon sounded a positive tone regarding the company’s profit potential.
Report: Jet.com is building customer loyalty

Since its launch in July, Jet.com is surpassing other retailers on gross merchandise value and doing a good job of building customer loyalty, according to Channeladvisor.

According to The Washington Post, Jet has had a 23% repeat buyer rate, better than the 17% seen at eBay and the 11% seen at Amazon during the same time period.