News

Online last minute shopping’s global appeal
Christmas procrastination knows no boundaries according to a recent survey which shows U.K. shoppers are as bad as Americans when it comes to waiting until the last minute.

For most shoppers Christmas won’t be coming early this this year. Nearly half (47%) of consumers will order gifts online this this holiday season with less than a week until the big day itself, reveals the latest eCustomerServiceIndex results from eDigitalResearch, a UK-based experts on multi-channel customer experiences and IMRG, the UK's industry association for e-retail.
Premium to drive pet category sales

Pet owners will spend more money on food for their critters in the next 3 years and the increased sales will post mainly in premium and healthy pet food segments, according to a recent study.

Sales are expected to rise 16% between 2015 and 2018 to reach $33 billion, projected Packaged Facts, the market research publisher in Pet Food in the U.S., 11th Edition. The anticipated increase in the market is driven by increased focus on pet health and the powerful role of the human-animal bond.

RadioShack holiday initiatives: price match and new payment options

Radio Shack is launching its new “R Promise” initiative to offer holiday shoppers services including price matching and new payment options. Radio Shack stores will match prices on identical products from local brick-and-mortar competitors, major online retailers (excluding wireless phones from online retailers) and RadioShack.com at the time of purchase or within 15 days of the purchase.
Footlocker is on its feet for 14 years

The Foot Locker Foundation joined together with members of the athletic industry, as well as its business partners, on Tuesday, October 21, at <
Holiday specials at HSN

HSN is offering a range of special events and deals for the 2014 holiday season. The interactive retailer will offer special “Black Friday” sale events on Nov. 7, 14 and 21, and also run its annual “Thanksgifting Weekend” event Thursday, Nov. 27 to Monday, Dec. 1 with special “Doorbuster” sale items.
Report: layoffs and store closings at Sears Holdings

Retailers typically wait until after the holiday to close stores and announce layoffs, but widespread media reports indicated Sears Holding will be doing a little of both ahead of Christmas. The company may close as many as 100 stores and layoff nearly 5,500 people before the year’s end, according to a report which first surfaced on the Web site Seeking Alpha. Closures include over 100 Kmart, Sears and Sears Auto Center locations. Sears revenue has been in decline for 30 straight quarters.
Survey: More than half of U.S. consumers will shop online for holidays

Washington, D.C. –- More than half of U.S. consumers plan to make at least some of their holiday purchases online this year.
Lumber Liquidators Q3 misses, plans three stores

Toano, Va. –- Lumber Liquidators missed Wall Street estimates for both net income and sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income totaled $15.7 million, down 23% from $20.4 million in the year ago period, amid higher expenses. Net sales rose 5% to $266.1 million from $254.3 million. Same-store sales dropped 4.9%, although they improved each month in the quarter as more inventory became available.
QVC names executive VP of commerce platforms

West Chester, Penn. –- QVC Inc. has promoted Mary Campbell to the position of executive VP, US commerce platforms. Sheis responsible for guiding the strategic direction of the company's TV, web, mobile, tablet and social while translating the QVC brand across all platforms to drive customer engagement and e-commerce sales. Since joining QVC in 1991, Campbell has held leadership roles across the business, including merchandising, planning and commerce platforms.
Yahoo beats Street with help from Alibaba, mobile

Sunnyvale, Calif. –- Strong mobile revenue and proceeds from the sale of a portion of its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. helped Yahoo Inc. beat Wall Street estimates for earnings per share (EPS) and revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. EPS totaled $0.52, up 62% from $0.32 the same quarter the prior fiscal year, and revenue grew 1% to $1.15 billion from $1.14 billion.
Toshiba to resell Motorola retail solutions

Irvine, Calif. -- Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions will resell Motorola retail solutions including mobile computers, wireless network solutions, bar code scanners and the MP6000 multi-plane bioptic imager and accessories. Toshiba has signed Motorola Solutions’ Global Systems Integrator Agreement and is now a member of Motorola's PartnerEmpower program.
RetailNext releases RetailNext 5.1

San Jose, Calif. -- RetailNext is releasing the latest version of its in-store analytics platform, RetailNext 5.1. New features in RetailNext 5.1 are multiple video stream export, Micros XBR integration, Japanese-language support for user interface and reports, appliance security improvements, and more.