News

Meijer has launched a first-of-its-kind food solutions program in each of its 213 stores. According to the retailer, “Ready! For You” is designed to meet the tastes and lifestyles of busy families by providing recipe ideas, inspiration and savings opportunities in-store and online.

Uniqlo's latest interactive global campaign, called the ‘Uniqlo Selfless Selfie Project,’ encourages consumers to take a selfies and give back this holiday season.

Participants must post a selfie with a pledge to do something nice for a loved one or for their local community to social media using #3DSelfie for a chance to win a full-body 3D replica of themselves dressed in Uniqlo holiday clothing.
 

A global report by Capgemini, a leading provider of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, claims that consumers consider social media a less important part of their customer journey — from awareness, through to post-sale activity — compared to two years ago.

Despite posting increases in consolidated net and comparable store sales, the Finish Line’s second-quarter results fell short of its expectations, thanks to softness in the specialty retailer’s basketball offering.

Despite the slowdown in basketball-related sales, the running-related sales increased in the mid-single digits, driven by casual and performance styles. Consolidated net sales were $466.9 million, an increase of 7.1% over the prior year period. Comparable store sales increased 1.5%.

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reportedly wants to expand a pilot of a grocery delivery service it has been testing with Amazon.com in the San Francisco area. According to the Wall Street Journal, the USPS has applied to run a two-year test of the service.

Champaign, Ill. – Quick-service chain Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches reportedly had customer credit card information stolen from its payments systems at 216 of its 2,000 stores by hackers. According to Bloomberg, log-in credentials from a payment systems vendor were used by hackers to infiltrate POS systems at its stores between June 5 and Sept. 5.

Jimmy John’s first learned of the breach on July 30 and has been using forensics experts to investigate it. The retailer says the breach has been contained.

Dodgeville, Wis. - Lands' End Business Outfitters has launched a new online customer shopping experience. The new website provides functionality that lets business customers do everything from seeing how their logo looks on a selected fabric to managing account information and accessing order history.

New York -- More than half of consumers will spend more for the Halloween holiday than they’ll spend for either Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, according to the 2014 Halloween Happenings Survey by Alliance Data Retail Services, which manages credit card programs.

Some highlights include:

• 67% of consumers buy Halloween candy that they like, in case they want to enjoy a few treats before the tricksters ring the bell.

Covington, La. - Smoothie King Franchises Inc. will roll out the Revel Systems iPad POS solution at 700 stores globally in fall 2014. Smoothie King selected the Revel platform for its scalability and ability to streamline operations.

Virginia Beach, Va. – The Investment Sales Group of Divaris Real Estate Inc. has brokered the sale of Shippensburg Marketplace in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania for $12 million. Divaris represented the seller, ACL Realty Corp., in the transaction; American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. was the purchaser.

Shippensburg Marketplace is a 56,875-sq.-ft., Giant-anchored shopping center. The property was developed in 2002 and was 94% occupied at the time of the sale.