News

A new deal between IBM and The Weather Company promises to give retailers and suppliers access to a new range of insights to drive all manner of demand forecasting, merchandising and replenishment decision-making.

Sydney, Australia -- Australian omnichannel footwear retailer Shoes of Prey, which enables shoppers to design their own shoes,  has launched phase two of its “Design Your Own Shoes” studios in partnership with Nordstrom. The collaboration marks the brand’s first foray into the U.S. market, bringing its virtual design experience to a physical shop-in-shop concept.

Oak Brook, Ill. - Ace is the place with the helpful in-store pickup of online orders. Ace Hardware is nationally launching its free store pickup program beginning Wednesday, April 1 at participating Ace stores.

Free store pickup will allow customers to check their neighborhood Ace store's available inventory on Acehardware.com and either go in-store to make their purchase or place their order online and pick it up in-store the same day.

Amazon is leveraging a hot trend in toys and education with a new online store focused on what is known as STEM.

The shop will feature a variety of toys and games that are focused on encouraging kids to develop science (S), technology (T), engineering (E) and/or math-related (M) skills.

Norwell, Mass. -- Bluestone Energy Services and Ahold USA are increasing their energy conservation initiative in 2015 by expanding the reach of projects to touch stores in all regions and to increase the energy savings in new projects while also continuing to improve the efficiency of existing projects.

Costco, Amazon.com and Apple rank highest in customer loyalty, according to this year’s Net Promoter Consumer Study.

The study ranks more than 220 brands, such as Costco, Amazon.com, Apple and more across 22 U.S. industry sectors, including financial services, insurance, technology, online entertainment, retail stores, electronics, travel and hospitality, and telecommunications.

Best Buy has announced that it is shutting down its Future Shop stores in Canada, consolidating under the Best Buy name and spending $200 million on its e-commerce capabilities.

Best Buy says it will convert 65 of the Future Shop locations into Best Buy stores within a week, and 66 others are closing immediately. Best Buy acquired Canada's Future Shop chain in 2001 for C$581 million.

Burnaby, Canada -- Canada’s Future Shop will soon be a thing of the past. Best Buy announced it is consolidating its Future Shop division, and the chain’s namesake stores and Future Shop stores will all operate under the Best Buy nameplate. As part of the consolidation, 66 Future Shop stores will be closed, effective March 30. Also, 65 Future Shop locations will be shuttered for one week to transition to Best Buy.