News

Framingham, Mass. – Holiday shoppers are seeking omni-channel solutions. According to a new national survey from Staples, two-thirds of consumers say they are equally as likely to purchase gifts online as they are to shop in-store.

The Staples study also reveals that 87% of gift shoppers admit they’ve had problems buying presents during the holiday season and 63% of gift givers report that nearly half of the people on their list are difficult to buy for, causing stress and frustration.

Other findings include:

Burlington, Mass. – Demandware has released the Demandware Large Enterprise solution, which combines services, technology and benefits optimized to meet the needs of large-scale, omni-channel retailers. The solution is powered by Demandware Commerce, a cloud platform that provides brand control, business agility and operational flexibility.

Albertslund, Denmark -- Danish grocery chain Coop Denmark A/S has chosen Galleria to help automate and optimize its merchandising strategy and improve the customer experience within its more than 1,200 stores. Coop will roll-out Galleria’s cloud-based customer-centric merchandising solution throughout its family of supermarkets.

Coop Demnark A/S operates more than 1200 stores across Denmark under the following trade names: Kvickly, SuperBrugsen, Dagli’Brugsen, LokalBrugsen, Irma, Fakta and Fakta Q.

New York -- A marketing stunt ended up driving hundreds of visitors to entertainment and events retailer Make Meaning’s location on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Inspired by the creativity of the infamous and elusive guerilla street artist Banksy, whose handiwork has been popping up around New York City for the past month, the CEO and CMO of Make Meaning arranged for renowned New York street artist Alex Gardega to spray paint the façade of the building with a Banksy-esque silhouette in the middle of the night.

Kimberly-Clark and the National Hockey League have renewed and enhanced their multiyear partnership in North America. In Canada, K-C launched its Home Team Advantage retail activation program this season with participation by their portfolio of brands including Cottonelle, Huggies, Kleenex, Scott and Pull-ups.

With plans to more than double its 200,000 global workforce in the foreseeable future, Starbucks is making a push to hire veterans and active duty spouses, much like other retailers like Walmart and Home Depot.

In addition, a store in Lakewood, Wash., and a store in San Antonio, Texas, will begin sharing a portion of each transaction with nonprofit programs Operation GoodJobs and Vested in Vets as part of a commitment to establish five such stores in joint base communities around the United States.

Meijer wraps up its 2013 growth strategy with the opening of a huge supercenter in Danville, Ill., this week. The 190, 000-sq.-ft. store is the last of six new stores the retailer has opened this year in the Midwest, which represents its most aggressive expansion in recent history.

HSNi reported impressive financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2013. Net income soared about 137% to $42 million, compared to $17.7 million in the same quarter a year prior.

In addition, net sales grew almost 3%, to $789.9 million from $778.8 million. The elimination of a roughly $18 million loss related to debt extinguishment recorded in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 drove much of the quarterly net income growth. Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, also cited digital and mobile growth as boosting the company’s overall performance.

Increasing smartphone ownership is taking more consumers down the digital shopping route, while many shoppers plan to frequent local small businesses when visiting stores this holiday season. According to the Deloitte Annual Holiday Survey overall smartphone ownership has risen to 61% of respondents from 42% two years ago.

Kmart is planning to roll out lease-to-own financing at stores nationwide ahead of the holiday season. The retailer began testing the program in mid-October and plans to make it available in all stores by Nov. 22.

Customers will be able to take home items priced at $150 and more for no credit, including appliances, mattresses, furniture, lawn and garden equipment, consumer electronics, service plans and others. To qualify, customers must be at least 18 years old, earn at least $1,000 per month and supply a social security or tax identification number when applying.