News

Ace Hardware is kicking off its J.D. Power Award Neighborhood Tour for the second year in a row. Recently ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores" for the eighth year in a row by J.D. Power, Ace will celebrate the achievement by taking all eight J.D. Power trophies on the road, visiting 38 states and more than 175 neighborhood stores.

H&M’s new Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan is the fast-fashion giant’s largest store in the world, a whopping 57,000 sq. ft. Beyond its sheer size, the store breaks new ground for the Swedish retailer in a number of other ways. Here are five big ones:

Fundamental changes in the way DSW serves its footwear customers in an omnichannel world will put significant pressure on profits during the second half of the year, according to president and CEO Mike MacDonald.

The leading retailer of branded footwear and accessories with 410 stores said sales for its second quarter increased 4.5% to $587 million and same store sales advanced 0.8% on top of a prior year increase of 4.4%. Profits increased to $34.3 million, or 38 cents a share, compared to prior year profits of $33.7 million, or 37 cents a share.

Indianapolis - Simon is launching Lookbook Live, a joint fall fashion program spanning print, digital, social media, and live events in collaboration with Glamour and GQ magazines. Kicking off in Glamour's and GQ's September issues with a nine-page custom-shot Simon Lookbook insert, the program extends online with significant presence on Glamour's and GQ's digital properties, including his-and-hers videos, which provide an in-depth look into how to wear fall's trends.

Boston - Nearly 80% of college students describe themselves as “more cost-conscious this year than a year ago.” However, according to a recent back-to-school survey of 1,420 U.S. college students by college marketing agency Fluent, students said they are willing to make an exception to the low-spending rule and anticipate spending “more than they should” in select categories, specifically clothing, technology and dorm room accessories.

Following are key highlights from the survey:

Cambridge, Mass. – More than three-quarters of digital marketers say loyalty program success depends on how well they do personalization. According to “Refresh Your Approach to 1:1 Marketing,” a new survey of digital marketers from Forrester Consulting on behalf of ExactTarget Marketing Cloud, about half (48%) of digital marketers say they face challenges in personalizing individual consumer interactions.

By Nicole Chen, brand outreach associate and Michael Olmstead, director, Plug and Play Retail

In today’s day and age, technology pervades into every aspect of our lives. With an emphasis on the fast and easy, nearly all of our day-to-day transactions are now being condensed and expressed through technological gateways. With new trends appearing in the startup space and technology industry every day, it is often difficult to choose what is a good investment and what may turn out to be a dud.

Nordstrom is partnering with Curalate to launch Like2Buy, a platform that aims to offer consumers a more seamless shopping experience via Instagram.