News

QVC makes executive appointment
QVC has appointed Bob Spieth as executive VP of QVC's customer and business services. He will oversee supply chain, customer service and experience, operations strategy, and corporate real estate and workplace services for both QVC and zulily businesses, with the exception of zulily's corporate facilities. Spieth joined zulily in 2013 as COO. Prior to zulily, he held several leadership roles with OHL, one of the world's largest third-party logistics companies
Celebrity to debut her first standalone store
Sarah Jessica Parker will be among the retail tenants at a new luxury retail center. The actress-cum-designer will open her first freestanding store on Dec. 8, at MGM National Harbor, a new resort and upscale retail center just outside of Washington, D.C. The store, called SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker, will feature the brand’s collection of shoes, handbags, accessories, and its new LBD (little black dress line) line. (The SJP brand launched in 2014 in upscale department stores.)

Settling the New Frontier: How Retailers can Pave the Path to Purchase

Incorporating digital components into the physical store is the next frontier for retailers. You see, customers’ expectations have grown while their attention spans have shrunk. Some reports have even found that goldfish (yes, you read that right, goldfish) have a longer attention span than humans.
Cyber Monday brings in record haul

Cyber Monday has made history — again. With shoppers spending $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, a 12.1% jump year-over-year, sales not only surpassed predictions, but made this the largest Cyber Monday shopping event to date, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which aggregated data from 23 billion visits to retail websites.
Cyber Monday off to fast start

Sales on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, are on track to rise 9.4% to $3.36 billion, according to Adobe Digital Insights. Industry experts noted that while Cyber Monday is traditionally the biggest online shopping day of the year, it may be losing some of its luster in the wake of the most sucessful online Black Friday to date. This year, online sales totaled $3.3 billion the day after Thanksgiving.
Amazon Prime members stay home Black Friday weekend

More Amazon Prime shoppers skipped the Black Friday hype this weekend than ever before. Only 59% of Prime members ended up shopping in-store on Black Friday, down from 65% last year. This drop represented a 9.2% year-over-year decline. This message was delivered in a survey conducted by InfoScout. The study, which was conducted the day after Black Friday, tapped 2,000 shoppers.
Study: Black Friday shoppers go digital

The power of digital Black Friday shoppers is officially a force to be reckoned with. Of the 135.9 million U.S.-based consumers that shopped or plan to shop over the entire 2016 Black Friday Week, 57% shopped online. Almost four out of every 10 digital shoppers (37%) used a mobile device (such as a smart phone or tablet). Besides being an increase of seven percentage points, this customer segment is quickly approaching the number of desktop and laptop shoppers.
Walmart loses pay fight with truck drivers

A lawsuit dating back to 2008 has ended in a federal jury handing down a $55 million verdict against Walmart, and opening up the retailer to penalties. The jury found that Walmart failed to pay about 850 of its truck drivers in California all of the compensation to which they were entitled, Reuters reported.
Fast-food giant on tech hiring binge

Subway continues to expand its online capabilities. The chain is hiring 150 people to fill technology, marketing and operations roles for its digital division, according to a report by CIO.com.
TechBytes: Tips to drive post-Black Friday sales

Confession: I’ve long been a self-proclaimed anti-Black Friday shopper. But when Target’s “Early Access Black Friday” email hit my inbox first thing Wednesday morning, Nov. 23, I went over to the dark side.
5 core strategies of next generation merchandising [Presented by Menasha]
HSN, Inc. taps Elizabeth Arden exec as finance chief

HSN, Inc. has appointed Rod Little as CFO, effective January 3, 2017. Most recently, Little served as executive VP and CFO of Elizabeth Arden, where he led the company’s global finance and IT organizations and was instrumental in a turnaround that restored revenue growth and profitability, ultimately resulting in the company’s sale to Revlon. Prior to that, Little was CFO for Procter & Gamble’s multi-billion dollar global salon professional division.