News

Report: Amazon’s apparel and accessories sales surging
Amazon is poised to become the biggest clothing retailer in the United States in 2017. That’s according to a report by Cowen & Co., which sees the Internet giant’s clothing/accessories sales increasing some 30% next year to $28 billion, Geekwire.com reported, and to $62 billion in 2021. Click here to read more.
Deloitte: In a first, online to match physical store spending this holiday
Retailers could see record Web traffic this year, according to Deloitte's 31st annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends.

Retail phase of 65-acre Florida project is approved

Metropica, a 65-acre community planned for Sunrise, Florida, will begin building 370,000 sq. ft. of retail, dining, and entertainment space after getting the go-ahead from the town’s Planning and Zoning Committee. Tenants waiting to fill the space include iPic Theaters, Anthropologie, Fogo de Chao, Kings Bowl, and Kona Grill. Also approved as part of this first phase of construction phase were a 345-unit apartment building, a 240-room hotel, and 140,000 sq. ft. of office space.
Samsung Pay adds three new countries, online payments to portfolio

One year after launching, Samsung Pay is expanding the program’s reach and functionality. Samsung Pay is now available in three new countries, including Malaysia, Russia and Thailand, which will make the mobile wallet accessible to consumers across 10 countries by the end of 2016.
Consumer confidence takes a hit in October

Consumer confidence experienced an October surprise of sorts after reaching a nine-year high in September. The index now stands at 98.6, down from 103.5 last month.
Ascena Group’s non-executive chair to retire

Elliot S. Jaffe, ascena retail group’s co-founder and non-executive chairman of the board of directors, announced his plan to retire. Jaffe co-founded dressbarn in 1962 and served as CEO until 2002. He was ascena’s chairman of the board until January 2011, and then transitioned to non-executive chairman.
Webinar: Are your analytics capabilities keeping up — or falling short?

Chain Store Age is sponsoring a webinar that will reveal new market research from the International Institute for Analytics. Learn about IIA’s retail industry analytics maturity index and the characteristics of the highest-performers—and see how your company measures up. “Competing on analytics” is no longer a mystery. Find out how your company can get with the program.
Report: Retailers will lose $50 per person in shrink this holiday season

The retail loss burden overall is expected to be $132 per person this year. However, $50 of this loss — about twice as much as in other calendar quarters — is expected to be incurred in this holiday season, according to “The 2016 Retail Holiday Season Global Forecast” from Checkpoint Systems. The report provides an analytical view of business risks that major retailers face during this holiday season.
Under Armour net revenue, online sales jump in Q3

Amid “sluggish retail conditions,” VF Corp.’s Under Armour division posted gains for the third quarter. Under Armour’s net revenues increased 22% in third quarter 2016 ended Sept. 30, 2016, to $1.47 billion compared $1.20 billion for the same period last year. Net income increased 28% to $128 million, compared with $100 million for third quarter last year.
Five Ways to Prevent Data Hacks at the Point-of-Sale

The chip card (EMV) era has arrived with the promise that data in retail environments will be better protected. Cardholders will have much greater security at the point of sale with their own card data. But, while it will be much more difficult for thieves to steal card data at the point of swipe, the hackers are still hacking and data is still being lost – almost daily.