News

New York -- Another online merchant has ventured into the physical space.  Diamond and fine jewelry retailer Blue Nile has opened its first freestanding store, at Roosevelt Field Mall, Garden City, New York.

Washington, D.C. -- Father’s Day may not be the most lucrative consumer holiday of the year for retailers. However, according to the new National Retail Federation (NRF) 2015 Father’s Day Spending Survey, spending on Father’s Day is expected to reach $12.7 billion. The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, indicates the average person will spend $115.57 on gifts, nearly even with $113.80 in 2014.

Orlando, Fla. – “Breaking bread” is the tradition of mixing socialization with eating, and Olive Garden is taking the concept to a new, virtual level. To promote its new breadstick sandwiches, Olive Garden is launching the “Breadsticks Nation” sweepstakes, powered by social engagement technology from HelloWorld.

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts has launched its newest mobile payment option, integrating Visa Checkout with its e-commerce site and mobile app as a way to purchase and reload virtual Dunkin' Donuts cards. As part of a new, co-branded campaign titled "Get Stuff Dunkin'," the two companies are offering a special $10 bonus when they load at least $25 on a new or existing Dunkin' Donuts card using Visa Checkout.

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Etsy Inc. reportedly employs Big Data and artificial intelligence systems to better target individual customers with personalized offers. According to the New York Times, Etsy uses tools including an open source machine learning framework called Conjecture, as well as an open source Apache solution called Kafka and in-house Hadoop, to monitor real-time data for fast processing and storage.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – A reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses helped Sears Holdings Corp. reduce its first quarter net loss even as its sales continued to slide. The results came in as the chain prepares for the launch of its real-estate investment trust this week to raise cash. Sears said it expects the REIT transaction to raise $2.6 billion.

My latest retail IT-related travels took me to the Retail Experience Center at Microsoft headquarters (in Redmond, Washington), where I toured a simulated shopping mall environment that demonstrated a variety of innovative ways the company is using technology to enhance customer engagement for retailers.  Here are the three most interesting solutions from that visit:

A Beacon for Coffee Drinkers

The retail industry is accustomed to weak same store sales at Sears and Kmart, but the magnitude of the decline the company experienced in the first quarter was large even by its standards.

The first of Macy’s new off price Backstage stores aren’t due to open until this fall, but already the retailer is adding more locations for an off price format heralded as a key growth initiative.

The nation’s largest department store retailer created a stir earlier this year when it disclosed plans to open its first four Backstage stores in the greater New York area. The two additional locations are also in close proximity to New York. The stores are about 30,000-sq.-ft. and are staffed by 30 to 45 employees.

Crate & Barrel is joining Toys"R"Us and other retailers shutting down Manhattan flagship locations due to skyrocketing rent prices.