News

Use Visual Merchandising Online to Ring Up Profits
Fashion and department stores, perhaps more than other retail segments, understand the benefits of visual merchandising. Consumers may set out to shop for a specific item, but seeing “that item” curated as part of an outfit with related garments and accessories is a surefire way to upsell complementary apparel.
Foursquare will pick up the groceries
Local discovery app Foursquare is the latest entity to join the increasingly crowded on-demand delivery market.

Foursquare is partnering with Delivery.com to enable users to order groceries, food and alcohol directly through the Foursquare mobile app. The integration, facilitated by the mobile commerce platform Button, leverages Button's DeepLink Commerce technology to enable cross-functionality between the Delivery.com and Foursquare apps.

H&M goes omnichannel with Coachella collection

Just in time for Coachella, H&M is teaming up once again with the world-famous California festival by creating a co-branded coed collection.

The H&M Loves Coachella collection will launch in the U.S. in stores on March 24 with a sneak peek online on March 23. The Coachella festival is held yearly in Southern California in April.
Former CEO of Children’s Place back with new concept

Ezra Dabah is launching a curated box service for girls ages 3 to 12. Called Kidpik, the new concept will charge customers only for the items they decide to keep after the alloted trial period, Crain’s New York reported. [Crain’s New York]
Build-A-Bear focused on diversification

Build a Bear overcame a negative same store sales performance to produce better than expected profits in the fourth quarter.
Lenox feeds on personalization, pricing

Luxury dinnerware retailer Lenox is enjoying a feast of e-commerce delights with the aid of Oracle Commerce technology.

Lenox boosted e-commerce sales 26% during the 2015 holiday season compared to the two previous holiday seasons after deploying Oracle Commerce solutions that improved areas such as search results, recommendations, and targeted promotions. At the beginning of the holiday season, Lenox began targeting promotions for customer segments and launching more complex pricing strategies.
Survey: Digital customers get demanding

Offering a high-quality, seamless digital shopping experience is no longer a competitive differentiator, but a competitive necessity.

This is the main finding of a new study from Kibo (the new company created from the merger of MarketLive, Shopatron and Fiverun), “The Digitally Demanding Consumer.” The survey of 3,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers shows a high degree of omnichannel activity. Sixty-two percent of U.S. shoppers perform online research before visiting a store, and 80% of all respondents prefer to buy online and have products shipped home.
What channel are digital buyers flocking to?

Consumer trend data shows that more than half of digital shoppers will use one specific channel for making purchases at least once within a year.

According to a new report from eMarketer, 95.1 million Americans ages 14 and older, or 51% of digital buyers, will make at least one purchase via a smartphone during 2017. This figure will rise to 55% by 2020.
No grout about it, the Tile Shop is surging

The Tile Shop paved the way for continued growth in the fourth quarter, with an increase in same store sales and profits.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, the specialty retailer reported a 9.8% same store sales increase, a 70.4% gross margin increase, and diluted earnings per share of 7 cents. Net sales grew 13.5% to $71.9 million for the fourth quarter compared with $63.3 million for the prior year quarter.
Build-A-Bear Workshop’s future: More outlet stores, pop-ups — and cruise ships

Build-A-Bear Workshop on Tuesday said it will continue to diversify its store portfolio — including the opening of a branded experience on a cruise ship — as the chain announced disappointing results for its fourth quarter.

The retailer reported a better-than-expected profit of $20.6 million for the quarter, ended January 3, 2016, compared to net income of $11.8 million in the year ago period.