News

Petco is leveraging the popularity of raw pet food by launching a series of educational events at some of its stores.

Starting on March 2, on the first Monday of each month, Unleashed by Petco stores will sample a variety of frozen, dehydrated and freeze-dried raw food and treats and educate customers on the health benefits of raw food as part of the Monday Night Raw Next-Level Nutrition event series.

As Macy’s undergoes aggressive changes to better compete in an omnichannel retailing world, the company reported a decline in profit for the fourth quarter.

For the quarter ended Jan. 31, profit fell to $793 million from $811 million. Per-share earnings were $2.26 a share, up from $2.16 a share a year earlier. Same store sales grew 1.7% Revenue increased 1.8% to $9.36 billion.

Target Corp. reportedly thinks having a range of organic products matters.

Minneapolis – Target Corp, has reportedly expanded the functionality of its mobile shopping app to allow users to directly add offers from its Cartwheel social couponing service from a list in the Target app. In addition, Mobile Commerce Daily reports the Target app now offers features including product descriptions, reviews and ratings.

Seattle – Amazon.com is not the devil by any means, but the e-commerce giant is reportedly interested in “wearing” Prada and other high-end brand names on its site. According to Bloomberg, Amazon is in the midst of a major push to become a player in the word of designer fashion retailing.

Footwear giant Wolverine World Wide's new outlet store format brings together an assortment of Wolverine's diverse brands in an environment that reflects the company's heritage and dedication to craftsmanship. The design, by Wolverine's consumer direct, store development team in partnership with the Carlson Group, marries a factory/warehouse­inspired material palette with clean, modern forms and a simple, but highly flexible merchandising system.

By Navneet Loiwal, Shopular

Mobile was all the rage during the 2014 holiday buying season. But the mobile buzz of late hasn’t just been about mobile purchasing. More consumers are now retail deal-hunting by mobile than in previous years – creating an entirely new paradigm for handheld devices as it relates to information gathering and comparative shopping, versus the act of completing an actual purchase.
 

Nuremberg, Germany – Some observers have suggested the practice of consumers using their mobile devices to check prices at rival retailers while in a store, is on the wane. However, a survey of mobile phone users in 23 countries (including the U.S.) from GfK found 40% compare prices at other retailers while in a store.

Forty percent also contact a friend or family member for advice, while 36% take pictures of products that they might buy.

Los Angeles – Frederick’s of Hollywood is reportedly closing at least 31 of its 93 stores as part of a broader re-engineering effort. According to the Wall Street Journal, Great American Group is overseeing liquidation sales at 31 stores, including the flagship location in Los Angeles.

Deerfield, Ill. – Walgreens customers have a new resource for getting information on medication. Non-profit PatientsLikeMe is working with Walgreens to help make it easier for people to understand how the medications they take may affect them.

Now, consumers researching a medication or filling a prescription on Walgreens.com can access a snapshot that shows how their prescribed medication has impacted other patients on the therapy, including medication side effects, as reported by PatientsLikeMe members.