News

Denver – Smartphone use continues to rise, with 71% of all consumers and 85% of Millennials owning a smartphone. However, Placeable recently surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that 42% have never purchased anything on their mobile phones, and more than nine out of 10 consumers don’t use mobile payments when they’re available.

Chicago – We live in an age of information, and consumers are valuing access to product information more than ever. According to a new study of 1,000 brands and retailers from PowerReviews, more than half (57%) of online shoppers reported specifically seeking out websites with product reviews.

Mahwah, N.J. -- Ascena Retail Group has appointed Robb Giammatteo to serve as CFO. He joined Ascena in 2013, as senior VP of financial planning and analysis and investor relations.

New York -- This special report from Chain Store Age offers a recap of the issues and trends that surfaced at the NRF’s 2015 Annual Convention & Expo (the “Big Show”).

Download the report here and read about retailing’s global outlook, the outlook for online spending, the changing luxury market, hot technology trends and more.

Fort Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS Inc. may be the next big-name retailer to undergo an acquisition. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners is reportedly pursuing a $3 billion acquisition of the specialty women’s apparel retailer.

According to Reuters, Sycamore already has an agreement in principle to acquire Chico’s, contingent upon obtaining financing. However, Sycamore may be having difficulty finding a bank or banks willing to allow as much debt as the company is looking for.
 

Fort Worth, Texas – Pier 1 Imports Inc. has named senior VP of planning Laura A. Coffey, 48, as interim CFO. The move comes as Pier 1 reduces its guidance for fiscal 2015 and Charles “Cary” Turner retires as senior executive VP and CFO.

Seattle – Amazon.com keeps on rolling out new products, technologies and services. The latest is Amazon Giveaway, a new self-service tool designed to modernize radio giveaways.

Everyone from authors, aspiring artists, non-profits, brands, bloggers, social media gurus and more, can now use Amazon to create a giveaway, choosing prizes from millions of eligible physical items. Amazon Giveaway is an intuitive tool that allows anyone to create and host their own giveaway, to generate awareness and reward their audiences.

Bentonville, Ark. – Phoenix area consumers have a new option for online grocery shopping, at least for now. According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Wal-Mart is piloting an online grocery service in and around Phoenix.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is closing its Target Ticket online video rental service on March 7. Any unwatched movies customers have already rented must be viewed by that date, or they will no longer be available through the service on any customer device.

Savannah, Ga. – Specialty discount apparel retailer Citi Trends Inc. reported some encouraging trends in terms of sales for fiscal and full year 2014. Total sales for the fourth quarter increased 15% to $181.1 million, compared with $157.2 million in the same period a year earlier.

Same-store sales increased 13.9% in the fourth quarter. A number of winter storm-related closings in January 2014 and an earlier start to tax refund season the last two days of the month in January 2015 helped boost same-store sales for the quarter.