News

Lush, London
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics has opened its largest store in the world — a 9,500-sq.-ft. flagship on London’s busy Oxford Street. The three-story flagship is a veritable beauty wonderland, complete with an in-store spa. It’s also a delight for the senses, calling out at every step for customers to touch, feel, and smell the products.
Winning with mobile wallets this holiday season
This holiday season, merchants will see at least one major change from last year: the prevalence of mobile wallets, and consumers eager to use them. The problem is, while many large merchants are prepared to accept mobile wallets, many smaller merchants are not.

Here’s a primer on the major mobile wallets, and what merchants need to know about each.

Tech Bytes: Three Ways Voice is Enabling Omnichannel Retail

Spoken word is the oldest form of human communication.

It’s also one of the newest technology trends enabling omnichannel retail. Voice-based communications are having on a dramatic impact on how retailing is seamlessly executed. Here are three key areas where voice is supporting omnichannel operations across the retail enterprise.

Picking
Walmart donates nearly $1M to help retail's front line

Walmart is one step closer to fulfilling its mission of donating $100 million toward increasing the economic mobility of entry-level workers.

The retailer and its Walmart Foundation are donating nearly $1 million to Innovate+Educate to fund research and build recommendations that support the advancement of entry-level workers in retail and adjacent sectors.
Santa's sleigh will be powered by drones

Best Buy has formed a retail partnership with the manufacturer of what is expected to be one of the hottest selling items in consumer electronics this holiday season.

The retailer is teaming up with Yuneec International to offer the Typhoon drone series, which includes the Typhoon Q500 4K and Typhoon G multicopters, as well as the Typhoon Wizard, a new ultra-lightweight remote control drone.
Tech Guest Viewpoint: Four Essentials of E-Commerce Holiday Prep

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel recently interviewed people who had already finished their 2015 Christmas shopping. And while they might seem like “very, very sick people,” as Kimmel put it, in the e-commerce world they would be behind schedule. If you haven’t started prepping your online store for the holidays, it’s beyond time to get rolling. Here are four essentials of ecommerce holiday prep:

1. Have Yourself a Mobile Little Christmas
Rooms to Go to open massive furniture complex in N.C.

Rooms to Go is cutting the ribbon this weekend on the largest retail furniture store in the Southeastern United States.

The Florida-based retailer will open a Rooms to Go Super Center and Distribution Center on Oct. 17 in Dunn, N.C. The newly built facility comprises approximately 1,450,000 square feet on 120 acres and houses a state of the art Rooms to Go showroom, a Rooms to Go Kids/Teens showroom, a Rooms to Go Outlet Center and a huge distribution center housing tens of thousands of pieces of furniture.
RCP Companies unveils $100 million mixed-use development project

Huntsville, Ala. -- RCP Companies reveals plans for its newest development in Huntsville, Alabama, within the Central Business District. CityCentre at Big Spring is a $100 million mixed-use development project integrated within Big Spring on nine acres downtown and between Von Braun Center and Twickenham Square.

Site demolition has been completed with construction expected to commence by year-end and phase one opening in 2016.
Target joins UNICEF in new health charity initiative
Toys"R"Us kicks off annual Toys for Tots campaign

Toys"R"Us is looking to make the holidays a lot merrier for the 15.5 million children living in poverty in the United States.

The retailer has launched its annual nationwide fundraising campaign to benefit the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Now through Dec. 6, customers can spread holiday joy to children living in poverty by donating new, unwrapped toys at any Toys"R"Us or Babies"R"Us store across the country and online.