News

Seattle –- Online retailer Zulily Inc. shrank its net loss to $795 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from $2.25 billion the same period the prior year. Net sales shot up 72% to $285.8 million.  

 

With a promotional website, a Pinterest page and two stores, specialty crafts retailer Porter’s Craft & Frame is a small company supporting some big plans with a new tablet-based POS platform from Springboard Retail.

“Until recently, we used a PC-based POS system and used tablets to record information on products we bought at trade shows,” said Alex Nielsen, general manager of Porter’s, Rexburg, Idaho. “We had some laptops on carts in stores.”

 

Evolution is a constant process of change. Tracking not only what is happening now but what will happen next is a difficult and fluid process. Yet if anyone is in a position to accurately gauge the current and future direction of POS technology, it is Greg Buzek, president of global research and advisory firm IHL Group. According to Buzek, POS evolution currently points in the directions of omnichannel and mobile.

San Francisco -- Eight in ten Americans are likely to shop at local businesses during the upcoming holiday season, according to a 2014 nationwide Nielsen survey commissioned by Yelp. Nearly half (47%) plan to spend more than $100 at local businesses.  

 

Retailers can keep customer data safe and also protect themselves against fraud-related losses by complying with PCI Data Security Standards, including the October 2015 deadline for U.S. retailers to accept cards with Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV)-compliant chips, advised Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council.

 

The POS landscape is rapidly changing due to the emergence of disruptive technologies, such as self-checkout, mobile devices and pay by touch. However, the traditional hardware-based approach to POS is still alive and well, and should be for the foreseeable future.

Deerfield, Ill. -– Same-store sales at Walgreen Co. grew 5.6% in October. Total sales were $6.8 billion, an increase of 6.9% from $6.36 billion for the same month in fiscal 2014.   Total front-end sales increased 2.7% in October compared with the same month in fiscal 2014, while same-store front-end sales increased 2%.   

New York –- Six in 10 (59%) gift cards are now offered electronically, up 18 percentage points from 2010. According to a new Bankrate.com study, part of the reason may be that Millennials are more than twice as likely to lose traditional plastic gift cards than older adults.  

Dallas -- FedEx Office is collaborating with marketing execution firm InnerWorkings Inc. to expand the range of professional print products through FedEx Office retail locations. By combining FedEx Office printing & logistics capabilities with InnerWorkings’ streamlined production platform, the retailer will be able to offer printed items such as signs and banners, flyers, posters, brochures, displays and branded merchandise.