News

Mobile marketing platform provider OtherLevels has some advice for retailers looking to looking boost usage rates of their consumer apps.

According to the company’s “2015 Mobile Retail Messaging Study,” regular mobile messaging can increase consumer usage of retail apps.

Barnes & Noble wants its shoppers to celebrate innovation and creativity by hosting its first ever "Maker Faire."

The nation’s largest retail bookseller has formed a new partnership with Maker Media, publisher of Make: magazine and producer of Maker Faire, to launch the first-ever Mini Maker Faire in stores nationwide. The retailer is asking shoppers to participate at their local Barnes & Noble store the weekend of Nov. 6-8 to share their inventions, ideas and more.

Consumers may have an “I want it now” mentality, but most retailers are still struggling to deliver on the demand.

That’s one of the key findings of a survey by HRC Advisory, a leading strategic retail advisory firm and unit of Hilco Global, which revealed that 80% of retailers are not prepared for the “magnitude of change” required to transform their supply chains to a customer-centric, omnichannel model.

San Francisco – Marketers and consumers are both discovering mobile apps in a big way.

According to the second Mobile App Advertising Trends Report from marketing technology provider Kenshoo, marketers increased their investment in mobile apps 293% in June 2015, compared to the same period a year earlier.

This increased investment followed a 346% increase consumer mobile app installs and 32% increase in click-to-install rate.

This year’s annual fall Apple event did not offer retailers anything quite as dramatic as last year’s introduction of Apple Pay and Apple Watch. However, there were still a few announcements with potential impact on the omnichannel landscape.

TV, or Not TV

Toys“R”Us has looked to a Loreal veteran to take over its human resources division.

The retailer announced that it has named Tim Grace as executive vice president, global chief talent officer, effective immediately. In this role, the company says Grace will oversee all global human resources functions, including organizational design, talent acquisition, succession planning, learning, change management and labor and employee relations, as well as compensation and benefits. He will report to Dave Brandon, Chairman and CEO, Toys“R”Us, Inc.

Ft. Myers, Fla. – Chico’s FAS Inc. may be considering a sale to one of several private equity suitors.

According to Bloomberg, Chico’s has been approached by Sycamore Partners and is also in talks with other private equity groups about a possible sale.

The long-delayed, controversial American Dream retail-entertainment destination in the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has snared three high-profile tenants.