News

Toilet paper company Scott is offering two customers the opportunity to win $25,000 bathroom makeovers. The company’s “Pic to Win” sweepstakes is also the brand’s first time partnering with AJ Allmendinger, who drives Scott’s number 47 car for NASCAR.
 
Contestants enter the sweepstakes by taking a photo of their bathroom that needs a makeover and uploading it to Scott’s contest picture gallery. Eight contestants who don’t win the grand prizes will win pit-level tickets to see a NASCAR race
 

Rite Aid has appointed former Roundy’s executive Darren Karst as EVP and CFO, effective Aug. 20, to succeed Frank Vitrano, who has announced he will retire in Sept. 2015. Karst will report to Rite Aid’s chairman and CEO John Standley.

Karst will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s finance, accounting, treasury, tax, investor relations, legal, risk management, internal assurance and asset protection functions.

Second quarter sales at Amazon increased 23% to $19.3 billion thanks to growth of new and existing products, but the company reported an even bigger loss than it did the prior year.

Cleveland -- Shopping ranks as a favorite activity among nearly half of all teens and young adults aged 13 to 24, according to a new survey by Forest City in partnership with Alexander Babbage. Shopping at malls ranked above a virtual shopping experience among the entire group, with the 13-to-17-year-old age group showing the strongest preference for a bricks-and-mortar shopping experience.

New York – Saks Fifth Avenue and Party City are both utilizing the Scandit software-based barcode scanning and data capture platform for smartphones, tablets and wearable computing devices. Using Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK, the retailers are able to offer a variety of consumer- and employee-facing applications, including mobile shopping, clienteling, mobile point-of-sale, asset tracking and product information gathering.  

New York - Shopping app Stylewhile is launching a new online marketplace for emerging and independent designers. The iPad app allows users to virtually try-on different items, mix and match pieces from multiple brands, and buy online.

Stylewhile's virtual fitting room service allows users to try on clothes on a model of a chosen body type. Established retailers and brands will also be available through the app, meaning shoppers can mix and match multiple brands in the one look.

Washington, D.C. -- Slower-than-expected growth during the first half of the year caused the National Retail Federation to lower its retail sales forecast for 2014. NRF said it now expects sales will grow 3.6% in 2014, down from its earlier forecast of 4.1%. The group joined other industry experts in forecasting a pick-up in activity in the next five months.  

By Tyler Roye, Co-founder and CEO, eGifter

San Jose, Calif. - On average, consumers say 64% of their back-to-school shopping will take place in-store, the rest online via computer or mobile device. A new survey of 1,001 U.S. parents with school-age children from customer experience solutions provider Baynote and The E-tailing Group also shows that 40% of consumers say that paper catalogs influence their in-store purchases, more than any other channel.

Framingham, Mass. - Cumberland Farms, is launching its free SmartPay Check-Link Business payment program, which enables business owners to save 10 cents on every gallon of gas for their fleet of vehicles. SmartPay Business offers two ways to save – the SmartPay Business Card and the SmartPay Business Mobile App.