News

Americans’ may desire healthy, organic and locally grown foods, but their enduring love of candy propelled the confectionary industry to record setting sales in 2013 and more of the same is forecast for this year.

I Love Velvet, a leading provider of end-to-end, secure, mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solutions, is now a member of the Samsung Solutions Exchange. The Samsung Solutions Exchange addresses the needs of line of business owners by creating holistic mobile solutions on a robust portfolio of enterprise-grade Samsung Mobile devices.

Coupled with Samsung Mobile devices, the I Love Velvet mobile point-of-sale solution offers three major components: Velvet mPOS hardware, Velvet store and Velvet cloud.

Major changes in retailers’ use of digital coupons and free standing insert promotions were evident in 2013 and especially pronounced at Walmart, Target and Kroger, according to an extensive analysis conducted by the Marx division of Kantar Media.

Retailers’ overall advertising expenditures were relatively in 2013 when compared to the prior year; however, there were large spikes in digital coupon events and free standing insert (FSI) coupon promotion pages.
 

As the retail industry begins to offer shoppers the omnichannel experience they demand, brick-and-mortar stores have never been more important.

This is especially true as it relates to power centers, broadly defined as open-air shopping centers that feature multiple national anchors such as discount department stores, off-price stores, warehouse clubs and other retailers that tend to offer a wide selection in a particular merchandise category at value prices.

Lane Bryant hosted its first-ever designer runway show this week, featuring the retailer's collaboration with Isabel and Ruben Toledo. The show took place at the Seagram Building, in New York.

The fashion show featured portions of the spring and fall collection. Models walked the runway in sheath dresses and coats adorned in Isabel's signature patterns, tunics and cocktail dresses. Designs were presented in black, white, gold and soft grey. Pieces were color blocked and complemented with hints of patterns.

Arcadia, Wis. – When vertical furniture retailer Ashley Furniture found its homegrown retail management system no longer supported its rapid global growth, the company decided to investigate both regional and Tier 1 enterprise retail management systems. Determining it needed a multi-language, multi-currency solution that could support the unique financial requirements of each country where it did business, Ashley Furniture selected Microsoft Dynamics.

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia of Friday overturned a lower court's decision in July that favored the merchants and was a setback for banks. The National Retail Federation expressed disappointment with the decision, which will keep the Federal Reserve’s cap on debit card swipe fees at 21 cents rather than reducing it to a lower level.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group is launching a new business, Simon Venture Group, that will invest in retail innovation, focusing on technology opportunities that enhance the shopping experience.

"We believe we have only scratched the surface on applying technology to the retail environment in innovative, interesting ways," said Mikael Thygesen, chief marketing officer of Simon Property Group.

Ottawa, Canada – E-commerce solution provider Canada Post and and e-commerce integrator Thinkwrap Commerce have launched new collaboration designed to simplify and accelerate incorporation of Canada Post's shipping data into Oracle Commerce. By making it easier for retailers to incorporate Canada Post's data with Oracle Commerce, the collaboration between Thinkwrap and Canada Post is designed to help retailers strengthen their e-commerce customer experience by providing shoppers with choice and convenience.

RH (formerly called Restoration Hardware) continues its transformation from a hardware retailer to a lifestyle brand at its stunning Gallery store in Boston. The 37,670-sq.-ft. space, which took top honors in the 2014. A.R.E. Design Awards competition, is located in a landmark building in the heart of the city’s Back Bay.