News Briefs

Nordstrom is expanding the footprint of its off-price division in the Sunshine State.

Nordstrom Rack will open a 24,000-sq.-ft. store in fall 2025 at The Avenue Viera in Melbourne, Fla. The center is owned and managed by WS Development. 

Also, a 27,000-sq.-ft. Nordstrom Rack will open in spring 2026 at Sarasota Pavilion in Sarasota. The center is owned and managed by InvenTrust Properties.

A previously announced Florida location, at Pine Ridge Square in Coral Springs, will open in fall 2025.  Nordstrom currently operates six Nordstrom stores and 19 Nordstrom Rack stores in Florida.

In addition to the Melbourne and Coral Springs locations, Nordstrom Rack has announced plans to open the following stores in 2025:

•The Davis Collectio, Davis, Calif.

•Sycamore Commons, Matthews, N.C.

•Randall Square Geneva, Ill.

•Manalapan Commons, Manalapan, N.J. 

•Fischer Marketplace, Apple Valley, Minn.

•Westchase Shopping Center, Houston

•Park West Village, Morrisville, N.C.

•Prasada North, Surprise, Ariz.

•The Gates of Prosper, Prosper, Tex.

• The Landing at Hyannis, Hyannis, Mass.

• The Shops at SunVet, Holbrook, N.Y.

Nordstrom operates more than 350 Nordstrom, Nordstrom Local and Nordstrom Rack locations.

Beyond Inc. is reducing its workforce as part of a cost-structure review.

The parent company of Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily revealed in a SEC filing that it is cutting about 20% of its workforce, with the majority of the cuts to be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2024. Beyond said the cuts would result in an annual savings of about $20 million in fixed costs. 

“These actions were taken to strategically create a more variable, leverageable cost structure and create a more streamlined organization to align to its asset-light business that supports an affinity and data monetization model with a strong technology focus,” the company stated in the filing.

In connection with the workforce reduction, Carlisha Robinson, former chief product officer of Beyond, was terminated without cause effective Oct. 22. 

The workforce reduction comes as Beyond  is investing about $65 million in two retailers  to help restore Bed Bath & Beyond’s physical presence. On Monday, it announced a partnership with home décor retailer Kirkland’s that includes the opening of new, smaller-format Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide. As part of the deal, Beyond will invest $25 million in a combined debt and equity transaction to strengthen Kirkland’s capital position and fuel growth initiatives. 

The deal with Kirkland’s came on the heels of Beyond’s partnership with The Container Store. It includes a $40 million investment from Beyond in the home storage and organizational products retailer and the addition of Bed Bath & Beyond products to The Container Store locations.  

A high-end fashion retailer is enabling a seamless customer experience at its London flagship store with an advanced POS platform.

Vince is deploying Teamwork Commerce cloud-based mobile POS retail software on iOS devices at the London location. It enables associates to serve customers from anywhere in-store without being tied to a traditional physical POS terminal.

As a result, Vince seeks to reduce checkout queues while delivering seamless shopping experiences. The technology also integrates with business processes and supports a centralized database with real time data across all channels. 

The retailer is integrating its new mobile POS solution with an Adyen payment system and Teamwork Commerce gift cards. The Teamwork Commerce platform replaces a traditional POS system Vince felt was complex, offered limited mobility, and necessitated extensive staff training. 

"At Vince, we are always looking for ways to improve our technology to ensure our customers have the best experience possible," said Heather Wilberger, Vince chief transformation & technology officer. "Working with Teamwork Commerce will enable us to position ourselves where we want to be while helping us deliver high-quality customer experiences seamlessly."

Utilizing the NewStore platform, Vince has previously unified its physical and digital channels in U.S. stores, enabling seamless in-store services such as fulfilling orders with an iPhone, buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS), and endless aisle. 

"Customers today expect brands to create seamless transactions across all channels,” said Michael Mauerer, CEO, Teamwork Commerce. “Retailers who can live up to this expectation will not only enhance the customer experience but will develop a competitive advantage as well.”

Vince operates 50 full-price retail stores, 17 outlet stores, an e-commerce site and subscription service, and sells through premium wholesale channels globally. 

[READ MORE: Vince CEO resigns; interim chief named]

Consumers are feeling festive during the final few months of 2024 — 95% will celebrate at least one of the four major holidays remaining in the year. 

That’s according to Numerator’s Q4 Holiday Preview, which also found that 87% of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate Thanksgiving, with 80% planning to shop in stores for the holiday. The top Thanksgiving purchases will be food (89%), non-alcoholic beverages (32%) and alcoholic beverages (31%). 

Christmas

Most (90%) consumers plan to celebrate Christmas, with 80% of celebrants planning to purchase gifts. Top planned purchases include gift cards (71%), apparel (55%) and toys or games (49%). 

In other findings, 44% of Christmas shoppers expect to split purchases evenly between in-store and online. 

 New Year’s Eve  

Sixty-three percent of all U.S. consumers plan to celebrate New Year’s Eve, with the holiday being more popular among Gen Z and millennials.  Food is the top purchase for New Year’s Eve (79% plan to buy), followed by alcoholic beverages (58%). Beer (59%) and champagne (56%) are the top choices for New Year’s Eve alcohol buyers.

Halloween

Fifty-nine percent of consumers will celebrate Halloween, with 60% planning to decorate their homes and 58% planning to hand out candy. Over half of shoppers expect to purchase their Halloween supplies from big box stores, followed by grocery or discount stores.

With online shopping continuing to gain traction, the majority of consumers are concerned with the security of their payment information.

A new survey from CardRates.com revealed that with 72% of online shoppers doing so to save time, 85% regularly inspect their credit card statements for unauthorized purchases. Nearly seven-in-10 (69%) consumers said they are concerned over fraud and identity theft when shopping online.

"The holiday season is known to be a peak time for credit card scams,” said Erica Sandberg, a consumer finance expert with CardRates.com. “With consumers shopping more than usual, it can be more of a hassle to notice any fraudulent charges and actively monitor credit card statements. Cybersecurity month in October is a great time for consumers to proactively change their passwords across online shopping accounts, remain vigilant of their credit card statements, and keep track of their purchases ahead of the busy online shopping season."

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Walmart, Target convert Prime Big Deal Days traffic]

The online shopper survey revealed that 67% of respondents can recall all the shopping platforms that have their credit card information saved, while 63% of online shoppers use different passwords across their online shopping accounts. More than half (56%) of consumers told CardRates.com they do not proactively update their passwords across shopping accounts every few months.

“The study shows that consumers are taking extra security measures for online shopping this holiday season, but more action needs to be taken,” said CardRates.com. “Consumers are aware of the risks and prioritize cybersecurity best practices when shopping online with their credit cards.”

BuyBuy Baby is closing its fledgling brick-and-mortar operation and transforming to a digital-first brand.

In what it called a “new path forward,” the company said it was focusing all its energy on providing an “exceptional online shopping experience.” The retailer is holding going-out-of-business sales at its 10 physical stores, which will close by the end of this year.

“We understand this may be disappointing news, and we want all our customers to know this wasn't a choice we took lightly,” Buy Buy Baby said on its website. "The loyalty and support of our customers over the years have meant the world to us.”

In July 2023, BuyBuy Baby's intellectual property was sold for $15.5 million to Dream on Me, a New Jersey-based company that makes and sells a wide range of baby goods. The deal did not include BuyBuy Baby's 120 physical stores, which went dark. 

The company relaunched BuyBuy Baby in fall 2024, opening 11 stores in November. The brand’s brick-and-mortar comeback followed the launch of the company’s new website, which went live in October 2023.

Prior to Dream on Me, Buy Buy Baby was owned by Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2023.