OPERATIONS / SUPPLY CHAIN

New York City -- With the start of the 2011 holiday shopping season approaching, retailers need to ensure they have plans in place to address the increased risk of a flash mob event, according to Marsh, a leading insurance broker and risk advisor.

Wayne, N.J. -- Toys “R” Us said Friday that it has expanded its mobile offerings for the holiday season, providing an enhanced shopping experience for on-the-go shoppers.

In addition, the retailer said it has made updates made to its iPhone and Android experience, as well as announced partnerships with eBay, Google and shopkick to help customers use their mobile devices to locate product, pay for purchases and source discounts.

Washington, D.C. -- The NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation, has announced the top 10 retailers for excellent customer service selected by shoppers in the seventh annual NRF Foundation/American Express Customers’ Choice survey.

The survey, which asked 9,374 shoppers which retailer provides the best customer service, was conducted by BIGresearch.

According to shoppers, the ten finalists for customer service, in alphabetical order, are:

El Segundo, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market announced it is hiring for more than 20 stores that are set to open early next year.

The company expects to hire more than 600 employees for the new stores, which will be opening in California and Nevada.
 

Indianapolis -- The Finish Line announced that Chris Ladd will join the company Nov. 21 as executive VP, chief digital officer. Ladd’s responsibilities will include providing vision, leadership and strategy to develop and implement initiatives across the enterprise including digital and mobile commerce, social media and other key components of the multichannel experience.

He comes to Finish Line from Lululemon, a 150-store specialty retailer of yoga-inspired athletic apparel, where he served as senior VP, Global Ecommerce.

New York City -- One in four consumers will start their holiday shopping this week, according to a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted this fall by Oracle. The report, “Oracle Holiday Shopping Snapshot 2011,” finds that Black Friday and Cyber Monday still reign supreme when it comes to getting consumers out to shop.

In other findings:

Bay Shore, N.Y. -- With a week to Black Friday, Lawrence, a Tensator Group Co., and a provider of queue management solutions, has issued its top five considerations for Black Friday crowd management.

By bearing the following considerations in mind and implementing simple queue management solutions, customers will be able to safely and efficiently move through checkout lines, according to Lawrence,  and retailers can rescue sales that would have been otherwise abandoned.

Washington, D.C. -- A survey released Thursday by the National Retail Federation said that the number of people “definitely” shopping stores and websites on Black Friday as jumped to 33%, from 27% in 2010.