A savvy retailer can look at a devastating situation, like last year's Hurricane Harvey, and see an opportunity for community service. That’s where home improvement chain Lowe’s comes in.

Good Goods, a store that opened in New York's SoHo neighborhood just before the holidays last year, aims to connect new brands with customers looking for interesting quality products.

As one of the world’s largest casual dining companies, Bloomin’ Brands serves millions of customers annually through its nearly 1,500 restaurants located in 48 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and 20 countries. The company recently turned to ServiceChannel, which provides a single platform to procure, manage and pay for repair and maintenance services from commercial contractors across the enterprise.

NRF is proud to provide our members with the online Retail Buying Guide to search for trusted vendors, products and services in the retail industry. Our guide is a user-friendly forum designed to bring suppliers and purchasers together. You can search by keyword, location, company name or category. Available whenever you need it, the Retail Buying Guide makes it easy to locate products and professional services geared to the retail industry. Click here to visit the online Retail Buying Guide! To advertise, please contact Sarah Allen for more information.

Mobile may be disrupting the world. But when it comes to opportunity, all it takes is solving a problem, like when a former ticket scalper noticed that Barclays Center in Brooklyn doesn't take mobile tickets.

The digital edition of STORES includes must-read pieces, including the articles featured here. Read the current issue and browse the archives for issues you may have missed.

After too many bad experiences when ordering flowers online, Ajay Kori devised a brand-new supply chain, from the growing process through delivery within hours of an order. The UrbanStems CEO and co-founder discussed how the startup is upending the online flower industry — and how it turned a disastrous Valentine’s Day into an advantage — on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast.

Across the United States, tens of thousands of people are preparing to collect their diplomas, start their careers and change the world. But first they’ll have to sit through a rite of passage — the commencement speech. NRF’s Matthew Shay shares the five most important lessons he’s learned during his career.

Mother’s Day spending is expected to total a near-record $23.1 billion this year, according to NRF’s annual survey. A total 86 percent of Americans will celebrate Mother’s Day and spend an average of $180 per person on things like flowers, jewelry and taking mom out to brunch.

Symphony RetailAI announced that Pets at Home, the U.K.'s leading pet specialist retailer, is rolling out its SR Store Planning and Optimization solutions to optimize space across its 440 stores. SR Store Planning and Optimization solutions enable the retailer to refine assortment and deliver more pet-related services.

4Cite, a leading consumer identification and data insights company, announced multiple new client wins in the first quarter of this year. Retailers like 32 Bar Blues, True Measure, Bluefly, Amour Vert, UVSkinz, Gump’s, Dripworks and Café Press are utilizing the 4Cite Consumer Insights Interaction Hub and 4Cite’s new Shopping Elsewhere triggered email solution to foster brand loyalty and drive revenues.

Paytronix Systems Inc., an innovator in mobile loyalty and online ordering applications, mobile payment and digital communication tools, and Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, with growing legions of fans nationwide, announced the launch of Bruster’s new Sweet Rewards customer loyalty program across most of its 200 franchised shops in 20 states.

LifeCare, the industry's leading work-life benefits provider, now offers its work-life services to more than 90,000 L Brands employees and backup care services to all L Brands full-time employees nationwide.

Sharecare, the digital health company helping people manage all their health in one place, and Walmart Inc. announced a strategic partnership aimed at improving the health and well-being of the retail giant’s associates and their families and friends, as well as the people living in the communities in which their stores operate.

Delta Galil Industries Ltd. — the global manufacturer and marketer of branded and private label apparel products for men, women and children, as well as leisurewear, activewear and denim — announced that it has signed an option to acquire Eminence SAS and its subsidiaries, which include leading French underwear brands for men, women and children: Eminence and ATHENA, and the Italian brand Liabel.

Yottaa Inc., the leading SaaS platform for accelerating ecommerce, announced that the Rockport Group, a leader in men’s and women’s footwear since 1971, has selected the Yottaa platform to improve the performance of its websites and increase online revenue per session.

Accruent, the world’s leading provider of physical resource management solutions, announced that Brooks Brothers has selected Accruent’s lease administration and accounting software to ensure FASB/IASB compliance.

Oracle announced that Helzberg Diamonds, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies, has completed a significant upgrade to its Oracle Retail Xstore Point-of-Service solution while implementing Oracle Retail Order Broker and Oracle Retail Customer Engagement with the support of BTM Global.