Consumers in the jewelry market want assurance that the diamonds, gemstones and precious metals that make up the pieces they purchase are ethically sourced. Blockchain technology can help ensure the authenticity and provenance of gemstones and precious metals. 

An 18-month test initiated by Bealls Inc. has ended successfully with the creation of a chain called Home Centric, the first of which opened this May in Cary, N.C. Aware of strong and growing sales within its home furniture/decor departments, the company decided to expand the home department into a store within a store.

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There are some who are still energized by all things smartphone, enchanted by the latest functionality and delighted with every new upgrade. The Light Phone, however, is not for them. Designed to be used as little as possible, the phone allows users to focus on doing the things they love the most instead, free of distraction.

Every previous concept of a “one-stop-shop” for wedding planning has now fallen a few steps short of the altar. In late 2017, The Wedding Gallery opened in Central London as the world’s first permanent wedding planning retail, planning and inspiration destination.

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.

Boon Supply makes it easy to do good in the world. The ecommerce platform for everyday home essentials and décor donates 50 percent of every purchase to over 500 causes and works with schools to contribute $12.5 million annually to education programs. CEO and serial entrepreneur Lily Kanter joins NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast to discuss the “shop-for-good” movement.

Katie Finnegan, principal and founder at Store No. 8. — Walmart’s incubation arm, developed under the purview of Walmart.com CEO and Jet.com founder Marc Lore — describes Walmart’s five-step process to innovation.

It may seem like consumers have their healthy and beauty needs covered, but Tristan Walker noticed a lack of companies focusing on people of color. After studying at Stanford and roles on Wall Street and in tech, Walker’s frustrations led him straight to retail.

New York-based creative branding agency School House was retained by L'OCCITANE en Provence to serve as the lead design agency for the brand’s new flagship boutique store at the historic Block Arcade shopping gallery in Melbourne, Australia. School House completed the redesign of the brand’s New York City flagship in 2016 and the Yorkdale Shopping Centre located in Toronto in 2017.

Yotpo, the leading customer content marketing platform, announced its first acquisition: Swell Rewards, a Boston-based provider of premium incentive marketing solutions for ecommerce and omnichannel brands. The move expands Yotpo’s suite of commerce marketing technology solutions preferred by top direct-to-consumer brands like Glossier, 1-800-Flowers and Away Travel. Brands will be able to manage reviews, visual marketing, consumer insights, rewards and referrals from a single platform uniquely designed to meet their customer content, advocacy, engagement and retention needs.

ReposiTrak Inc., the industry leader in compliance, food safety and risk management for the retail supply chain, announces Weis Markets is deploying ReposiTrak scan-based trading to increase sales and streamline its supply chain operations, while reducing costs and improving inventory management. Scan-based trading helps buyers and sellers better understand and act on consumer demand by having suppliers retain product ownership until the point of retail sale.

Rite Aid Corporation has mutually agreed with Albertsons Companies Inc. to terminate their previously announced merger agreement.

Wayfair Inc., one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home, announced the launch of its mixed-reality commerce experience on Helio, the first-ever spatial computing web browser by Magic Leap. This first-of-its-kind, immersive shopping experience brings the search and discovery of furniture and décor off the screen and into the home, allowing shoppers to browse their favorite products through a boundless display and bring them to life in their physical space.

Amazon Web Services Inc., an Amazon.com company, announced that Samsung Heavy Industries selected AWS as its preferred cloud provider to support its digital transformation. Samsung Heavy Industries is turning to AWS’s expansive infrastructure, unmatched performance, scalability and industry-leading services to gain competitive advantage in the smart shipping industry.

Flow, a leader in next-generation cross-border commerce, announced the expansion of its international payment options to support cryptocurrency payment processing through BitPay, the pioneer and most experienced company in bitcoin and blockchain payments. BitPay, which securely processes cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, will join more than 60 different payment methods across 200 countries on Flow’s platform.

HanesBrands, a socially responsible manufacturer and marketer of leading everyday basic apparel, has introduced its first line of Hanes women’s apparel and a unisex collection from Alternative Apparel in collaboration with the National Park Foundation.

Bucherer USA, the parent company of Tourneau, has acquired Baron & Leeds, a premier luxury retailer of fine watches and jewelry in California and Hawaii. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Coca-Cola Company and BODYARMOR have entered into a definitive agreement through which Coca-Cola will acquire a minority ownership stake in BODYARMOR. Through the agreement, BODYARMOR will have the opportunity to gain access to the expansive Coca-Cola bottling system, enabling the fast-growing brand to accelerate its growth to meet explosive consumer demand for its premium line of sports performance and hydration drinks.

Guesst, a digital platform for retail space-sharing, launched in New York City recently as a technology that will reimagine retail and benefit both independent retailers and brands. The retail as a service is the first and only software platform that simplifies the process for brands and retailers, making it easy for any brand to enter bricks-and-mortar retail, and for any existing retailer to reduce overhead and generate new revenue.

Happy Returns, a technology, logistics and service provider for online retailers, announced its expansion to college and university campuses. The initial rollout of Happy Returns Return Bars on college campuses includes five schools launching ahead of the busy back-to-school shopping season.

ShipWorks, the leading enterprise shipping software program for serious and successful ecommerce merchants and warehouses, has integrated with Overstock.com, the billion-dollar online home goods and furniture retailer that sells a broad range of products at low prices. With the integration, Overstock.com orders can be downloaded into ShipWorks manually or on an automated schedule. When the simple download is complete, users can manage their Overstock.com shipments with the ShipWorks Rules feature, which helps automate a wide range of shipping conditions.

Spar Colruyt Group started a trial of the innovative “Scan. Pay. Go.” app in June and is now rolling it out to OKay and OKay Compact convenience stores. Beginning at the end of August, customers will be able to use this app to scan their own shopping and pay with their smartphone at OKay stores in De Pinte, Pepingen and Ohey, and OKay Compact at Grootsermentstraat in Brussels.

FutureProof Retail has developed a mobile platform for retailers to support line-free mobile checkout and line-free order ahead. They have announced pilot programs right now with Fairway Market and Scan and Go HK.

Westlake Ace Hardware announced a partnership with Bar K Dog Bar, an innovative two-acre off-leash dog park, bar and restaurant opening in the heart of Kansas City. Bar K combines a fully staffed and professionally maintained dog park with a bar, restaurant and coffeehouse where guests can enjoy a drink, coffee or bite to eat while their dogs recreate in the park. As part of its partnership, Westlake will be named the Official Toy Supplier of Bar K.

Douglas, one of the leading beauty retailers in Europe, has selected Revionics Price Optimization and Promotion Optimization to take its price craftsmanship to the next level. With companies like Sally Beauty, Swanson, and eBags already using the technology, the international pricing tool is leveraging artificial intelligence-based science to provide prices and promotions that ensure enhanced customer engagement.

TruRating, customer experience experts specializing in point-of-payment customer feedback solutions, has signed a global contract with Verifone, a world leader in payments and commerce solutions. Merchants using Verifone’s next-generation solutions and Verifone Connect will have access to the TruRating application, to start listening to and learning from customers.