Stores Weekly

Out-of-stocks for the average retailer are responsible for $129.5 billion in lost revenue in North America, according to IHL Group. Giant Eagle is working with Powershelf to manage inventory and pricing electronically on the shelf, giving the 400-store grocery chain the ability to anticipate out-of-stocks and take action to address the problem.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/25/just-time-information/ to view the full article online.

CW Pencil Enterprise, an online repository of variations on the humble No. 2, launched in November 2014. Founder Caroline Weaver, a long-time pencil enthusiast who wanted a place to introduce pencils from around the globe to everyone, says the shop philosophy has always been to “do one thing and to do it really, really well.”

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/25/power-pencil-caroline-weaver/ to view the full article online.

Verlo Mattresses treats mattresses as luxury items, displaying them in a unique, “high-touch” environment. Associates with iPads help customers identify sleep habits and free-standing fixtures with walled-in enclaves make it possible for guests to shop the mattresses in comfort and privacy.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/26/a-sleeper-hit/ to view the full article online.

With the global counterfeit market forecasted to reach $2.8 trillion in the next five years, brands must spend increasing amounts of time to find and remove fraudulent listings. Six months after MVMT Watches began working with brand and copyright protection firm RedPoints, the firm’s Magda algorithm had found more than 25,000 counterfeit listings on 80 marketplace sites.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/26/calling-in-the-experts/ to view the full article online.

STORES' annual Retail Industry Software Sourcebook, the retail industry's definitive buying guide, is now available! Take a look at the digital edition of this annual directory, designed to help retailers of all sizes and in all channels finsd the applications they need to run a successful enterprise.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=463739&issueID=56514 to view the full article online.

Wheelys Moby Mart is an autonomous, staffless mobile convenience store that is open 24 hours a day. It runs on electric powered by solar, features hologram assistants and includes drones for larger deliveries.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/27/moby-mart-takes-high-tech-convenience-streets/ to view the full article online.

As part of an upgrade to the Eastridge Center shopping mall in San Jose, Calif., 20,000 square feet of murals by four California artists have been installed on the mall’s exterior — the world’s largest collection of outdoor murals on a shopping center.

Visit https://stores.org/2017/09/27/public-art-brings-community-beauty-energy-mall-redevelopment/ to view the full article online.

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.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/nrf-nwl/articles/index.asp?aid=463699&issueID=56514 to view the full article online.

With more people celebrating, Americans will splurge on costumes, candy and pumpkins for a record $9.1 billion in Halloween spending this year, according to NRF’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights. Nearly every celebrant plans to purchase candy, while another seven in 10 will spend their budget on decorations and costumes for themselves, children or even their pets.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-record-91-billion to view the full article online.

The NRF Foundation announced Tuesday that Tess Burns, a senior at Savannah College of Art and Design, is the top recipient of its 2017 Ray Greenly Scholarship. Burns, a student at her school’s main campus in Savannah, Ga., and the top finalist of five, was awarded the $25,000 scholarship at the NRF’s annual Shop.org conference, which was held earlier this week in Los Angeles.

Visit https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/nrf-foundation-awards-2017-ray-greenly-scholarships to view the full article online.

Brian Beitler has five daughters and celebrates his 25th wedding anniversary this year, but the chief marketing officer for Lane Bryant doesn’t “think being a father particularly can make you a good marketer for women.” On this week’s episode of Retail Gets Real, Beitler joins the co-hosts in Chicago, where he shared how the company reinvented its brand image to appeal to modern customers and how it strives to reshape the current conversation on body equality.

Visit https://nrf.com/news/how-lane-bryant-contributes-national-conversation to view the full article online.

Online retailer zulily has launched its zulily-branded credit card in partnership with Synchrony Financial, a premier consumer financial services company. The private label credit card program provides customers a new way to purchase great products at great prices from its daily assortment of more than 100 events and 9,000 styles launching every day.

 

DynamicAction, provider of advanced data analytics solution specifically designed for retailers, announced that Destination XL Group Inc., the leading retailer of men’s large and tall apparel, will roll out DynamicAction’s system to unify its data across the digital business and arrive at actionable insights faster.

 

The Object Management Group announced its first RFP for a retail standard along with news that more than 40 retailers and vendors have joined its Retail Domain Task Force. OMG also announced the appointment of Karen Shunk as its director of technology programs. Shunk was previously vice president of technology standards at NRF.

 

Wanderset.com, a premier ecommerce destination for the global, eclectic tastemaker, launched a revolutionary men’s fashion site focused on telling the stories of and sourcing the next generation of designers and cultural creatives. Started and led by Greg Selkoe, founder of Karmaloop.com, with financial backing from Flybridge Capital Partners, Twin Focus, Fabulous Brands, CrashFund and The Al Adawi Fund, Wanderset is poised to capitalize on the rapidly changing nature of ecommerce and the explosive growth in online apparel sales through its experiential shopping experience.

 

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. announced plans to enter India through licensed stores. The company has signed a multi-year license agreement with the Aditya Birla Group, a leading Indian conglomerate with an extensive retail portfolio, as well as strong digital and omnichannel capabilities. The first stores are expected to open in Mumbai and Delhi in spring 2018.

 

ResellerRatings, an integrated brand and product review management platform, announced that Hammacher Schlemmer has selected ResellerRatings to manage its customer ratings and reviews program. Hammacher Schlemmer is America’s longest-standing catalog company and is well-known for its ability to provide customers with unique and unusual products to meet their particular needs.

 

Olo, the leading online food ordering solution for the restaurant industry, and Amazon are teaming up to streamline online ordering, enabling thousands of Olo restaurant customers to gain easy integration with Amazon Restaurants.

 

Mastercard and Swarovski launched a virtual reality shopping app for the Atelier Swarovski home décor line, a collection of functional and decorative crystal home accessories designed in collaboration with world-renowned architects and designers. The app immerses consumers in a tastefully decorated home where they can browse and purchase the pieces with Masterpass, Mastercard’s digital payment service.

 

Lowe’s Companies Inc. is launching two apps leveraging Apple’s new ARKit capabilities — Measured by Lowe’s and Envisioned by The Mine — to transform smartphones into powerful measurement and design aides. Measured, available for download at Apple’s App Store, is one of the first accessible, easy-to-use apps using augmented reality to measure an object or distance within the phone’s camera view. Envisioned by The Mine will be available in early October and allows users to view high fidelity digital images of furnishings at scale, in their own home or a commercial space, leveraging ARKit’s augmented reality capabilities.

 

Aptos Inc., a recognized market leader in retail technology solutions, announced that Shalom S.A., which owns Titan, one of the largest department store brands in Panama, has selected the Aptos Singular Commerce platform to support its growth plans. The deal marks Aptos’ entry into the Panamanian retail market and enhances its footprint in Latin America.

 

Wayfair Inc., one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home, announced the launch of Day of Delivery Tracking, a live tracking feature for furniture items that pinpoints Wayfair delivery driver locations in real time through an interactive GPS map. Providing a best-in-class furniture delivery tracking experience, the new feature is currently available in 10 markets.