Tim Parry
If Macy’s, Inc. was hoping for a modern-day Miracle on 34th St. the holiday season, it didn’t get one. The department store retailer had a bad holiday season, and will slash thousands of corporate and store-level jobs… and close a contact center.
Ken Burke and Ed Stevens, the respective founders and CEOs of MarketLive and Shopatron, are remaining with the newly-merged company for the time being, according to the company, which will announce its new name and a new acquisition on Jan. 14.
From a heavy direct-to-customer reliance on catalogs, to the second-coming of ecommerce, to multichannel, to the “Year of Mobile Commerce,” to our current state of omnichannel, so much has changed in my 10 years with Multichannel Merchant.
With the year about to come to an end, here’s a look at the Top 10 stories that shaped direct-to-customer retail in 2015.
According to a press release Amazon issued Dec. 14, Amazon.in became the most visited ecommerce site in India in October 2015, which includes the busy Diwali shopping season. Is Amazon really number-one in India, or is Jeff Bezos and company not giving investors and merchants a full picture of the Indian ecommerce landscape?
With the goal of bringing the best Japanese products to Chinese consumers, Rakuten launched a beta version of a new online marketplace on JD Worldwide this month. Plans are underway to expand the merchandise range over time, with an initial focus on categories such as cosmetics, snacks and health food products.
Lillian Vernon, the founder and former Chairwoman of Lillian Vernon Corp., passed away Monday, December 14, at the age of 88. Read more about the life of Lillian Vernon, how she became a pioneer in the catalog industry, and the legacy she leaves behind.
Michael B. Polk, currently CEO of Newell Rubbermaid, will become CEO of Newell Brands. The combined company creates a $16 billion consumer goods company with portfolio of power brands in large, growing and unconsolidated global markets.
While the retail industry overall reports from comScore, ShopperTrak and National Retail Federation report tepid holiday sales results so far, MarketLive is reporting across-the-board double-digit increases in online traffic, conversion and revenues within its customer base.
Reflektion’s Kurt Heinemann talks about Cyber Weekend 2015 trends, including email abuse and mobile commerce’s new role.