Staples Has Rough Third Quarter

| Tim Parry

Staples as a whole did $6.1 billion in sales during its fiscal third quarter. However, that equates to a decrease of 3.8% compared to the same period in 2012. Its ecommerce and B2B sales, however, were positive.

JCPenney’s Ecommerce Sales Rise 24.5%

| Tim Parry

Third-quarter net sales at JCPenney were down 4.8%, but its ecommerce arm continues to shine. Online sales through JCP.com were $266 million for the quarter, up 24.5% versus the same period last year and reflecting sequential increases through the quarter.

Aggressive Promotions will Affect Holiday Sales Margins

| Tim Parry

FTI Consulting believes that retailers’ gross margins will continue to be pressured by aggressive promotional activity. Retailers focused on the bottom-line must decide how to approach holiday markdowns without jeopardizing the profitability of the season.

Remembering Daryl Logullo

| Tim Parry

We’re thinking with a heavy heart about Daryl Logullo, husband to Beth, and father to Matthew and Katherine, who died suddenly on Nov. 18. We received the sad news Tuesday in an email from David Auerbach, president of metal detector seller Kellyco Metal detectors, where Daryl had been Director of Ecommerce and Marketing since March.

How Do Social Login & Sharing Affect Ecommerce?

| Tim Parry

Social commerce is much more than a Facebook store or attributing a sale to an inbound channel like Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest. According to this infographic from Monetate, you should consider social login and social sharing to increase conversion, engagement and other metrics.