Grainger’s online presence faired very well in 2013, earning the B2B merchant $3 billion in ecommerce sales alone, according to its annual financial report. Overall, Grainger saw a 5% increase in total sales, equating to $9.4 billion, however, the merchant said its ecommerce presence represent “the fastest growing and most profitable channel in the business.”
In an effort to save nearly $100 million annually, Macy’s has laid out a cost reduction plan which includes laying off 2,500 workers and the closing of a handful of its brick-and-mortar stores.
With six less shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, 87% of shoppers said in a recent PriceGrabber survey that they will conduct most of their holiday shopping in December. Why? According to the survey, because that is when consumers believe they will find the best deals and discounts.
FedEx released its second quarter financials on Dec. 18, which showed a net income of $500 million, up 14% from last year’s $438 million.
Aeropostale, a specialty retailer of casual apparel for young women and men, released its third quarter results, which showed a 15% decrease in net sales and comparable sales, which include the ecommerce channel. CEO Thomas P. Johnson said in the release that he was “disappointed in the overall performance as customer adoption is occurring more slowly than we would like against the backdrop of a challenging teen retail environment.”
Loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular among retailers and consumers alike. However, as more and more consumers are opting in to these types of programs, over 30% of shoppers say the amount of personal information requested by a merchant is a major factor when considering signing up for a loyalty program or not.
Rakuten has entered into an agreement to acquire PopShops, a Seattle-based data and analytics company, for an undisclosed amount of money.
Wayfair.com, an online home furnishing retailer, has announced the acqusition of lifestyle retailer DwellStudio for an undisclosed amount of money. Wayfair.com said the acquisition not only adds product design and development to the brand portfolio but also means the possibility of new product lines by the end of 2013.
As we move closer to the 2013 holiday season, retailers are cautiously optimistic about consumer spending however they are expecting to see an uptick in the November and December months. Not surprisingly, retailers expect mobile to play an increased role in driving sales with minimal contributions from social media.
Ordoro announced partnership with Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) to bring Amazon’s warehousing and order fulfillment expertise to thousands of small businesses who store and ship products daily.