'Brick mining': Why a need for data led Fabletics to open stores

"We needed better, more contextual data — this is the reason we decided to open stores,” the athleticwear brand's President Gregg Throgmartin said at the IRCE conference in Chicago. 

By Laura Heller • June 9, 2017

Hanson: Under Armour aiming to be Facebook of connected fitness

“We want to own the connected fitness community in the same way that Facebook owns the social media community and LinkedIn owns the business community,” George Hanson, VP North America e-commerce told IRCE attendees in Chicago. 

By Dan O'Shea • June 8, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

What's shaping the e-commerce landscape?

From pivots in digital strategies to challenges retailers must overcome with reverse logistics, here are some of the forces shaping online retail.

By Retail Dive staff

Ikea mulling 3rd-party e-commerce sales

The home furnishings retailer's yet-to-be launched venture could have it selling on Amazon or Walmart's marketplace. 

By Daphne Howland • June 8, 2017

UPS: Online shoppers expanding habits in mobile, ship-to-store

More shoppers are buying at online marketplaces and becoming more accustomed to buying on mobile apps, according to the sixth annual "Pulse of the Online Shopper" study.

By Dan O'Shea • June 7, 2017

Study: Store associates ready to embrace digital tools, but lack them

Roughly 25% of store associates don't feel they have the proper tech tools to do well in their jobs, and 72% say they are more likely to stick with employers that provide those tools.

By Dan O'Shea • June 7, 2017

Sephora Virtual Artist shades into cheek color try-on service

The cosmetic retailer's upgraded app moves from lips to eyes to cheeks with new features to help users choose cheek shades.

By Dan O'Shea • June 7, 2017

J.C. Penney wants a piece of the $6B dorm furnishings market

The retailer is curating a checklist of items from alarm clocks to air conditioners, which can be shipped to the stores closest to college campuses.

By Daphne Howland • June 7, 2017

Report: Amazon CPG sales outpacing overall market

CPGs should pursue Amazon Prime members, in spite of Amazon's penchant for developing private labels, according to One Click Retail.

By Daphne Howland • June 6, 2017

The RealReal snags $50M in growth equity financing

Like many pure-play retailers of late, the upscale consignment site is mulling a brick-and-mortar play, following a successful New York City popup last year.

By Daphne Howland • June 6, 2017

Target, Best Buy, Home Depot rank highest for mobile web experiences

The retailers scored highly across five user experience factors, especially within ease of use and speed, according to a UserTesting report.  

By Dan O'Shea • June 6, 2017

Report: Returns are now a routine part of shopping

Returns are up, with online shoppers in particular using their homes as fitting rooms and ordering many items they don't intend to buy. 

By Daphne Howland • June 6, 2017

Yroo launches mobile app for in-store price comparisons

The app marks the company’s first expansion of search services to mobile and includes a barcode scanner to help consumers compare prices on the go.

By Dan O'Shea • June 6, 2017

Amazon launches discounted Prime for government assistance participants

The move could be seen as a challenge to Walmart, whose customer base is generally older and less wealthy than Amazon Prime members.

By Daphne Howland • June 6, 2017

Amazon enables app-based shopping on Fire TV

The app allows shoppers to search for items by typing in text, with the ability to filter search results by department and use many of the shopping functions inherent to the Amazon website.

By Dan O'Shea • June 5, 2017

A.T. Kearney: India now top country in the world for retail investment

Shopping via smartphone will account for the majority of online retail sales in developing countries in the coming years, according to the firm's Global Retail Development Index.

By Dan O'Shea • June 4, 2017

Hollar fuels expansion with consumables from 7 brands

The mobile commerce dollar store plans to grow its SKU count by 500% by the end of the year to reach an estimated 18,000 SKUs.

By Dan O'Shea • June 4, 2017

Wal-Mart store workers now delivering packages

The brick-and-mortar giant is leveraging stores and making the task voluntary for workers to make more money.

By Daphne Howland • June 2, 2017

Macy's expands CTO role amid e-commerce push

As the struggling department store chain shutters physical locations at a rapid pace, e-commerce has become an even more important path to growth.

By Daphne Howland • June 2, 2017

Monica + Andy opens second brick-and-mortar store

Once a pure-play e-commerce retailer, the children's clothing seller now has two brick-and-mortar stores, the latest in New York City.

By Dan O'Shea • June 1, 2017

Report: E-commerce fraud declining overall, but not for department stores

Overall e-commerce fraud decreased almost 35% from the start of 2016 to the beginning of 2017 across several industries, thanks in part to machine learning.

By Dan O'Shea • June 1, 2017

Toying with STEM: Marketing educational toys, kits isn't all fun and games

As Amazon and other retailers push into the STEM toy market with subscription services, growth opportunities and challenges abound.

By Dan O'Shea • June 1, 2017

Mary Meeker: Store closures could break a 20-year record, reach 7K this year

Technology is a firmly established driver of commerce and marketing, making Mary Meeker’s report essential viewing for retailers, regardless of sales channel.

By Daphne Howland • June 1, 2017

Best Buy revamps smartphone shopping in-store, online

In response to mobile industry trends toward unlocked devices and prepaid service plans, the company is rolling out a redesign of its shopping experiences.

By Dan O'Shea • May 31, 2017

Why Wal-Mart is betting big on e-commerce acquisitions

The brick-and-mortar giant has been gobbling up online retail startups at a record pace. Is it a path to e-commerce success or an existential crisis?

By Daphne Howland • May 31, 2017

Fitch: E-commerce fulfillment, retail locations are converging

Shopping centers have long been evaluated on demographic measures like population density and income, and e-commerce distribution centers should be similarly considered, according to Fitch Ratings. 

By Daphne Howland • May 31, 2017