Content about Online retailers

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT — For those who doubt that consumers and their smartphones are inseparable when it comes to shopping, think again. Mobile advertising company Verve Wireless conducted research and found that more than half of consumers are using their smartphones when shopping. The timing of the news is especially critical given the holiday shopping season is upon us and, clearly, holiday 2011 is shaping up to be the “tipping point” for mobile commerce.

NEW YORK — While advances in smartphones and social media use have lead many consumers to shop online, those same technologies are being utilized by retailers to get customers back into the stores. New shopping apps, mobile technologies and social media rewards are moving buying decisions back into the stores, according to WSL/Strategic Retail's second annual "Buzz to Buy 2.0" trend report.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday introduced its new Web Pickup service at locations throughout the Indianapolis area. Indianapolis is the second full market rollout for Web Pickup, which enables consumers to shop online at Walgreens.com and pick up orders at a Walgreens store in as little as an hour. The service also is currently available throughout Chicago and at a number of stores in San Jose, Calif.

WASHINGTON — Up to 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend, compared with the 138 million who planned to do so last year, according to a preliminary Black Friday shopping survey, conducted for the National Retail Federation by BIGresearch. According to the survey, 74 million people said they will definitely hit the stores and another 77 million are waiting to see if the bargains are worth the hassle of Black Friday.

NEW YORK — Online retailer Amazon is testing robotic delivery lockers that people can use to receive items they order from the website, according to published reports.

Wired magazine reported online that the company was conducting the tests in Seattle and New York at Rite Aid and 7-Eleven stores, as well as other locations. The new service would allow people to select a locker location for delivery and then go to retrieve their items automatically using a six-digit code.


Retailers, expecting thrifty behavior from consumers, are starting the back-to-school season with early promotions. “Retailers are already running door-buster promotions,” said Perry Smith, an analyst with the NPD Group. “The consumer has been holding out for last-minute shopping hoping for the best deals. In some cases, people are shopping after school starts.”


WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT — Traditional retailers today are marshalling their online resources to complement their brick-and-mortar stores, and retail pharmacies have an opportunity to use websites, social networking, smartphone applications and various combinations thereof to own multichannel customers.

NEW YORK — A story on the Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch, published Monday, identified Amazon.com as the latest value-oriented retailer to pose challenges to more traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Nielsen has teamed up with a provider of digital grocery tools and a grocery media network to offer consumer packaged goods companies a view into consumers' online supermarket purchases.

NEW YORK — Royal Ahold’s Peapod online grocery service is expanding in New York, according to published reports.

According to the reports, the new service, Peapod by Stop & Shop, will fill orders using the existing warehouse presence of Ahold supermarket banner Stop & Shop, which operates several stores in the city. In addition to groceries, Peapod also offers numerous health and beauty products.

There’s a reason Walgreens’ leaders are pushing so hard to upgrade communications capabilities and reach consumers through every channel, from stores and drive-through pharmacies to social media and smart phones. “Multichannel shoppers are three times more valuable to a retailer than a single-channel shopper,” president and CEO Greg Wasson said in January.


NEW YORK — An annual holiday shopping index found that an overwhelming majority of Americans said that while online shopping for holiday gifts is easier, brick-and-mortar stores do a better job of putting them in the holiday spirit.