aggregatedcontent

NEW YORK — The National Retail Federation is opposing a proposed $7.25 billion settlement that Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and major banks have agreed to pay retailers in the U.S. for alleged fee fixing.

That nightmare showrooming scenario may be closer to a bad pipedream than reality. The use of cell phones in a store is much more complicated than simply having a shopper hijacked by Amazon or the super store down the road. According to a new research survey commissioned by mobile marketing and technology company Vibes with Research Now, nearly half (48%) of those who scanned text messaged for more product information in-store said the key result was that they felt better about their purchase. 

Women now account for 30 percent of sales for athletic apparel brand Under Armour, and women's apparel is the fastest-growing segment of its business. New marketing efforts reflect this shift, and are aimed directly at the female demographic - with social media as the primary tool for reaching out.

Another retailer is set to take on the Latin American market. US retailer Gap has announced that it will open its first standalone store in Mexico. Till now, Gap has been offering its products via the Liverpool Department Store across Mexico. The new...

Whole Foods Market is now offering more eco-friendly gift cards, eliminating plastic cards in lieu of two formats - one made of paper and the other of responsibly-harvested wood. These greener options will replace the natural and organic grocer's 100 percent recycled plastic cards, which will still be accepted but phased out over time. The new paper cards are 50 percent post-consumer waste. Both the paper and wood gift cards are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and have a lower carbon footprint, are reusable, recyclable, compostable and require less energy to be produced.

The feminist blog Jezebel was quick to notice that some ad copy selling a "temptress" dress in the J. Peterman online catalog basically described a rape fantasy scenario. (For the uninitiated, Peterman is famous for the occasionally bizarre vignettes it spins to describe its clothing.) The temptress dress copy limned a meet-cute on a boardwalk, and said

NEW YORK , Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) today announced the appointment of Jeff Benjamin as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, effective September 12.  Mr. Benjamin will report to Sheri McCoy , Avon 's Chief...

You will not see huge markdown sales at Target  when you shop for gifts this Holiday season. Instead Target is opt out of the price wars during the hottest shopping season of the year, and if that means it loses sales rivals, Target says it is Ok. "We're not interested in driving sales for the sake of sales, so you might see us lag competitors in terms of comp-store sales increases," said John Mulligan, EVP/CFO of Target, during Goldman Sachs' Global Retailing Conference last week.

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is not liable for selling bullets to an underage customer who then used the ammunition to commit murder. The lawsuit was filed by the relatives of Robert Williams, who was shot and killed by his girlfriend's son in 2006. The son, Xavier Zurndell Moore, was 20 years old at the time, and shot Williams with ammunition purchased at a local Walmart store. Federal law requires that a person be 21 to buy pistol ammunition.

J.C. Penney will attempt to break away from the sea of clothing racks that dominate most department stores and replace the layout with brand-focused groups. The move is a way to appeal to customers prone to shop at more specialized boutiques, according to an article in the Kansas City Star. About 700 of the 1,100 Penney stores introduced new brand shops this month, including Liz Claiborne, Izod and Penney's brand, JCP. A Levi's brand shop opened in August, the article reported.