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Sam's Club was among the highest-rated companies for customer service, according to new research from the Temkin Group. Other retailers included Publix, Hy-Vee, H.E.B., ShopRite, Aldi, Giant Eagle and JCPenney. Other companies earning top marks included Chick-fil-A, credit unions and Starbucks. Meanwhile, companies with the lowest ratings included Charter Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Citibank, Qwest, Cigna, and Bank of America. Among the winners, grocery chains were the only industry to earn a "strong" rating. Retailers, fast food chains, appliance makers, and investment firms round out the top five. But consumers gave very low ratings to TV service providers

Amazon.com sells everything. At least, it often seems that way. The latest category to get the Amazon treatment is "action sports" with the e-tail giant offering an extensive selection of skateboards, BMX bikes, ski and snowboard equipment and the like to those who enjoy getting a little air between their feet and the ground. To help establish street cred among those who like their sports extreme, Amazon announced it was sponsoring eight-time skateboarding champion Andy Macdonald. As part of the deal, Mr. Macdonald will wear Amazon's logo on his helmet and be featured in exclusive videos on the site.

Chicago -- A Thursday report by Bloomberg said that the Sprint-owned pay-as-you-go carrier Virgin Mobile will open 10 retail stores on Friday in Chicago, as part of its plan to leverage iPhone’s expansion into the prepaid wireless space. With the openings, Virgin Mobile will become the second U.S. prepaid service to offer the Apple device, following the iPhone’s debut at Leap Wireless International on June 22. The new stores, said the Bloomberg report, also mark a strategy shift for Virgin by opening its own stores rather than relying on retailers such as RadioShack and Best Buy to market its

Innovations in information technology (IT) continue to transform the retail sector, with digital signage, payment processing, customer engagement and other solutions playing increasingly important functions, according to new research released by CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the IT industry. Seventy-two percent of retailers surveyed rated technology as important to their business. That figure is projected to increase to 83 percent by 2014.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s said Thursday it is donating $250,000 to the American Red Cross as part of its efforts to provide relief from the wildfires in Colorado and the flooding damage from Tropical Storm Debby in Florida. The home-improvement retailer has already been on the ground assisting local communities affected by both disasters. In addition to the $250,000 donation, Lowe’s is also launching a social media support program to aid disaster victims. For every Facebook Like and Twitter Retweet received on the Lowe’s disaster-specific posts, Lowe's will donate a pair of work gloves, up to a total value

Whether you're trying to find out if your favorite store has that sweater in your size or if you're wondering if that box of cigars will arrive in time for your father's birthday, don't count on emails to solve your problems STELLAService data measuring the quality of email responses shows that the largest online retailers answer emails completely just 54% of the time.

Charlotte Business Journal by , Staff Writer photo JEN WILSON Family Dollar operates more than 7,200 stores 45 states. Staff Writer- Charlotte Business Journal Email | Twitter Family Dollar Stores Inc. posted a 12.1 percent increase in net income to $124.5 million, or $1.06 per diluted share, for its fiscal quarter ended May 26. It is the 17th straight quarter of double-digit gains in earnings for the discount retailer. In the same period last year, the Matthews-based company earned $111.1 million, or 91 cents per diluted share. Revenue grew 9.6 percent to $2.36 billion in the company’s third

Pier 1 Imports announced it will soft launch its e-commerce operation July 28 with a new website on a new platform. The e-commerce business will initially feature the same merchandise assortment as its brick-and-mortar locations, then add unique merchandise categories not carried in its stores, said Alex Smith, president and CEO, Pier 1 Imports, during a quarterly conference call. The company will begin actively promoting its e-commerce operation in the fall, Smith added.

Toys"R"Us has enhanced its loyalty program with the launch of a new integrated, point-based system that delivers streamlined benefits for members, as well as new and existing "R"Us credit card holders. Rewards"R"Us members can now enjoy unlimited access to expanded loyalty benefits when shopping at Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com. Toys"R"Us is also launching its new credit card program, including an "R"Us-branded credit card and a MasterCard co-branded card, issued by GE Capital Retail Bank, connecting cardholders with all the perks of Rewards"R"Us and more.