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With more than 60 million Americans forecast to own a tablet computer by the end of this year, retailers say tablets are driving an increasingly larger share of their web revenue. According to the 2012 Shop.org/Forrester Research State of Retailing Online survey, 49 percent of retailers say their average order value via a tablet is now higher than traditional web sales. Nearly three in 10 (28 percent) retailers say they're seeing about the same average order value from tablets as their website. The State of Retailing Online research series surveyed 59 companies.

PetSmart Inc. saw its profits rise 33 percent in the first quarter as the company continued to see strong sales for its products and services. Phoenix-based PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM) reported income of $94.7 million for the first quarter that ended April 29, or 85 cents per share, compared to the $70.9 million it made in the first quarter of 2011. The company also reported sales of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to $1.49 billion for the same quarter last year. “We are pleased to report...

Hingham, Mass. -- Talbots Inc. said is extending its talks with Sycamore Partners about an acquisition offer. It is the second time the chain has extended the talks. Talbots has extended the period of time during which it will talk solely with the private equity firm about its $211 million takeover offer until Thursday. The first time Talbots extended the exclusivity period was a week ago, when it announced that the talks would continue until Wednesday. Earlier this month Sycamore offered to buy Talbots for $3.05 per share.

New York -- American Eagle Outfitters earned a better-than-expected $39.7 million for the quarter ended April 28, compared with $28.3 million in the same period last year. The company had said earlier first-quarter sales rose 18% to $719 million. Same-store sales were up 17%. Last week, American Eagle said its would exit its underperforming children’s business, 77kids, which includes 22 stores and the online business. The company is currently exploring options for the business, which include a full or partial disposition of assets to a third party.

Luxottica SpA, the parent company of Oakley and Sunglass Hut, reached an agreement to buy the remaining Sun Planet retail stores, about 120 locations in Spain and Portugal. In a filing to the Italian stock exchange, the company said the operation, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, has an enterprise value of about EUR20 million. Luxottica, which in 2011 acquired the Sun Planet retail chain in Latin America, said that over time the stores will be rebranded under the Sunglass Hut banner. 

Indianapolis -- Hhgregg Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings jumped as the chain collected $39.6 million in life insurance proceeds due to the death of executive chairman and former CEO Jerry W. Throgmartin. Throgmartin, who died Jan. 22 at age 57, served as chairman and CEO of Hhgregg from 2003 to 2009 and led it through a 2007 initial public offering of stock. Hhgregg said Wednesday it collected the proceeds from a "key man" life insurance policy. Overall, the chain earned $53.6 million in the three months that ended March 31, up from $14.6 million in the year-ago period. Revenue rose

Washington, D.C. -- With more than 60 million Americans forecast to own a tablet computer by the end of this year, retailers say tablets are driving an increasingly larger share of their web revenue. According to the 2012 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc.’s State of Retailing Online survey, 49% of retailers say their average order value via a tablet is now higher than traditional web sales. Nearly three in 10 (28%) retailers say they are seeing about the same average order value from tablets as their website. When it comes to actual sales retailers are reporting, the survey found tablet and

Pinterest recently picked up a cool $100 million in funding led by Japanese online shopping giant Rakuten, placing its value in the region of $1.5 billion. That's huge — bigger than Instagram — but perhaps justified if the Pinteresting effect is reverberating through e-commerce sites. Here's some proof that it is: Shopify, which supplies back-end e-commerce services to 25,000 online stores, asked its partners whether Pinterest users are buying anything. The results are impressive.