Omnichannel

The connected home space is getting crowded with Staples Connect, the newest platform looking to simplify peoples’ lives by putting them in constant contact with their home or business. Staples plans to roll out its Staples Connect home automation platform to 500 stores and will offer lower prices on the Connect Hub and feature new wearable products and support from some big technology names. Staples Connect was introduced in the fall of 2013 in select stores and online as a home and office automation platform, competing with Google's Nest, Lowe's Iris system and Home Depot's new Wink platform.

After a chilly winter and spring for the retail sector, are investors primed for the initial public offering of hobby company Michaels? The Michaels Companies, which owns the Michaels craft stores and the Aaron Brothers framing chain, is set to begin trading Friday in its return to

In the carnival of sponsorship that is the World Cup, Under Armour has just two plays. Scratch that. The apparel company has two players: Cameroon's Benoit Assou-Ekotta (a defender) and Mexico's Alfredo Talavera (a back-up goalkeeper). Needless to say, Under Armour isn't in attack mode when it comes to the beautiful game. For a company that's made a lot of noise about expanding internationally and winning market share from giants Adidas and Nike, Under Armour is shockingly silent on the world's biggest soccer stage.

In a session at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago yesterday, Kevin Gardiner, Macy's director of retail services, discussed the company's ship-from-store program, including its challenges, how success is measured, why data is integral to the program as well as future innovation opportunities for the retailer. 

There's now plenty of evidence to suggest buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) is a good investment. It helps shoppers overcome traditional objections to shopping online and converts them to omnichannel shoppers, who are nearly 21 percent more profitable than single-channel shoppers. Retailers have observed as much as a 33 percent lift in sales from in-store pick-up of online orders. BOPIS allows retailers to better connect online and offline sales, leading to improved ability to personalize marketing messages. As more shoppers adopt BOPIS, retailers will see additional benefits including inventory optimization and fewer returns.

Central to its long-term growth strategy is Chico's omnichannel initiatives. The retailer invests in technology that allows its customers to shop how, when and where she chooses to shop. To fully integrate community, content and commerce on all customers’ devices and in the boutique she favors, Chico's is focused on a cloud-based digital retail theater. It's become increasingly important to blend the online and in-store experience. For several years now, Chico's has taken advantage of its e-commerce assortment in the distribution center, enabling it to fulfill orders from other stores.

By 2017, 50 percent of all U.S. retail sales will be omnichannel. Enabling agile commerce is table stakes for your business. But who will drive these initiatives? Research shows that retailers expect the CFO to spearhead e-commerce. So, how will you demonstrate the return on investment of omnichannel fulfillment to your CFO? Sign up for this informative webinar and learn how to gain your CFO's endorsement on implementing industry-leading omnichannel initiatives that blend the best of online technology with offline fulfillment. You'll learn how to:

• leverage intelligent order routing logic;
• optimize your return policies and procedures; and
• prioritize financial sales attribution.

Target has formed a digital advisory council as part of its efforts to accelerate its digital transformation. Target said the council will help guide the retailer's omnichannel strategies and push it to innovate faster and discover new ways to leverage technology to enhance the shopper experience — both online and in-store. In addition to forming the new council, Target is bolstering its internal digital talent with plans to hire at least 50 new software engineers this year for Target.com and mobile product teams. 

Target wants to help host your book club … online. As the retailer works to build a more competitive e-commerce experience, it's partnering with a startup e-book subscription service called Librify to give customers an online platform for buying, sharing and discussing their favorite books. The official launch is still several months off, but the announcement comes ahead of BookExpo in New York City this week, the biggest event of the year for the publishing industry. Librify, which started beta testing with select users in March, offers a social-subscription service for e-books. 

Depending on how much faith you have in Wal-Mart's various anti-hacking security standards, the store's new credit card policy will either grant it greater protection from thieves who try using fraudulent credit cards, or make legitimate Wal-Mart customers suffer even worse the next time someone hacks into the right (wrong?) Wal-Mart database. If you