Retail Stores

Vogue and Elle have long influenced what image-conscious consumers buy. Now, in a bid to reverse flagging sales and stay relevant, fashion magazines may sell the products they feature in their articles.

Girl Scout cookies are once again selling in one of the hottest retail formats: pop-up stores. Temporary stores designed to drum up buzz for retailers, they appear for a limited time — say, Girl Scout cookie season — and just as suddenly, disappear again.

eBay is launching its deepest integration with Milo on its search platform. Milo’s local availability results will show eBay shoppers which local stores currently have a desired item in stock and how much it costs at each location. Milo currently provides access to millions of products from approximately 50,000 stores across all 50 states.

Although consumers may still be watching discretionary spending closely, Belk reported a strong 2010 fiscal year. The Charlotte, N.C.-based department store chain said sales at stores open more than a year were up 5.1 percent in the year ended Jan. 29, 2011.

Gap has opened an online store on China's biggest e-commerce platform Taobao, in an effort to lure savvy Chinese shoppers outside wealthy cities. Gap opened its store on Taobao Mall, alongside the likes of Adidas, Levi Strauss & Co and Japan's Uniqlo.

After teaming up with Groupon to get daily deals on its websites last summer, McClatchy Co. has decided to get into the business on its own. McClatchy, the third-largest newspaper company, won't be breaking up with Groupon, but will launch its own deals service in April, bringing the two companies head-to-head.

The more active a brand is on Facebook, the better chance consumers will "Like" it. This was the key finding from a recent study on retailers' growth on Facebook and Twitter conducted by marketing agency Media Logic. However, a follow-up study released this month shows that the majority of brands on Facebook saw their growth on the social media site lose steam as the holiday season came and went.

Carphone Warehouse will be distancing itself from selling laptops and netbooks and will now focus more on tablet computers. A small number of Carphone Warehouse stores will sell a reduced range of laptops and netbooks.

When it comes to the e-wallet market, only one name really holds weight: PayPal. American Express hopes to change all that with its new service, Serve. A digital payment and commerce platform, Serve will give consumers the ability to spend, send, and receive money on the internet just like PayPal.

In the latest case of cheap does chic, New York fashion label Proenza Schouler has accused discount retailer Target of copying one of its sought after bag designs. Priced at a mere $34.99, Target’s Mossimo messenger bag bares a strikingly similar resemblance to the Proenza Schouler PS1 satchel which sells for $1,995, and is carried by Kate Beckinsale, Mary-kate Olsen and Nicky Hilton.