Technology

That couch catching your eye in the 2013 edition of IKEA's new catalog may not be a couch at all. It is likely the entire living room was created by a graphic artist. In fact, much of the furniture and settings in the 324-page catalog are simply a collection of pixels and polygons arranged on a computer.

Following tests that showed mobile point of sale (POS) successfully sped up the checkout process in its Rack stores, Nordstrom will roll out approximately 1,500 of the devices to its 110 Rack units by the end of this year's third quarter. This deployment is in addition to the mobile POS technology already in use in Nordstrom's 117 full-line stores. "We are constantly adding to the functionality of our mobile point-of-sale devices and their use in our stores is increasing," said Nordstrom president Blake Nordstrom during a recent conference call discussing second-quarter financial results. 

Cloud adoption is driven by the need of businesses to get the greatest value from technology budgets through better adoption of business applications, improved collaboration and increased agility. This is particularly relevant in retail, where marketing teams have to manage an increasing number of customer touchpoints — e.g., e-commerce sites, web-enabled smartphones, social networks, etc.

Last week came news that luxury handbag retailer Coach has joined a growing number of retailers in deploying mobile point-of-sale (POS) technology in its factory stores. The thinking is that the added flexibility of being able to check out anywhere in its stores will lead to happier customers and in turn repeat customers, ultimately resulting in higher store sales. Will that be the case or is a mobile POS system not worth the investment? Let us know your thoughts on the future of payment technologies — both in-store and online — by going to Retail Online Integration's Facebook page to comment. We'd love to get a conversation going on this important topic. Thanks!

Microsoft reportedly is expanding its retail footprint in advance of its big reveal of Windows 8. Analysts say it's a smart move even as some question whether the company can generate enough buzz to make Windows a viable alternative to the iOS-Android duopoly in the mobile device market. Its got to give consumers a reason to go out there and upgrade, said Israel Hernandez, senior analyst and managing director at MKM Partners LLC. 

Coach has joined the growing group of retailers deploying mobile point-of-sale technology as it seeks greater productivity and transaction throughput in its factory stores. The retailer also boosted its CapEx spending by nearly 25 percent this year, with another significant investment increase planned for fiscal 2013, in part to support technology and digital enhancements. CapEx spending for fiscal 2012, which ended June 30, 2012, totaled $184 million, up from $148 million spent the previous year, according to Coach CFO Jane Nielsen. The retailer projects an even bigger increase as much as 35 percent – for the current fiscal year.

The Home Depot said Tuesday it agreed to acquire U.S. Home Systems Inc. for $94.9 million in an effort to expand its kitchen and bath resurfacing offerings. Atlanta-based Home Depot will pay $12.50 per share in cash for U.S. Home Systems, or about $94.9 million. U.S. Home Systems had about 7.6 million shares outstanding as of March 31. The offer is a 38 percent premium over its closing share price of $9.06 on Monday. The news sent the stock up $3.35, or 37 percent, to $12.41 in morning trading.

eBay cancelled what's thought to be thousands of listings over the weekend after a glitch wiped out critical data from the item descriptions. eBay sent an email to those affected promising to issue double refunds to sellers who paid insertion fees and must now edit the listings to add back in the data and then relist them. eBay sellers were initially alarmed over the weekend when some of their listings were cancelled due to supposed "Duplicate Listing" policy violations. 

Cabela's is leaving something behind as it begins its journey to become a truly omnichannel retailer: its paper catalogs. The retailer's initial steps will focus on a print-to-digital transformation, tests of targeted shipping offers, and new mobile and digital efforts for the holiday season, according to CEO Thomas Millner. "Late last year, we began to develop a multiyear approach to reverse the four-year downtrend in our direct segment and transform our 51-year-old legacy catalog business into an omnichannel enterprise supporting transformation for digital, e-commerce and mobile while optimizing the customer experience with our growing retail footprint."

Build-A-Bear Workshop announced that it's introducing a newly imagined store design in six markets across the U.S. in 2012. The new store design, which has been over two years in the making, merges the Build-A-Bear Workshop's hands-on bear-making process with technology to enhance the customer experience. “I'm very excited about the enhanced features that will allow us to continue to lead in the interactive retail space,” said Maxine Clark, founder and chief executive bear of Build-A-Bear Workshop.