Gap

Back-to-school spending may rise as much as 16 percent in the U.S. this year, reversing year-ago declines and putting more muscle behind the economic rebound. Families with students plan to spend about $55.1 billion in the period, compared with $47.5 billion a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said, citing consumers surveyed by BIGResearch.

More than 450,000 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, as joblessness continued to hamper the U.S. economy and other new economic indicators reflected mixed signs about the recovery. The number of people filing new unemployment claims has fluctuated between 450,000 and 500,000 a week since January, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Although that is down from last year, it remains an indication of ongoing weakness, economists said. Other new figures showed that consumer borrowing fell again in May, suggesting that Americans remain nervous about the economy. June retail sales jumped 3 percent, though some analysts noted that

Already sold online, Athleta — owned by Gap Inc. — will open a 2,424-square-foot test store at Strawberry Village Center in Mill Valley, Calif., later this month, according to the company.

Q:"Shipping costs are eating me alive. Customers want free or very low shipping, but they have no idea what that means for small online retail stores. Do you have any strategies to deal with shipping costs and remain competitive?"— Carla Rose, owner, Green and Chic

Gap has launched a dedicated iPad application - developed by AKQA - that features a range of branded and Gap-related content, and allows users to browse and purchase products from its 1969 range of clothing. Gap's free application invites users to browse through a selection of video content, press coverage, celebrity imagery, and a range of Gap products. Web content is accessible from within the app, alongside Twitter feeds from Gap staff such as designer Patrick Robertson. Each piece of content prompts the user to share it with friends via e-mail, and features a call to action prompting users to purchase from directly within the app.

With the holiday shopping season now all wrapped up, here's a look back at several reports over the past month to provide an overview of how it all went down — both from what was predicted to what actually transpired.

When multichannel marketers negotiate with parcel shipping companies, who has the advantage: carriers or shippers? Current market dynamics make today the best time to bid your business. Recent earnings disclosures by FedEx and the United Parcel Service indicate a slowing or decline in their domestic parcel businesses, making them hungry for new business and willing to fight to keep existing accounts. Slow domestic growth rates in the transportation industry means promoting competition among parcel carriers is a winning strategy in managing your shipments for lower unit costs. Carriers’ Upper Hand However, initiating a competitive bid process in today’s parcel environment is a complex

Going “green” will become increasingly important for multichannel merchants as consumers’ spending habits continue to be influenced by environmental concerns. According to the 2007 Annual National Shopping Behavior Survey by KPMG, a vast majority of holiday shoppers expressed a willingness to pay more for ecofriendly gifts and took note of the countries where items were made. The recent survey of 815 shoppers was conducted randomly by telephone. Here are some highlights of the survey: * 88 percent of respondents said they were very concerned about the environment, with 74 percent saying they buy environmentally friendly products; * 60 percent of those respondents were willing

Consider leveraging Web 2.0 technology to boost your Web site’s intuitive response to your customers, said Bridget Fahrland, executive director at Web design firm Fry Inc., and Kevin Messing, Fry’s creative director, in their session “Designing for Web 2.0: Questioning the Conventional Wisdom of Web Design,” at during the ACCM in Chicago. Messing defined Web 2.0 as being second-generation Internet technologies that drive a better user experience online. “Web 2.0 is a new approach to creating and distributing content online, characterized by open communication and decentralized sources of content,” he said. Here are some practical do’s and don’ts for starting to use this next-generation

Sixty-four percent of online consumers are unlikely to trust a Web site—even if the site prominently features a privacy policy. A report from Jupiter Communications released in August found that consumers have confused the concepts of privacy and security; they identify security of credit card information, which is their primary concern, as a privacy issue. So what can you do to establish trust on your Web site? Another study from Greenwich, CT-based NFO Interactive asked online consumers who haven't bought on the Web to prioritize attributes that would entice them to make the plunge into e-commerce. The top responses follow. 1. The