Nordstrom

The New York Times recently ran an article detailing how F-commerce is doing. For anyone in need of a refresher, F-commerce was one of those ideas everyone was really excited about when it first popped up back in 2009, but it never really took off. Gap, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and ASOS all shuttered their Facebook boutiques shortly after launching them. (We did an informal reader survey on the topic back in February: the majority of the 100-plus responders had never heard of F-commerce.) The Times is now reporting that although larger brands have bombed, small businesses are benefitting.

Nordstrom Inc., the upscale department-store chain, navigated the recession and its aftermath better than its peers. Yet even a company that has posted average sales growth of 14 percent for the past 10 quarters isn't immune to today's fast-changing retail environment.

Despite all the buzz around social media over the past several years, the concept of "real" social commerce — when consumers can actually buy merchandise directly from whichever social network they're visiting and wherever they happen to be — has eluded the industry.

A group of nine business leaders, including representatives from Amazon.com and Nordstrom, are backing California hedge fund manager Chris Hansen’s plan to bring a new sports arena to Seattle’s Sodo district. They announced Tuesday the formation of the Seattle/King County Arena Business Advisory Committee, established to demonstrate support for the arena and to try and draw more support for the proposal from the Seattle business community. 

Shoppers in the United States earning at least $150,000 annually rank Nordstrom highest among luxury retailers, according to a survey by the Luxury Institute. According to the 2012 Luxury Consumer Experience Index, which ranks retailers based on customers’ evaluations of a brand's store personnel, shopping environment and degree of satisfaction with the total experience, Nordstrom earns the top overall score of 8.41 out of 10, followed by Bergdorf Goodman (8.37) and Barneys New York (8.23). Nordstrom was also the most widely visited luxury retailer, with 36 percent of respondents reporting shopping at Nordstrom in the past 12 months.

Bonobos, a brand that sells men’s clothing online, has raised $16.4 million led by retail giant Nordstrom, with Accel Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners participating. In addition to the funding, Nordstrom will now sell Bonobos clothing at a number of its stores and on Nordstrom.com. The deal with Nordstrom will be the first time the brand is available in-store and online outside Bonobos.com and the company’s New York City headquarters’ showroom store.

In the boom of social media, newcomer Pinterest has created a big bang explosion. Retailers such as Lowe's, Etsy, Williams-Sonoma, American Eagle, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Gap are among the many that have jumped on the bandwagon.

Nordstrom will offer free shipping permanently on all purchases at its more than 100 namesake department stores starting this week, increasing competitive pressure on its rivals. The move comes about six months after the retailer became the first department store chain to add standard free shipping and returns on online orders.

From electronic information kiosks to full-service menus, the iPad is increasingly ingratiating itself with in-store retail experiences. The latest of these comes from designer Joseph Abboud, who released an iPad app this week that enables shoppers to order made-to-measure suits from Joseph Abboud stores at Nordstrom.

High-end department store Nordstrom is funneling its returned and worn shoes to its Nordstrom Rack outlet stores. This practice is surprising since outlet stores aren't known as secondhand stores.