Target

Target was hoping for a smooth launch for one of its most highly anticipated designer collaborations in years. Instead, the discount retailer's website was overwhelmed in the early hours on Sunday as legions of fashionistas who had been up overnight tried to snap up Lilly Pulitzer's fashions, only to encounter delays in the colorful beachwear line's availability on Target.com and, in many cases, end up empty handed. The incident has raised questions as to why the retailer wasn't fully ready for the onslaught.

Online merchants have already proven they're willing to share the most precious of proprietary data with Google, even transactions, pricing and tracking data in the case of Google Trusted Stores. But are they willing to hand over shoppers’ email addresses? Many people are familiar with ads that follow them around the internet, called retargeting or remarketing.

Target has agreed to pay MasterCard-issuing banks as much as $19 million to reimburse for losses related to the 2013 hack that resulted in up to 40 million accounts being breached.

The question isn't if your company will be the victim of a data breach, but when. Those were the sobering words of Martin Einstein, senior partner at Brann & Issacson, a law firm that represents online and multichannel companies, at the American Catalog Mailers Association's (ACMA) Forum last week in Washington, D.C. Einstein addressed the crowd of direct marketers on what they can do to mitigate their risk and exposure to a data breach, as well as how best to respond in the unfortunate event that a breach does occur. 

New York's attorney general is scrutinizing 13 big retailers over their staffing practices and whether they require workers to show up or stay home with little notice. The office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters warning Target Corp., Gap Inc. and 11 others that it believes the chains are using on-call scheduling and that such practices may violate a New York law

If your company's brick-and-mortar budget is a source of frustration, it's probably because there are several items devouring resources without moving your bottom line. Focusing more of your precious resources on these five areas will help sales by keeping you relevant and desirable:

Apple Pay made its much awaited debut in October 2014, and as with everything Apple does, the conversation on alternative payment mechanisms has gained center stage. Is there even any credence to all the clamor about new payment mechanisms? What happened to good ole' cash, checks and credit cards?

Target has agreed to pay $10 million in a proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit related to its 2013 data breach that consumers say compromised their personal financial information, court documents show. Under the proposal, which requires federal court approval, Target will deposit the settlement amount into an interest-bearing escrow account, to pay individual victims up to $10,000 in damages. The proposal also requires Target to adopt and implement data security measures such as appointing a chief information security officer and maintaining a written information security program.

The Honest Company’s Jessica Alba and CEO Brian Lee offered an open, honest and frank assessment about their eco-friendly e-commerce st

With shallow pockets but a deep commitment to promote "living wages," women's advocacy group UltraViolet has peppered Target with cheap location-focused online ads, challenging it to match Wal-Mart's promise of $10-an-hour base pay. The nonprofit advocacy group launched its campaign on Tuesday. With a budget of just $5,000, it purchased online ads that appear on the browsers of people surfing the web within an approximately 1,000-feet radius of three stores in Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Nebraska.