retail

Shocker: B&N to cut a third of stores over next decade -- WSJ

Barnes & Noble plans to close as many as a third of its stores over the next decade as it continues to grapple with consumers' move to digital books, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

The Journal, citing Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group, said the company will have 450 to 500 stores in 10 years, down from 689 as of Jan. 23. It also currently has a separate chain of 674 college stores.

Barnes & Noble has shrunk its retail presence over the past several years as e-book readers and tablets have become more … Read more

Apple's retail VP departs amid search for new boss

If Apple retail vice president Jerry McDougal was on the short list to head up the company's retail efforts, that list might now be even shorter.

McDougal took off from Apple last week, says IfoAppleStore. Citing sources, the blog -- which has obsessively tracked Apple's retail goings-on -- says McDougal plans to spend more time with his family, a move that puts him out of the running to replace John Browett, whom Apple fired last October.

The blog goes on to say that McDougal was effectively the "right-hand man," of former Apple retail chief Ron Johnson. … Read more

PayPal's in-store payment partners grow to 23 retailers

Increasingly bringing its service offline, PayPal announced today that it has nearly doubled its brick-and-mortar store lineup to 23 retailers that now accept its payment service.

"Delivering valuable digital and mobile payments is alive and thriving, and consumers all over the U.S. will now start seeing PayPal more where they shop every day, including the grocery store and at the gas pump," PayPal's vice president of retail services Don Kingsborough said in a statement. "No bells, whistles or buzzes -- just technology that works and gets the most from your money."

Throughout the U.… Read more

eBay launches selling helpers as way to lure new customers

As eBay comes up against more competition from the growing number of online retailers, it has to keep reinventing itself. The newest endeavor for the online auction house means coming offline and helping people sell their goods in person.

eBay has recently launched three new pilot programs that involve company representatives working with sellers and buyers to figure out how to best purchase or get rid of wares, according to All Things D.

"People make their living on eBay and that feels good, but to be the belle of the ball, we have to step it up. We can'… Read more

Polaroid opens Fotobar shops to print photos off mobile devices

It this era of immediacy, it can be hard to remember the days when people would shoot a roll of film on a camera and then wait to get it developed before they even saw the photos. In a sense, before digital photography, the only instant pictures that existed were Polaroids.

Now, Polaroid is looking to change up the game again. It's opening several retail shops called Fotobars where people can bring in digital photos they have stored on their mobile devices -- including those in apps like Facebook, Picasa and Instagram -- and get them printed.

"There … Read more

How Best Buy can learn from B&H Photo

This is how you sell tech gear:

Yesterday I walked into B&H Photo in New York, which claims to be the country's largest non-chain camera store, and asked one of the many sales representatives if he was an expert on tripods. He smiled and responded: "It's a ball and three legs so you really don't need to be an expert."

I told him I needed to upgrade my tripod and he showed me how to get more life out of my old one. A few weeks ago, a B&H sales person … Read more

Retail sites see 27 percent traffic jump on Christmas Day

Following suit with other major holiday shopping days, Christmas Day also saw a jump in online traffic this year.

According to marketing firm Experian, the top 500 U.S. retail sites had 27 percent more online traffic on this year's Christmas Day compared with last year. A total of 115.5 million people in the U.S. visited sites like Target, BestBuy, Sears, and Apple's online store.

Looking at the past seven-week period, online retail traffic went up 10 percent over 2011, and each major shopping holiday had traffic increases this year, according to Experian. Thanksgiving had a … Read more

Amazon again tops in e-tail customer satisfaction; Apple slips

Amazon continues to reign as the most popular online store for customer satisfaction, according to a report out today from ForeSee.

Measuring the top online retailers for the holiday shopping season, ForeSee awarded Amazon a score of 88 out of 100, matching the company's top grade from last year. Amazon has scooped up the highest scores in the index for eight straight years, in large part because of the appeal and variety of its products, ForeSee said.

"At this point, Amazon has been dominant for so long and has such a history of focusing on the customer, its … Read more

Blockbuster said to sell smartphones at its retail stores

When DVD rentals don't work, maybe sell... mobile phones? Rumor has it that Blockbuster is getting into the phone hawking business at its retail stores, according to Bloomberg.

What seems like a random choice might actually be a conscientious maneuver by Dish Network, which bought the struggling movie rental chain last year. Dish is primarily a provider of satellite-TV service, but over the past year it's been making moves to get into the wireless business.

Recently, Dish launched Blockbuster Mobile and started selling smartphones online. Blockbuster Mobile works with Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon and offers devices including Samsung'… Read more