retail

Microsoft may open retail stores in U.K. next year, says report

Microsoft may be opening its first European retail shops in the U.K. next year.

The folks in Redmond have been talking to property landlords in the U.K., a person familiar with the talks told the Financial Times. Microsoft reportedly expressed confidence that it will open the first outlets next year, the source said. But a final decision will be based on the performance of its U.S. stores.

This latest tidbit follows a report this past June from The Verge, saying that Microsoft would open a U.K. store next March. The company officially incorporated itself in the … Read more

Online holiday spending to hit $43.4 billion this year

Online retailers will have good reason to make merry this holiday season.

People shopping via the Internet will spend to the tune of $43.4 billion during November and December, according to a report out today from ComScore.

That figure is a 17 percent gain over last year's online holiday spending, which itself rose 15 percent over 2010's number. It's also way ahead of the retail industry's expectation of just a 4.1 percent rise in overall consumer spending this season.

"The strength leading up to and during the holiday season-to-date, in addition to a … Read more

Despite earnings report, Best Buy not a lost cause -- yet

"It's like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship." So goes the oft-used simile that references the legendary 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. The phrase has been used to describe everything from government disfunction to professional sports disappointment. (Andy Reid, I'm looking at you.) But today, I will apply it to the business of big box, brick-and-mortar consumer technology retail. And there's no bigger ship in this shrinking sea than Best Buy, the American electronics retailer.

First, the facts: Best Buy posted disappointing third-quarter results this morning. The company recorded a loss, fed … Read more

Apple teases upcoming annual Black Friday sale

Apple plans to hold a sale at its retail stores and online Friday in step with Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving which marks the official beginning of the holiday shopping season.

A special message noting the sale was spotted on Apple's Australian site, where it's already Tuesday, by Macrumors.

Details on which products will be discounted and by how much were not included, however that list typically leaks out in the days ahead of the sale. Last year's sale brought discounts anywhere from $41 to $61 on Apple's iPad 2, and $101 on Apple's … Read more

Hello, Rio. Apple Store to make first foray into Brazil

Apple is heading to Rio de Janeiro.

The electronics giant will open its first retail store in Brazil, it confirmed in an email to Brazilian press.

The company didn't specify when the store will open or where it will be located in the city.

Here's the full statement from Apple, via Brazilian reports:

"We look forward to the opening of the first Apple Store in Brazil, where we have longstanding customers and hope to win many more every day. We cannot wait to offer the unique Apple retail experience to the people of Rio de Janeiro and … Read more

Apple stores still top earners per square foot, study says

Apple's retail stores have once again nabbed the top spot when it comes to sales per square foot.

According to research firm RetailSails, compared with more than 200 chains in 15 different retail genres, Apple brought in the most money per square foot at its stores during the year.

According to the rankings (seen right), Apple made $6,050 per square foot during 2012, a little more than twice that of the runner-up, jewelry maker Tiffany & Co., which brought in $3,017 per square foot. By comparison, RetailSails pegged Apple for $5,626 per square foot in its … Read more

Are Apple stores just too crowded?

The best kind of golf course is one where it's only you and the lovely lady who just took her CEO ex-husband to the cleaners.

Who wants to go to a bar where it takes you half an hour to get a drink -- and even then it's been poured with all the attention of a child being asked to clean their shoes?

Yet Apple stores are beginning to resemble farmer's markets just before Thanksgiving. Or Wal-Mart just after -- minus the punching, kicking, and gouging.

Have you ever walked past one that isn't crammed full … Read more

Amazon lockers on their way to Staples stores -- report

Staples is the latest retailer to get Amazon Lockers, a new report claims.

A Staples spokeswoman yesterday told Reuters that its stores will soon have the so-called "Amazon Lockers" at locations around the U.S. The agreement is an important one for Amazon, which is trying to get more of its lockers into stores around the U.S. Amazon has previously inked deals with 7-Eleven, among other companies, to install lockers.

Amazon Lockers launched last year as part of a strategy to offer a quasi-in-store pickup service, similar to those offered at Best Buy and Wal-Mart. After purchasing … Read more

Apple's iPad Mini goes on sale overseas

Right on schedule, Apple's latest pair of tablets are on store shelves. Around the world, that is.

Retail sales of the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad began in New Zealand -- where it's already well into Friday -- and are now rolling into other countries.

The launch is Apple's biggest yet for an iPad at 34 countries, up from the 10 that got the company's third-generation model in mid-March.

CNET Australia, which captured some of the early sales action, described the number of shoppers as "far fewer" than for the iPhone 5, with any … Read more