Retail Email, Amazon Sales Agreements, Best Buy Postpones European Expansion
The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers three promotional emails on average during the week ending June 10, 2011, according to the Retail Email Blog.
That is down 4% week-over-week, on par with where it was four weeks ago, and up 9% year-over-year,
E-commerce & Multichannel Retailing
Amazon.com sent notices Friday to the owners of Connecticut websites saying the online retailer was ending cooperative sales agreements, effective immediately, because the newly enacted state budget would require the online retailer to collect sales taxes.
Google Sites led the U.S. explicit core search market in May 2011 with 65.5% market share, followed by Yahoo Sites with 15.9% and Microsoft Sites with 14.1%, according to comScore qSearch data.
Both Barnes & Noble and Kobo, its far less advertised rival, introduced nearly identical readers that are clearly intended to embarrass the industry leader, the Amazon Kindle.
International Expansion
Best Buy is putting its European expansion plans on hold due to challenging economic conditions on the continent, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
Store Openings & Closings
Gap plans to close 200 of its 900 stores worldwide by 2013.
Borders Group is faced with closing dozens of its best-performing stores due to a requirement of its bankruptcy financing if their landlords don't agree to extend a lease-negotiation period.
The owners of Curious George & Friends in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA have notified employees and customers that the store will close, probably within the next month.
Fraud, Theft & Security
Of the 129 retail companies surveyed this year, nearly all (94.5%) have been the victim of organized retail crime in the past 12 months, an increase from last year and the most in the survey’s history.
Marketing & Advertising
Overstock.com has signed a six-year deal to change the name of Overstock.com Coliseum in Oakland, CA to O.co Coliseum.
Promotions & Appointments
Patrick A. Snyder, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Cabela’s, will transition from his current position and will become a special advisor to the CEO.