Burgeoning target demographics, such as Hispanics, Asians and baby boomers, along with an increased utility of smartphone technology as a shopping tool, will help to redefine retail altogether, suggested Thom Blischok, chief retail strategist and senior executive adviser for Booz & Co. during the keynote address and closing session for FMI’s part in the Health & Wellness @Retail 2013 conference on Saturday.

Swirl launched a new software platform specifically designed to attract and influence in-store shoppers with micro-targeted digital content and real-time, personalized offers delivered to consumers' smartphones while they shop.

Aisle411, a mobile retail navigation service, announced that its mobile shopping and searchable store maps smartphone app is available to use within more than 12,000 retail stores throughout the United States.

If any proof was needed of the importance of omnichannel, it can be seen in a new survey of U.S. consumers.

Google has officially unveiled its testing program for Google Shopping Express, its new online delivery service in the San Francisco Bay area, signing up with retailers like Target, Walgreens and Raley's to allow customers to receive items directly from store shelves at their homes within a day.

The program has been widely described as an effort by Google to compete with e-commerce giant Amazon, but what sets Google Shopping Express apart is its sourcing partnership with brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly Target, which itself has made significant investments in omnichannel retail, most recently with its purchases of two online cooking-equipment retailers. As a whole slew of developments over the past couple of weeks has shown, omnichannel is becoming a key component of many retailers' business.

People who work from home shop online more often, according to a new survey.

Sears Holdings is adding some of its own fare to its mygofer.com offering, an online grocery service that "turbo-charges brick-and-mortar retailer assortments by allowing customers to get items from those stores where and when they want them in new, convenient ways."

"At mygofer, your list is our command," Sears tells shoppers on its website. "Shop with us for your prescriptions, groceries, beauty products, clothes, shoes, electronics and a whole lot more you might not expect. So whatever's on your list, we can help you get it — with incredible speed and no hassles. That's convenience."

Retail executives are moderating their expectations for 2013 following uneven sales in December and January, according to a new survey of CFOs by professional services firm BDO USA.

Despite nearly half of shoppers using social media every day, less than one-fifth shop through them, according to a new study by PwC.

Johnson & Johnson is shopping its women's health unit, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal, which suggested that the business no longer coincided with J&J's "growth priorities."

Duane Reade experienced nearly a 20% boost in sales of its private label hosiery thanks to a seven-week social media campaign dubbed “Show Us Some Leg,” according to a published report.
The important takeaway here is that the success of this campaign speaks to the overall importance of engaging consumers beyond the walls of the bricks-and-mortar store.