Hurricane Sandy

Camp Hill, Pa. — As expected, Hurricane Sandy left its mark on Rite Aid's monthly sales as the chain reported a decline in comps for November. The company said the 3% decrease in same-store sales for the five-week period ended Saturday included a 0.5%...

How did Sandy treat you? Did it have a positive effect on your business? A negative effect? Did you have to close stores or hold off on deliveries? Let us know by going to Retail Online Integration's Facebook page to comment.

So far Hurricane Sandy has unfortunately proved itself worthy of many of the "worst" descriptors it was assigned prior to its arrival along the East Coast of the United States. Certainly the 48 people who lost their lives, 8 million people who lost power, and the hundreds of thousands of homeowners who lost pieces of their homes and their peace of mind represent the worst of the worse possible outcomes created by Hurricane Sandy. But just behind that, the negative impact that Hurricane Sandy will have on U.S. business overall, the retail industry in particular, is staggering. 

From Fab.com to Amazon.com to eBay, e-commerce retailers scrambled on Tuesday to get goods to buyers on time after Hurricane Sandy tore a swathe of destruction across the U.S. northeast. The storm, which severed power to warehouses and offices, ripped up rails and roads, and shuttered airports, challenged the notion that internet retailers might benefit from problems at store chains exposed to the elements. Fab.com, a fast-growing design e-commerce startup based in New York City, handled unusually strong volumes on Monday as people hunkered down at home. Then the problems began.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s is donating $1 million to disaster relief and rebuilding efforts in communities affected by Hurricane Sandy. Lowe’s will work with its national nonprofit partners to provide both immediate and long-term support to local...