Omnichannel

What do Solo Cup, Kellogg’s, 3M, and Ecover have in common? They're the latest of more than 100 companies to use online storefronts that incorporate Facebook from Alice.com, an online marketplace for household essentials and e-commerce platform.

Shoppers are demanding more from retailers as a shift is taking place in terms of how consumers want to interact with their favorite brands. Retailers must worry about brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce sites, but also mobile apps and social media developments.

Sephora is enhancing the shopping experience and broadening its mobile reach with a new Google Catalogs application for tablet devices. Google Catalogs is a free app that lets users browse catalogs from Macy’s, Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn and others via the iPad. Users can also interact with videos and additional content for a rich user experience.

With a little help from their smartphones and tablets, families with school-aged children are hitting stores and websites ready to tackle their back-to-school lists. According to the National Retail Federation’s back-to-school and college surveys conducted by BIGresearch, consumers with smartphones and tablets will use their devices to research products, redeem coupons, look up store information and even make purchases.

After a successful launch this past spring, Macy's is bringing back its customized mobile barcode program, Backstage Pass. In addition to sending new promotional videos to shoppers' phones when they scan the QR codes, customers will also have the chance to win daily shopping sprees.

HSN is letting fashion-savvy consumers shop Queen Latifah’s new line by scanning a QR code featured in its static magazine ad. Consumers can download a QR code reader to shop the collection. The Queen Latifah collection is available exclusively on HSN on Aug. 27.

Luxury retailer Coach launched its first U.S. mobile commerce site, a comprehensive guide to everything customers want and more. Built to give consumers an enhanced brand experience wherever they may be, the site offers users the same upscale shopping experience and efficiency as the traditional website in the palm of their hands.

Finish Line said it's released an e-commerce enabled app for Apple and Android mobile devices that provides geo-targeted store location and real-time inventory functions. Based on the location of the user, the free app provides detailed store location information including address, phone number and driving directions.

Wet Seal is giving away a free Android-powered smartphone preinstalled with the retailer's mobile application as part of an in-store back-to-school promotion to drive store traffic. The apparel retailer is offering the free mobile device to every consumer who tries on a pair of Wet Seal jeans in the store.

Wal-Mart announced that it's expanding its check and card cashing services to accept more types of checks and forms of identification from shoppers.