Gap

Wrapp, a social gifting service backed by Greylock Partners and Atomico, is crossing the pond with the U.S. launch of its mobile gift card and retail app. Wrapp, which was available previously only in the U.K., Norway, Sweden and Japan, is launching today with a number of U.S. retailers including Fab, Gap, H&M, Sephora, Wayfair and others.

Target, Costco Wholesale and Gap are among 15 retailers recognized on the Ethisphere Institute's 2012 "World's Most Ethical Companies" list. The other retailers honored were Safeway, Whole Foods Market, Starbucks Coffee Co., Patagonia, Wegmans, Marks and Spencer, Best Buy, eBay, Timberland, OfficeMax, Petco, and Ten Thousand Villages. Ethisphere evaluates hundreds of companies, naming only those that surpass their industry peers to the "World's Most Ethical Companies" list. The 2012 list features 145 companies in more than three dozen industries that show leadership in promoting ethical business standards.

In the boom of social media, newcomer Pinterest has created a big bang explosion. Retailers such as Lowe's, Etsy, Williams-Sonoma, American Eagle, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Gap are among the many that have jumped on the bandwagon.

Gap, which drew legions of young adults in the 1990s with classic khakis and swing-dancing ads, is again banking on young, hip customers to resuscitate its sales. Too bad they're broke now. Weighed down by higher-than-average unemployment, student loan debt and concerns that the economy will continue to struggle, Americans 18-years-old to 34-years-old are increasingly reluctant to shop, according to researcher WSL Strategic Retail.

It's not just startups that are trying to push what's possible with mobile advertising. Gap recently completed an ad campaign combining traditional transit ads with geo-fencing technology.

After receiving such great feedback on our inaugural list last year, we here at Retail Online Integration decided to make this an annual feature to highlight the leading female executives in cross-channel retail. The women on this year’s list, as were those on last year’s, are the best and brightest in the cross-channel retail industry.…

Gap plans to expand in Latin America after its first namesake store in the region topped sales expectations. The Gap store in Santiago, Chile, which opened in October, was among the leading franchise performers out of 200 stores worldwide, said Stefan Laban, managing director of strategic alliances for Gap.

Gap sees its strongest growth prospects in two key geographies: cyberspace and international retailing. In fiscal 2011, the retailer's e-commerce and international divisions together represented 26 percent of Gap's total net sales, fueled by a 20 percent increase in its direct division's net sales.

Last April, Gamestop opened a store on Facebook to generate sales among the 3.5 million-plus customers who’d declared themselves “fans” of the video game retailer. Six months later, the store was quietly shuttered.

Styling goes social with the new Styld.by digital catlog developed for Gap. Collaborating with fashion bloggers, items from Gap's spring 2012 collection are styled and showcased.