Nordstrom

New York City -- Macy’s reported that its same-store sales rose 5% in August, beating estimates. The retailer said sales would have been higher by 1.5% points without the impact of Hurricane Irene. Industry analysts had warned that the storm would impact department stores and specialty retailers the most as consumers focused on buying generators and other emergency and recovery items versus back-to-school and discretionary products. Macy’s said that its sales also were hurt by about 130 Irene-related store closings, But the chain said sales over the past three days have been strong and it expects Irene’s negative effect

New companies are gaining ground on retail giants like Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, according to Stores Magazines Favorite 50 Online Retailers survey. Conducted by BIGresearch, the survey found Macys, Forever 21, Aeropostale and Nordstrom each gained ground with online shoppers this year. Amazon.com, Walmart.com, eBay.com, BestBuy.com and JCPenney.com maintained the top five spots. Macys.com joined the top 10 for the first time, in part because of its new exclusive private labels. Tween and teen apparel retailers Forever21.com and Aeropostale.com both significantly improved their position from last year's ranking, performing above expectations. Nordstrom.com and GameStop.com both made the list

Nordstrom announced it's now offering free standard shipping and returns from Nordstrom.com every day for online orders of every size. The company said it's broadening its online free shipping and returns policy to all customers in an effort to improve the online shopping experience.

Shoppers may not have to worry about bulging wallets stuffed with old, crumpled receipts much longer. Retailers have found a solution in e-receipts, though it may come at a price.

New research from Buddy Media and L2 titled, Digital IQ Index: Specialty Retailers, measures the digital footprint of 64 speciality retail brands via 350 data points across four dimensions: site, digital marketing, social media and mobile.

Lowe's has joined the march to in-store mobility with its deployment of approximately 42,000 handheld devices to its U.S. and Canadian stores. The home improvement retailer has begun the rollout to its 1,700-plus stores and expects it to be complete by the end of fiscal 2011, at the end of January 2012. "Our goal is to make home improvement simple for customers and for our employees," said Lowe's CEO Robert Niblock during a recent conference call. "Leveraging Apple's iPhone technology, our employees will check inventory availability, access how-to videos and utilize lowes.com from the aisles of the store." Home

Nordstrom is opening a full-priced store in Manhattan. But the store will not have Nordstrom in its name, or even feel like a Nordstrom. Called Treasure&Bond, the new store will open Aug. 19 in SoHo and will be less than a tenth the size of a typical Nordstrom department store. In fact, it is a big experiment that will not even contribute to Nordstrom’s bottom line, as the profits have been committed to charity.

Googe has created Google Catalogs, a free app for tablet devices that enables you to browse all of your favorite catalogs and interact with new layers of rich-media content. The Google Catalogs app features digital versions of catalogs across many popular categories, including fashion and apparel, beauty, jewelry, home, kids and gifts.

New York City -- Nordstrom announced Monday that its new Treasure&Bond concept will open in SoHo on Friday, according to a report by the New York Times. The boutique-style store, which represents a new market entry for Nordstrom, will be a fraction of the size of a typical Nordstrom department store and all profits will be donated to charity. Merchandise is funkier, but is not discount like its Nordstrom Rack sister. Retail analysts applaud the move as a sensible way to test the Manhattan waters for the Seattle-based department store retailer. According to Peter E. Nordstrom, executive VP and

Nordstrom reported that net income for its second quarter rose 20 percent to $175 million, compared with $146 million in the year earlier period. Revenue surged 12.4 percent to $2.72 billion, benefited by strong promotions and matching Wall Street estimates. Same-store sales rose a solid 7.3 percent. The department store retailer has raised its profit outlook for the full year.