NYC

Could this be Amazon.com's Miracle on 34th Street? The online retail giant will take on Macy's and other Herald Square retailers with a physical store of its own for the holidays in New York, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the plans. The Manhattan location would function as a "mini-warehouse" for same-day delivery in New York, product returns and pickups of online orders, according to the report.

It's a global, local world in e-commerce today, and it will only become more so. If it's 3-D printers, the Internet of Things and big data that are key forces today, who knows what's to come. What's certain is that the way we buy and sell things will never be the same again, but that doesn't mean the online shopping experience has to be impersonal. Instead, it should help power the human potential of the internet to create better human interactions and user experiences around the world.

Word on the street is that MAC Cosmetics, a division of Estee Lauder, signed a lease that breaks the record for the highest rent ever paid for a New York retail space. If true, the transaction sets a new high for rental rates in an area that last year already ranked as the most expensive retail strip in the world.

NEW YORK — Saks Fifth Avenue has taken its brand beyond fashion retail with the launch of its redesigned SaksPOV website. Designed to offer a point of view from Fifth Avenue, the company said, the new site will feature multimedia content, designer features, Saks brand coverage and compelling lifestyle pieces. SaksPOV launched initially in December 2010. “We will use SaksPOV as an outlet to engage with our customers and as a portal for our fashion lifestyle content,” said Denise Incandela, chief marketing officer and president of Saks direct. The site includes “blogs we love, guest editors and Twitter followers.

Sephora has launched its New York City same-day beauty delivery service. So who are the customers that have such an urgent need for beauty products? What do they order?

It appears that talks between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Apple have broken down, resulting in Apple deciding not to open a new 16,000 square-foot retail store in one of New York’s most popular landmarks. Apple was in talks to secure retail space in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, opening a new Apple Store that would have been its biggest in terms of retail space.