New York City is clearly not in Wyoming. But you would never realize it based on the omnichannel strategies that you see in many organizations today.

Betting that consumers are willing to pay for instant gratification, Canada Post is teaming up with Wal-Mart Canada Corp., Best Buy Canada Ltd., and Indigo Books & Music Inc. in the first major Canadian rollout of same-day online shopping.

Offering customers free same-day delivery has long been an elusive goal for e-tailers. Their motivation is simple: If e-tailers can give customers the near-instant gratification of buying in a store, they can eliminate one of the most powerful advantages held by their bricks-and-mortar competitors. Alas, costs and complexity have largely kept same-day delivery (defined here as delivery between sunup and sundown on a weekday) out of reach and, at best, a niche offering.

As populous countries such as Brazil, China and India develop increasingly acquisitive middle classes, opportunities for online sales to these countries are growing. Except for small mom-and-pop outlets, the brick-and-mortar retail sectors are poorly developed outside of major cities. Consumers in these and many other developing countries are looking online for more choices in apparel, electronics, and luxury goods.

Lowe's Companies announced its acquisition of the majority of assets of Orchard Supply Hardware has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Lowe's will acquire 72 Orchard stores for approximately $205m in cash, plus the assumption of payables owed to nearly all of Orchard's supplier partners. Lowe's expects to close the transaction by the end of August.