In an effort to strengthen its direct-to-consumer business, Nike has reimagined its retail experience. Located in the heart of SoHo at the corner of Spring and Broadway, Nike has debuted a 55,000-square-foot store that is spread across five floors.

Year over year, Target says it's surpassed expectations for 2016 thanks to investments in inventory data. Although the third quarter saw a 0.2-percent decline in sales from last year, its comparable digital channel sales grew 26 percent over last year.

To compete in the ongoing online retailing arms race, Walmart is bringing its sizable resources to bear to capture not only the U.S., but the global e-commerce market. CEO Doug McMillon recently laid out four priorities for the retailer as it looks to not only continue to dominate the physical retail space but make significant inroads in e-commerce: Make every day easier for busy families, operate with discipline, be the most trusted retailer, and deliver results and position the company to win.

To uncover which retailers have the best customer experience and which are lacking, consumer-opinion analyst Aspectiva examined the reviews of over 40 of the most popular e-commerce sites. Through the use of new AI technology, Aspectiva examined over 75,000 individual reviews, averaging over 1,800 reviews per site.

Shoppers are increasingly leveraging buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS) to get their digital orders in their hands as quickly as possible, but many retailers are still struggling with the logistical challenges. Walmart's latest pilot might be the answer.

Digital merchandising software company Coates Group has launched a virtual reality (VR) tool from a B2B perspective, allowing brands to physically see and develop new digital hardware and content within their own virtual store.

E-commerce software provider Two Tap has launched Two Tap Crossborder, a fully automated service that allows consumers outside of the U.S. to order products from American retailers just as easy as buying locally in their own country, the company announced. U.S. retailers can use the service to expand global sales to shoppers anywhere in the world without making changes to their existing infrastructure, Two Tap says.