FAO Schwarz Joins Other Brands on eBay

Upscale FAO retailer launched an FAO online store venue on Ebay. Consumers will be able to find some of the same FAO's products such as Radio Flyer Retro Rocket listed on the FAO website for $61.99 and free shipping available for sale on the FAO Schwarz eBay Store for $49.99 plus $6.91 for standard shipping.

According to Auction Bytes, FAO Schwarz set up an eBay store in August of 2010 and received more than 300 feedback ratings in December. So far, the store has a 99.2 percent positive feedback rating. The FAO Schwarz eBay store joins other brands such as Timberland, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, and Aldo, which also sell directly on eBay.

The FAO eBay store, found at stores.ebay.com/fao, is powered by ChannelAdvisor, TrueAction (GSI Commerce), and Frooition, reports Auction Bytes.

In the interest of broadening this segment of its business model, eBay has been encouraging larger retailers and designer brands to sell on its site, offering them special pricing and marketing perks such as exclusive email marketing campaigns.

FAO Schwarz joins brands such as Timberland, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein and Aldo in selling directly on the eBay website.

April 2010 Retail Sales Movin' On Up

Retail sales continued an upward climb in April, showing much more consumer confidence compared to this time last year.

The Commerce Department says April retail sales rose 0.4 percent last month...better than the 0.2 percent increase economists had expected but far below the 2.1 percent surge in March. This overall gain marks the seventh straight monthly increase.

According to the National Retail Federation, April retail industry sales (which exclude automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants) increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted over March and 4.6 percent unadjusted year-over-year. With a constantly-shifting Easter holiday, retailers typically look at March and April sales combined to gauge consumer spending. Sales for the two months increased 5.6 percent unadjusted over last year.

“The slow road to recovery is turning into a sprint as retailers experienced a nice bounce in April,” said President and CEO Matt Shay. “But maintaining this sales momentum will be challenging. Until our economy begins to create jobs and reduce unemployment, the breadth and sustainability of this recovery remains uncertain.”

“Spring shopping and seasonal weather helped boost sales last month,” said Rosalind Wells, Chief Economist for NRF. “Spending on discretionary items had fallen by the wayside these last few years and we are encouraged to see consumers dipping into that pot once again.”