Fewer Stores: H&M is planning to open fewer stores this year, as it looks to focus more on digital. The retailer says it will open roughly 390 new locations and close down approximately 170—resulting in a net addition of around 220 stores, which is a lower number than the 388 it opened in 2017. "Our online sales and our newer brands performed well but the weakness was in H&M’s physical stores, where the changes in customer behavior are being felt most strongly and footfall has reduced with more sales online," the company said in a statement.
Online Shopping: New data from Unata, looking at the online grocery landscape, found that nearly a quarter of US consumers bought groceries online in 2017. And more than eight in 10 respondents (85%) who shopped for groceries digitally last year did so more than once.
New Deal? Walmart is reportedly in talks to acquire a minority stake in India’s homegrown ecommerce platform Flipkart—Amazon's main competitor in the region. According to The Economic Times, Walmart may buy a 15% to 20% stake in Flipkart, and the deal could be finalized by March.