Retail Roundup: M-Commerce Expands, OfficeMax and Safeway Partner, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Tickets.com makes shopping on cell phones easier -- Tickets.com is among the growing number of forward-thinking Web sites embracing the latest evolution in online retail: m-commerce. Ticket.com's new site, called ProVenueMobile, is located at Mobile.Tickets.com and is tailored for customers to access on their cell phones. The ticket vendor says the mobile-commerce site will help shoppers snag tickets that sell out quickly because the the buyer doesn't need to be by a computer to make a transaction. [Source: internetretailer]

OfficeMax and Safeway team up -- Two retail powerhouses joined forces Nov. 10 when OfficeMax Incorporated and Safeway Inc. entered into a partnership that will allow OfficeMax to to distribute products through approximately 1,600 Safeway grocery stores. As early as July, Safeway began carrying roughly 300 OfficeMax products in co-branded display cases. [Source: OfficeMax]

Boutiques feeling economic woes from all sides -- Boutiques are among the retailers feeling the harshest blow from the economic downturn thanks in part to increased competition from larger high-end retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus who are suddenly slashing prices to attract shoppers. Consumers who may have once filled their wardrobe with pricey fashions are no longer "behaving like Sarah Jessica Parker" from "Sex and the City," said Gary Wassner, CEO of Hilldun, a factoring firm that extends credit to designers. Hilldun has even stopped approving shipments to about 40 percent of the 5,000 retailers it deals with, up from about 25 percent previously, Wassner said. [Source: WSJ]

British retail industry continues to suffer -- British retail sales fell for the fifth straight month in October as troubles across the pond continued. The fall marked the biggest sales dip in British sales in more than three years, according to the British Retail Consortium. The survey showed that sales of apparel and footwear remained poor despite the onset of a cold, damp season, and Stephen Robertson of the BRC said "low consumer confidence" is reflected in the study's dire findings. [Source: guardian.co.uk]