Retail Briefs

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 7/6/2009 12:00:00 AM

TJX Settles Cyber Security Suit

TJX Companies will pay $9.75 to settle a case with 41 Attorneys General related to a security breach in late 2005 that resulted in the theft of consumer credit card and debit card information. TJX established a reserve fund in 2007 to prepare for the settlement.

The company will pay $2.5 million to establish a Data Security Fund states can use to advance data security and technology. It will pay $7.25 million to cover expenses related to the state's investigations. TJX also agreed to certify that its system meets state-specific security requirements.

The international criminal investigation from the break-in produced 11 indictments by the U.S. Attorney last August. Two of the accused have pled guilty and two others have pled guilty to related charges, according to TJX.

Design Within Reach Intends De-listing from NASDAQ

Retailer Design Within Reach has told the NASDAQ stock market that it intends to de-list its shares from the NASDAQ Global Market.

The company said trading likely will be suspended on July 6, and the official de-listing will take place on July 16.

Following the de-listing, the retailer said its shares will trade on the over-the-counter "pink sheets," an electronic quotation service for companies whose shares are lightly traded.

Design Within Reach said it will continue to file quarterly and annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company said slightly more than 18,000 shares of its stock were traded during the past year - an amount that does not justify the expense and administrative burden of maintaining its NASDAQ listing.

In recent months, the company also has struggled to maintain the NASDAQ minimum price of $1 per share.

PayPal: Shipping Costs Cause Shoppers to Abandon Online Sales

PayPal released a survey that found 45% of online shoppers have ditched their carts multiple times over the past three weeks because of high shipping costs, lack of convenience and other concerns.

The online payment service provider found that 40% halted their transactions when they discovered the shipping fee. More than one-third said they stopped their transactions at check-out because they had not planned for the expense, while more than 25% left the site to search for a coupon.

About one-third of shoppers later returned to the same site to buy, and 25% completed their purchase either at a bricks-and-mortar store or at another Web site. Another 23% said the item they were searching for wasn't available at checkout, 22% cited inadequate customer support and 21% were concerned about the security of their credit card data.

In sharing the survey results, PayPal announced a new express checkout feature that allows retailers to show order details earlier in the shopping process.