IBM

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM announced it has completed the acquisition of Vivisimo, a leading provider of federated discovery and navigation software that helps organizations access and analyze big data. Financial terms will not be disclosed.

Armonk, N.Y. -- Survey results released Thursday by IBM said that Americans are increasingly upbeat about their plans for the Memorial Day weekend, with a huge increase this year in the amount of people talking about traveling and spending compared to last year.

According to the IBM Social Sentiment Index, the "Desire Ratio" – the proportion of positive versus negative comments about shopping – increased by a factor of five for this Memorial Day compared with last year.

Milwaukee -- The Milwaukee office of Opus Development Corp. said that Hallmark Gold Crown will occupy the final space of its Shoppes at Fox River Phase I retail development in Waukesha, Wis.

The addition of Hallmark makes the 273,000-sq.-ft. Phase I 100% occupied, including a 132,000-sq.-ft. Target and a 60,000-sq.-ft. LEED-Silver certified Pick ‘n Save grocery store.

The seventh annual Best Companies for Leadership Study conducted by the global consulting firm the Hay Group ranked Walmart eighth.

Walmart’s eighth  place ranking on the top 20 list is one notch better than the prior year, but slightly below the company’s 6th place ranking in 2009 when it made the list for the first time.

ARMONK, N.Y. — Mobile commerce increased more than 13% in the first quarter of 2012, according to IBM's first retail economic indicator, a cloud-based analytics report, which examines the state of the online retail sector.

The increase in mobile commerce sales, along with improved consumer attitudes toward the digital buying experience, indicate that consumers will be shopping more with their smartphones and other mobile devices in the near future.

Other highlights of the report include:
 

Philadelphia -- McDonald’s and Wal-Mart Stores are among the Top 20 companies in the world for leadership, taking the No. 6 and No. 8 spots respectively, according to an annual study by global management firm Hay Group. The two chains were the only retailers to make the list.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM  announced a definitive agreement to acquire Tealeaf Technology, San Francisco, a provider of customer experience analytics software that helps organizations to gain intelligence and react more swiftly to consumer trends in today's digitally transformed marketplace. Financial details were not disclosed.

The acquisition is expected to close in second quarter 2012.

Armonk, N.Y. -- A report released Tuesday by IBM found that the U.S. online retail sector grew more than 6% in March 2012. This upswing in March closes a quarter in which online sales were down slightly from the same period in 2011.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire Vivisimo, a leading provider of federated discovery and navigation software that helps organizations access and analyze big data across the enterprise. Vivisimo is a privately held company based in Pittsburgh. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Milwaukee -- The Milwaukee office of Opus Development Corp. announced that T.J Maxx, Ulta Salon, Rue 21 and Charming Charlie’s will be the first tenants in the second phase of its Shoppes at Fox River retail development in Waukesha, Wis.