Sales & Marketing

Groupon has named Parker Barrile as its SVP of product. He will lead Groupon’s global product teams focused on Web, mobile and design.

“Parker brings tremendous value to Groupon both as an entrepreneur and an established, effective product leader in global tech organizations,” said Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky. “He will help us evolve our local commerce platform to further engage our customers and help make Groupon a premier online shopping destination.”

San Mateo, Calif. - Feedzai, a data science company that uses real-time, machine-based learning to analyze Big Data to prevent fraud, has developed e-commerce apps for the Shopify and Big Commerce platforms. The Feedzai apps on Shopify and Big Commerce provide online retailers with real-time information to determine the legitimacy of an order.

GNC has appointed senior retail industry executive Michael G. Archbold as CEO and member of the board, effective immediately. Archbold replaces chairman, president and CEO Joseph Fortunato, who is leaving the company and has stepped down from the board.

Lead independent director Michael Hines has been elected non-executive chairman.

Pittsburgh -- Smartphone-generated revenue by consumers to retailer smartphone-optimized websites was up 97.6%, from July 2014 versus July 2013, according to Branding Brand, a mobile commerce platform.  

The firm’s Mobile Commerce Index for July 2014 shows that smartphones generated 34.9% of total online visits (61.8% iOS, 37.4% Android) up 19.9% from July 2013. Meanwhile, the market share of non-mobile (desktop) visits decreased 13.7%, from July 2013 to July 2014.

A city with a booming population, one of the nation’s lowest unemployment figures, and an expanding presence on the national and international stage, Houston, Texas is on this rise. Already the fourth largest city in America, Houston has been recognized in recent years as a social and economic powerhouse that deserves to be considered alongside iconic cities like New York and Chicago. Unsurprisingly, Houston’s retail development growth has been a big part of its ascendance.

J. C. Penney is expanding its New York footprint with the opening of its first-ever store in Brooklyn. The store will have design elements and innovative features not found in any of its other stores, according to the retailer.

Salt Lake City - Overstock.com Inc. is launching a partnership with Give Back Box, a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitate charitable donations. Through the partnership, Overstock.com gives customers the ability to re-use the box in which their order arrived, along with Give Back Box's free shipping label, to ship used household items directly to non-profit organizations across the U.S.

Deerfield, Ill. – Same-store sales at Walgreen Co. rose 5.2% in July. Walgreens had July sales of $6.39 billion, an increase of 6.1% from $6.02 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Total front-end sales increased 1.4% in July compared with the same month in fiscal 2013, while same-store front-end sales increased 1.1%. Same-store customer traffic decreased 2.6% while basket size increased 3.7%.