Business Analytics

Boston – Email remarketing to online customers who visit e-commerce sites but do not make a purchase can significantly boost conversion and revenue rates for online retailers. According to a new report from the SeeWhy Conversion Academy analyzing 80 Demandware-based e-commerce sites, “The ROI of Email Remarketing for E-commerce and Brands,” on average, 97% of visitors to e-commerce sites don’t make a purchase.

Matthews, N.C. – Family Dollar Stores Inc. plans to close about 370 underperforming stores , cut jobs and lower prices on 1,000 basic items on the heels of a disappointing second quarter. The retailer is also slowing its new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to bolster its return on investment. It now anticipates opening 350 to 400 new stores as opposed to approximately 525 stores in 2014.
 

Pier 1 Imports president and CEO Alex W. Smith described fiscal 2014 as a transformational year for the company, emphasizing the company’s continued focus on its ‘1 Pier 1’ strategy, which has evolved its operating model from a broad portfolio of stores to a true omnichannel retail business.

But the company had a difficult fourth quarter marked what it described as an unusually high number of snowstorms, which impacted approximately two-thirds of its selling days in many of its key markets.

Stein Mart said that its March sales were unfavorably impacted by the shift of pre-Easter selling from March to April this year, as well as cooler-than-normal temperatures in many parts of the country early in the month.

Stein Mart’s total sales for the five-week period ended April 5 were $136.3 million, compared to total sales of $135.4 million for the prior-year period. Comparable store sales increased 0.9%.

Family Dollar plans to close 370 underperforming stores, cut jobs and lower prices on 1,000 basic items following a disappointing second quarter, which was adversely affected by the extra week in last year's quarter, severe weather, holiday promotions and a challenging consumer environment.

The company is also slowing its new store growth beginning in fiscal 2015 to bolster its return on investment. It now anticipates opening 350 to 400 new stores as opposed to approximately 525 stores in 2014.
 

Montreal – Dollarama Inc. reported an increase in sales, net earnings and same-store sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2014, compared to the same periods in the prior year. During the fourth quarter, net earnings rose 8% to $83 million from $77.1 million.

Meanwhile, sales rose 4% to $582.3 million from $561.9 million and same-store sales grew 1.1%. The addition of 89 net new stores, increases in same-store sales and average transaction size helped drive overall sales growth.

First it was signage and then came the freezer case and parking lots. Now Walmart and GE are moving forward with their biggest lighting initiative to date.

The companies announced plans to use GE LED lights in ceiling fixtures in hundreds of stores throughout the U.S., Asia, Latin Amerian and the United Kingdom. The new fixtures use 40% less energy than traditional overhead lighting systems and move Walmart forward on its goal of reducing energy required to power its buildings globally by 20% by 2020. It is Walmart’s largest purchase of GE LED lighting to date.

Sales and profits were as bad as Bed Bath & Beyond initially feared due to extensive weather related store closures during the company's fourth quarter ended March 1.

The company said sales during its 13 week fourth quarter declined 5.8% to $3.2 billion while same store sales advanced 1.7%. Profits during the 13 week period declined to $333 million, or $1.60 a share, compared to the 14 week period the prior year when profits totaled $374 million, or $1.68 per share.

Salisbury, N.C. – Delhaize America has entered into a multi-year agreement for Revionics Life Cycle Price Optimization solutions, which include Revionics Price Optimization, Revionics Promotion Optimization and Revionics Markdown Optimization. The agreement also includes Revionics Advanced Analytics services: key value item (KVI) analysis, item clustering and market basket analysis.

Dallas – Paragon Software Systems Inc., a provider of vehicle routing and scheduling optimization solutions, is introducing Paragon HDS (Home Delivery System) to the U.S. market. Paragon HDS is designed to enable home delivery and home service companies to offer more accurate delivery times while improving fleet efficiency.