Business Analytics

BJ’s Wholesale Club has selected CommerceHub’s unified platform to bolster its online assortment, fulfillment and delivery.    “We’re committed to delivering uncompromising value to our Members, and CommerceHub is a strong partner,” said Jackie Cunningham, VP of e-commerce at BJ’s Wholesale Club, which operates 213 stores in 15 states.   

Joining the ranks of progressive burger chains that are jumping on the experience bandwagon, Wendy’s has engaged Service Management Group to measure the customer experience in all of its North America and international restaurants.   

Construction spending in the retail sector saw a dip in June, according to a report by the Associated General Contractors of America, but the first half of the year recorded an overall gain.   Commercial (which includes retail, warehouse and farm) construction declined 1.6% in June, per the report, but climbed 8.6% year-to-date. Association officials said spending appears to have leveled off after a strong early start to the year prompted by mild winter weather conditions in many parts of the country.  

Mike McNamara isn’t shy about making changes.   Target Corp.’s chief information officer has launched a hiring spree aimed at turning Target into an engineering powerhouse.   Click here for more. 

Rent-to-own giant Aaron’s saw its revenues rise but profit drop in the second quarter, and the retailer said it would review its store base going forward.     

Kroger has reached a long-term agreement with IRI that will enable the firm to provide the nation's largest grocery chain with market measurment serices that further enhance its "Customer 1st" strategy.

In one of the largest acquisitions in its history, Oracle Corp. has agreed to buy cloud-software provide NetSuite for $9.3 billion, or $109 per share in an all-cash deal, the companies announced Thursday.   “Oracle and NetSuite cloud applications are complementary, and will coexist in the marketplace forever,” said Mark Hurd, CEO, Oracle. “We intend to invest heavily in both products — engineering and distribution.”  

Supervalu Inc. on Wednesday lower-than-expected profit for the first quarter amid ongoing efforts to spin off its Save-A-Lot division.   The supermarket operator reported a profit a profit of $46 million for the quarter, down from $61 million, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for charges related to the potential separation of Save-A-Lot and other factors, earnings declined to $53 million from $65 million last year.   Supervalu’s net revenue fell 3.9% to $5.20 billion.  

The world’s biggest online retailer took a big step to move drone deliveries forward.   Amazon has entered into a partnership with the British government that will allow the retailer to test and develop new drone delivery systems.  

While consultants have argued for decades that workforce management (WFM) is a mixture of art and science, it is neither. It comes down to profit and applying practical – not over-engineered – workforce management practices that enable higher performing retail operations.