Business Intelligence (BI)

Whole Foods Market opened its third store under its new banner, 365 by Whole Foods Market, on Wednesday, in Bellevue, Washington.
 
The 30,000-sq.-ft. store boasts a strong digital presence, reported GeekWire, from digital signage to digital scales.
    

North American real estate owners and developers ratcheted up their green profiles markedly this year, though they still lag global trendsetters, according to the latest results of an annual sustainability study.   In GRESB’s annual environmental assessment of real estate developers and investment trusts, North American companies averaged a score of 59 out of a possible hundred, a five-point rise from last year and just shy of the global average of 60.  

Retailers can learn how to develop a strategic process for reducing one of their major facility operating expenses — energy — at Chain Store Age’s upcoming webinar, Understanding and Controlling Energy Costs in Retail.   

It happens all the time. A customer goes on a shopping spree, gets home and checks email — only to find a valuable promotion for a store she just left. In an era when time-starved customers are more digitally-savvy than ever before, retailers need to step up and manage a brand in total versus managing separate channels if they want to maintain loyalty.   

European consumers seem to be taking the adage, “buyer beware” very literally.

Unsure whether their online purchase will satisfy their needs until it actually arrives, 54% of shoppers reported they think about returning an item before they have even purchased it. And this mindset runs the gamut from decisions about apparel and electrical goods to home decor and furniture, according to “Making Money Out of Returns: The Essential Guide to Managing International Returns,” a report from fulfillment provider B2C Europe.

Kroger Co. posted second quarter earnings that topped expectations but the chain cut its guidance for the year citing ongoing price deflation.

"If you look at the price of milk, eggs and commodities like that, they're historically low. Meat continues to be deflationary and produce is on a deflationary trend," Kroger CFO Michael Schlotman said on CNBC on Friday.

Retailers have learned a lot of hard lessons from cyberattacks. Many cyberattacks successfully targeted the giants of the industry. Wanting to avoid the same fate, organizations are making significant investments in security technologies and educating their employees on best practices.

But what happens when these investments aren’t enough? While companies are becoming smarter in their security approach, hackers are also growing more sophisticated in their attacks.

Digital payment volume may be growing industry-wide, but there is still plenty of currency filtering through retail stores.  

Chain Store Age is pleased to announce that its sister brand, Retailing Today, has become part of a larger, more robust Chain Store Age, one with greater industry coverage and retail audience reach.   “With the merging of Retailing Today into Chain Store Age, readers and advertisers can expect a comprehensive brand representing the full range of omnichannel retail operations,” said Gary Esposito, group publisher, Chain Store Age.  

The ability to scale solutions as a means of meeting customer expectations is the name of the game in omnichannel success.    By adding a new cloud-based retail suite, DSW is modernizing its back-office applications, and adding a new level of flexibility, security and innovation required in an always-evolving omnichannel landscape.