Business Intelligence (BI)

Between buyer’s remorse, relaxed return policies and the substantial increase in online purchases (which come with an average return rate of 12%-15%), 3.5 billion items are returned to retailers each year. This adds up to around $260 billion of merchandise.

Livonia, Mich. - Pet Supplies Plus, a retail pet supply business with 320 stores in 25 states, positions itself as a smaller, convenient alternative to big-box competitors. Success requires proper product assortment always being available through all channels.

This summer marks the 40th anniversary of “Jaws,” the landmark movie that turned summertime into a season of blockbuster films, made Steven Spielberg a household name and still causes many people to think twice before taking a dip in the ocean.

In honor of the enduring legacy of Capt. Quint, Chief Brody, Hooper and of course Bruce the shark, here are three lessons “Jaws” offers retail analytics professionals.

Sam’s Club is taking its efforts to woo small business customers to social media.

The retailer is launching #SmallBizHelp, an interactive social media campaign that offers expert advice on starting and running a business.

Minneapolis – American Dairy Queen Corp. (ADQ) is doing its best to freeze out hackers and other security risks with a managed firewall solution from Netsurion. The remotely hosted platform helps ADQ provide security across a network of corporate and franchised stores.

If you’ve got a physical shop in the U.S., chances are you’re well acquainted with the upcoming deadline for getting an EMV card reader: October 1, 2015. And you’re probably also very aware that if you don’t have this device and complete all your compliance steps, you’ll be on the hook for all the painful chargebacks and related costs that come with fraudulent credit card transactions.

Lexington, Ky. – Papa John’s Pizza is getting ready for mobile communications. The pizza chain has selected the Red e App mobile communications platform to increase operational efficiency across its organization.

Red e App will give Papa John’s a dedicated channel to communicate and share files with corporate managers in more than 600 locations using a private, mobile-centric platform. Papa John’s is also planning to expand the service to franchise owners and operators in the future.

King of Prussia, Pa. - Magento, the e-commerce platform provider that is a division of eBay Enterprise, is partnering with New Relic Inc., is releasing an extension for the New Relic Software Analytics Cloud. The extension is designed to provide customers with a deeper understanding of their applications’ performance and customer engagement activities.

New York – Ever wondered what is really going on in the minds and lives of today’s college students? Barnes & Noble College, an operator of campus bookstores with more than 720 stores at college and universities nationwide, is accelerating its market research platform.

Expanded research access is intended to help the company’s partners, including colleges and universities, consumer brands and publishers, better understand the thinking, behaviors and expectations of current and future college students and faculty.

Toronto – Despite efforts by her previous employer to block the transition, former Kohl’s CIO Janet Schalk is joining Hudson’s Bay Co. in the same capacity. Schalk initially informed Kohl’s she would be leaving effective July 31 to take the Hudson’s Bay CIO post.