Business Intelligence (BI)

By John M. Pierre, Linguastat    The single greatest challenge that retailers face today is to have an individualized “conversation” with each customer and to do so on a global scale. Consumers expect a similar personalized experience regardless of channel, from the marketing offers they receive to the products that appear in search results.  

Jeffersonville, Ind. --  A majority of consumers (88%) say free shipping makes them more likely to shop online, while 30% shop online to find the best deal possible and 20% to avoid holiday crowds, according to a new survey from omnichannel customer engagement technology vendor Accent.   Other notable findings include:  

Milwaukee –- Roundy’s Inc. swung to a net loss of $249.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from net income of $3.2 million the same quarter a year earlier. A variety of impairment charges, including charges related to closing a distribution center, taxes and disposal of obsolete assets, drove Roundy’s into the red, along with higher operating and administrative expenses.  

By Jason Ausburn and Karl Fruecht   You’ve acquired a new storefront. While doing your final walk-through, you notice an unlocked door that opens to a side alley. You can’t use the alley for storage. It doesn’t give your customers an additional entrance. It’s just an additional access point.   How are you going to secure it?  

Robert Bacchi, Choice Logistics’ SVP of information systems has been named the company’s EVP and chief information officer. Bacchi will continue to report to Michael Katz, CEO of Choice.

Robert Bacchi, Choice Logistics’ SVP of information systems has been named the company’s EVP and chief information officer.  Bacchi will continue to report to Michael Katz, CEO of Choice.

New York --Facebook, You Tube, Instagram and WeChat are the most important social media platforms, according to a new report by business intelligence company L2 Inc. The company's second annual Social Platforms Report, which assesses the social investment and performance of 382 brands across eight verticals and 17 platforms, finds that Facebook is the most dominant platform.

 

By Paul Rauker

 

 

In a move to streamline operations at its 700-plus locations, Smoothie King Franchises Inc. is rolling out Revel Systems’ iPad POS solution across its entire store network. The company said it selected the Revel platform for its scalability, speed and user-friendly technology.

Armonk, N.Y. –- IBM projects a strong holiday shopping season with online sales projected to increase 15% during the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. The biggest increase in online sales is expected on Cyber Monday, predicted to grow 15.8%, followed closely by Thanksgiving with a projected increase of 15.6%.