Business Intelligence (BI)

Portland, Ore. -- Survey results released Monday by Infogroup Targeting Solutions and Yesmail Interactive found that almost 70% of companies plan to spend more on data-related marketing initiatives in 2013, with a heavy emphasis on hiring.

More than half of the respondents surveyed said they plan on adding new employees to oversee their data efforts this year, including analysts and executives.

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Staples has launched the Staples App Center, an online marketplace for cloud-based business applications.

The App Center will allow small businesses to purchase and manage their apps all in one place. The center boasts a selection of business apps, an administrative console and one consolidated bill.

By Bruce Jones

The 2012 holiday shopping season featured stores opening earlier on Thanksgiving, extended hours shopping marathons, and, according to the National Retail Federation, an additional 585,000 to 625,000 seasonal retail workers.

TAMPA, Fla. — Sterling Payment Technologies, a leading national payment processor, has appointed Jeffrey Akeson to executive director of third party/ISO sales.  

Sterling Payment Technologies is a customer-focused payment processor which provides merchants with a complete range of electronic payment services, including credit, debit, PIN debit, fleet, gift card and proprietary rewards and loyalty programs. The company combines POS technology and value-added merchant solutions.

NEW YORK — Dell has unveiled its first end-to-end cloud solution which enables retailers to seamlessly move to an in-store cloud environment.

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN announced a complete re-launch of the company's digital channels - elevating the customer experience by making the retailer's platforms faster, more efficient, and even more social. The re-launch is part of a comprehensive, multi-platform digital redesign that has been in development for more than a year. It enhances the customer experience, not just on the top 10 most trafficked e-commerce site HSN.com, but across all mobile devices, including tablets, android and Windows 8.

NEW YORK — Yomari and Predictix will join forces to deliver merchandising and analytics solutions to large and midsize retailers.

Yomari is a leading independent professional services company focused exclusively on analytics, business intelligence and data warehousing for the consumer value chain. Its customers include Dressbarn, Gander Mountain, Petco, REI and Williams-Sonoma.

NEW YORK — Online retailers are focused on retaining existing shoppers by giving them a better online shopping experience.

As shoppers become increasingly connected, online retailers are developing strategies to increase web conversion and loyalty.

According to the 2013 Shop.org/Forrester Research Inc. State of Retailing Online survey, 51% of retailers surveyed say their top priority for 2013 is site optimization, including checkout optimization, alternative payments, user experience, testing and product detail page enhancements.

NEW YORK — Global technology startup Synqera has launched Simplate, an in-store point-of-sale terminal that provides real-time business-to-consumer media communications, at the National Retail Federation’s 102nd Annual Convention & EXPO.

Synqera describes Simplate as one of the first interactive POS terminals that uses big data, such as customer preferences, behavior, demographics and purchasing information, to provide personalized media communications for on-the-spot marketing.

ATLANTA — National sporting goods retailer Hibbett Sports has selected a business intelligence platform developed by QuantiSense, which will allow it to leverage retail analytics so it can improve local assortments across all physical stores.