Consumer Analytics

Despite privacy concerns, consumer will share data with companies if it saves them money or resolves customer service issues faster.    This was according to a recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of customer experience company [24]|7, which tapped 1,145 U.S. consumers.   Nearly half (43%) of consumers agreed that they would exchange personal data with companies to save money through personalized promotions, discounts or deals, followed by 39% looking for speedier issue resolution. 

Walmart has appointed Rahul Joshi as senior VP, customer care, U.S. eCommerce, effective immediately.       Joshi joins the discounter after more than 25 years at Citibank, most re-cently as the head of consumer operations in Asia, where he successfully led customer-focused teams. He reports to Marc Lore, president & CEO, Walmart U.S. eCommerce.   

As the industry makes the switch to EMV, data breaches and automation are driving online fraud more than ever.   In fact, e-commerce fraud attack rates have spiked 33% over the last year, according to the “2016 E-commerce Fraud Attack Rates,” from Experian. The report analyzed millions of e-commerce transactions and ranked the top states, cities and ZIP codes for shipping and billing fraud across the United States.  

A messaging app launched a new lens that could help drive shoppers through retailers’ doors.   Snapchat’s Snap to Store product is a geofilter that retailers can sponsor.    When Snapchatters use the retailer-specific overlay on their snaps and share it in their story, Snap analyzes who sees those branded snaps and tracks whether users — or their followers — visit the store, according to New York Business Journal.  

Google hopes its new visual search tools will become a new accessory for its fashion shoppers.    To assist customers eager to buy merchandise featured in online lifestyle images, Google introduced two new mobile image-based search tools this week that will help customers locate their desired pieces more easily.   

Shoppers hoping to get some great bargains at the 138 stores J.C. Penney has slated for closure will have to wait a little while longer.   The retailer told CNBC that due to improving traffic and better-than-expected sales at the locations on the closure list it has postponed the liquidation sales and shutterings.   The new closure date for the stores is now July 31, which is about six weeks later than Penney originally planned, the report said.   

Some of the biggest names in retailing and foodservice used experiences to encourage a high percentage buyers to visit at least once last year.   Specifically, Walmart, McDonald’s and Target had more than five out of six U.S. consumers shopping with them in 2016, according to “The Checkout Penetration Index,” from The NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking.   

Amazon’s third-party sellers are hackers’ latest victims.   In recent weeks, attackers targeted the growing population of third-party sellers on Amazon.com, using stolen credentials from dormant accounts to sell nonexistent merchandise at bargain prices, and then collect the cash, according to Fox Business.