Consumer Analytics

Modell’s Sporting Goods is playing to win when it comes to network security.

Operating more than 150 stores throughout the East Coast, New York-based Modell’s is protecting customer data and personal information residing within its infrastructure. Modell’s us using a software-based network security solution from Cyphort to actively monitor and detect suspicious activity.

Mobile technology is helping shoppers at Scranton, Pennsylvania-based Gerrity’s Super Market Inc. check out much more conveniently.

Gerrity’s is beta testing a checkout app from mobile grocery solution provider Skip. The app, which Gerrity’s is the first retailer to test, lets customers scan items with their phone and place it in their cart or basket. For produce or other items that need to be weighed, shoppers place the goods on Skip scales that weight them and present a barcode for the price.

Rite Aid has rolled out proximity beacons in more than 4,500 stores across the U.S., which, according to tech news website ZDNet, is the largest rollout of beacon technology ever in a retail setting.

As more millennials enter the real estate market and a rising number of homeowners invest in updating their homes, J.C. Penney is re-entering the appliance business.

The retailer announced that it will introduce a leading assortment of major appliances in 22 pilot stores beginning Feb. 1. Backed by customer research that reinforces the company’s decision to enter the appliance market, the pilot is one of several strategic initiatives aimed at improving its home department sales productivity, the company said.

Tiffany & Co. says weak tourist spending and a strong dollar hurt its sales results for the two-month holiday period.

The retailer said worldwide net sales declined 3% (due to declines in the Americas and Asia-Pacific offsetting growth in Japan and Europe) and same store sales declined 5%. There were no noteworthy differences in performance among jewelry categories, the company said. Reported in U.S. dollars, worldwide net sales of $961 million were 6% lower than the prior year.

Even in today’s expanding market of digital payment options, cash remains a leading payment form.

That’s according to a survey of over 1,000 consumers by Cardtronics. It shows that in spite of people having access to and using a greater variety of payment methods, cash remains widely used and frequently selected for making all sorts of payments.

Sally Beauty Supply is applying analytics to the literal consumer touchpoint where revenues are made -- the point of sale.

Sally Beauty is teaming up with prescriptive analytics provider Profitect Inc. to analyze sales and other data recorded at its in-store POS terminals. After a two-week implementation, Sally Beauty now has better insight into trends and patterns associated with areas of leaking profit, including shrink, damage, costing errors, waste, process mistakes, and lack of training.

In the next few years, retailers around the world are set to substantially increase their investments in e-commerce software, with five vendors spearheading the growth.

According to a new study from Research and Markets, the global retail e-commerce software market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.95% during the period 2014-2019. Research and Markets has identified Magento, Oracle ATG Commerce, PrestaShop, Shopify and WooThemes as the five key retail e-commerce vendors.

Big 5 Sporting Goods had a lackluster fourth quarter despite saying that cold weather in its Western markets drove strong traffic during the holidays.

For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 3, the company reported that net sales were $275 million, compared to net sales of $250.3 million for the 13-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. Same-store sales increased 0.1%. For the full year, net sales were $1.03 billion, compared to net sales of $977.9 million for the 52-week fiscal 2014 full year. Same store sales increased 1.3% for the fiscal 2015 full year.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is applying advanced analytics to better understand what products it should sell, and at what cost.

Dick’s is partnering with predictive analytics solutions provider First Insight, to help make faster and more accurate decisions in the areas of product design, merchandise buying and pricing decisions on thousands of goods and designs.