Consumer Analytics

Bag, Borrow or Steal, a specialty online retailer that allows consumers to buy, rent and sell luxury handbags and accessories, is all about creating a sense of community.

Women’s apparel specialist Christopher & Banks saw its online sales surge in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep the company from posting an even bigger operating loss than it did the prior year.

Everyone knows detecting fraudulent e-commerce activity is crucial, but how do you know when something is up?

Fraud detection provider Simility aggregated patterns across 500,000 browser-based devices throughout January 2016. Analysts looked for patterns in the 10,000 (or 2%) of those devices that were in the hands of fraudsters and contrasted those with the other 98% of devices in the hands of good or “organic” users.

Simility discovered seven anomalies that were leading indicators of fraud:

In an effort to stay competitive in a field crowded with big players, 27-unit, Minneapolis-based grocery retailer Lunds & Byerlys is creating a highly personalized omnichannel experience.

Lunds & Byerleys is partnering with omnichannel commerce technology provider Unata to launch a new e-commerce and digital customer engagement program. The seamless experience-based program is currently live in six locations with subsequent stores to be rolled out by the end of March.

San Antonio-based fast fashion retailer A’Gaci is all about staying current with trends.

Not only does A’Gaci maintain a close eye on what its customer base of 18-to-24-year-old women is wearing, but also on trends in-store performance. Operating 65 stores in 10 states and Puerto Rico with plans to add 20 more U.S. locations in the next year, A’Gaci needs a current view of what’s happening in its brick-and-mortar space.

There is an endless variety of ways hackers can attempt to gain access to retailers’ networks, but a few are particularly common.

In a new study, “Data Breach Digest,” Verizon identifies 18 different data breach scenarios drawn from analyzing more than 1,200 global cases investigated by the Verizon Risk Team in the past three years.

“There is a lot more commonality than most people realize,” said Chris Novak, director of investigative response, Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

Neiman Marcus has a lot invested in its brand, and is trying to ensure criminals don’t reap the profits.

In an effort to identify and block fraudulent messages from cybercriminals designed to look like communications from Neiman Marcus, the luxury retailer will deploy the Return Path Email Fraud Protection solution.

The Home Depot Inc. has reached a tentative settlement of consumer claims regarding a 2014 data breach that may have exposed personal and financial information of more than 50 million consumers.

Home Depot agreed to pay $13 million to reimburse affected consumers for out-of-pocket expenses and spend at least $6.5 million to offer 18 months of identity protection services for holders of cards that may have been exposed. The retailer also agreed to improve its data security and to hire a chief information security officer.