Consumer Analytics

New York -- Facebook hopes to transform the way  customers communicate with retailers by re-inventing the customer service platform. Facebook and its partner Zendesk, a customer service platform firm, are teaming up to allow businesses to provide scalable and responsive customer service to the more than 600 million people worldwide who use Facebook's popular Messenger app. The social media giant is inviting retailers and other companies to develop software that allows customers to communicate instantly with them through Messenger.

Facebook is aiming to revolutionize the way customers communicate with retailers by re-inventing the customer service platform.

The tech giant is inviting retailers and other companies to develop software that allows customers to communicate instantly with them through Facebook Messenger. Facebook and its partner Zendesk, a customer service platform firm, are teaming up to allow businesses to provide scalable and responsive customer service to the more than 600 million people worldwide who use Messenger.

By Todd Weller, Hexis Cyber Solutions

For retailers, it’s now no longer a matter of “if” you will be compromised by a cyberattack, but “when” you will be. But they can mitigate the impact of attacks now and in the future by preparing a response plan with policy-based automation.

Washington, D.C. - The Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center  has expanded the capabilities of its Retail Information Sharing Analysis Center (Retail ISAC) with the establishment of an intelligence sharing portal managed by the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC).

Ann Arbor, Mich. – It probably takes less to satisfy the average consumer than it does to satisfy Mick Jagger, but even still, consumers can’t seem to get any satisfaction these days. According to new data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), the national level of customer satisfaction dropped 0.5% to 75.2 in fourth quarter 2014.

San Francisco – Sephora has chosen Vector Security as its partner while it focuses on technology upgrades to enhance loss prevention in its North American locations. Those upgrades include migration from analog to IP cameras, as well as conversion to newer alarm panels and electronic article surveillance (EAS) technologies.

Digital-first doesn’t mean digital-only. At least not anymore. Some brands have already embraced that lesson in a bold way, and many others are taking notice.

The rapid changes in the digital and mobile world are radically affecting consumer behavior, disrupting traditional means of retailer/consumer interaction and influencing buying behavior and payment options in an unprecendented way.

Capitalizing on these technological innovations means keeping a close eye on the ways in which innovations in technology are turning the retail world upside down. There is no better way to do this than attend Mobile World Congress.

New York – Multicultural consumers are growing in importance as the U.S. increasingly becomes a multicultural country. According to an upcoming study from Nielsen, “The Multicultural Edge: Rising Super Consumers,” multicultural consumers today are leaders in technology adoption.

Armonk, N.Y. – Mobile app use continues growing rapidly, but businesses are not keeping pace with security. According to new research from IBM and Ponemon Institute, nearly 40% of more than 400 large companies studied, including many in the Fortune 500, aren’t taking the right precautions to secure the mobile apps they build for customers.