Consumer Analytics

Boston -- The current use of social media data by retailers for merchandise planning is limited, with only 39% using it for product development and only 35% using it for promotional planning.  

New York -- Consumer confidence in the North America region improved four points to 107 on the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index for the third quarter of 2014. Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively, with the latest results reflecting an outlook of cautious optimism.  

Atlanta -- Although 83% of consumers say most of their shopping takes place in-store, they still report a variety of disconnects between the in-store and online retail experience. According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from electronic shelf label (ESL) technology vendor DisplayData, 44% of U.S. consumers think retailers offer different prices online and offline.  

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- HSN Inc. beat Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income totaled $39.5 million, down 6% from $42.1 million in the prior year period.   A higher effective tax rate helped decrease profits at HSN. Net sales rose 5% to $837.5 million from $798.9 million. Digital sales were up 7% and mobile sales increased 37%, with mobile now representing 16% of HSN’s total business.  

Hangzhou, China –- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported net income of $494 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 39% from $803 million in the same quarter the prior year. Items including share-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets helped drive down net income.  

The pre-owned luxury goods auction platform Worthy.com has added new functionality to its live auction experience for sellers.

For the first time ever, sellers auctioning their luxury watches and jewelry online can watch their auction as it unfolds, while having access to the high-definition photos and professional description of the item being auctioned, according to Worthy.

Although 83% of consumers say most of their shopping takes place in-store, they still report a variety of disconnects between the in-store and online retail experience.

According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from electronic shelf label (ESL) technology vendor DisplayData, 44% of U.S. consumers think retailers offer different prices online and offline.

Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 360pi and JDA Software are partnering to optimize local pricing recommendations for retailers. This partnership integrates 360pi’s zone-based pricing intelligence for national and private label brands with JDA’s rules-based Strategic Pricing solution, part of JDA’s larger Price and Promotion Management portfolio.   

By Paul Rauker, VP of systems and controls at Daikin Applied  

San Jose, Calif. -- Verifone and MasterCard are providing Las Vegas taxi cab passengers with card-linked offers in a pilot program running from from Nov. 2-6. Targeted offers from merchants, in this case The Hard Rock Café on the Las Vegas strip, the Bali Hai and Royal Links golf courses and Dream Racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, are displayed to taxi passengers on VNET–Taxi TV screens integrated with Verifone payment terminals.