Consumer Analytics

Tampa, Fla. -- MarketYze, a provider of pricing and promotion intelligence solutions, is partnering with retail technology vendor Revionics Inc. to launch the Competitive Data Partner Program. The new program enables retailers to seamlessly incorporate all sources of competitive data into their competitive positioning strategies.   

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald’s USA will answer questions from customers through a multichannel effort called “Our Food. Your Questions.” The company invites people to submit their food questions via social media.    McDonald’s will respond with behind-the-scenes webisodes and other social content that provides facts on ingredients, how food is made and how it’s prepared in restaurants.    

By Gary Ambrosino, President and CEO of TimeTrade   Hidden in the onslaught of negative headlines about former retail heavyweights, like JC Penney and Sears, is a slew of less-publicized, good news from smaller—many formerly online-only—retailers that are not only weathering the storm but are thriving.   

Finish Line and IBM have created a new mobile app to enable the operator of more than 1,000 athletic footwear and apparel stores to fulfill its omnichannel vision.

Finish Line said the new app is focused on providing services and conveniences that reward its Winners Circle loyalty program customers with points and perks, reinforce brand interactions, improve customer service and sales and also provide  timely information about customers’ favorite product releases.

Smart machines, mobile and digital business transformation all weigh heavily in tech research giant Gartner’s top 10 predictions for IT organizations and users in 2015 and beyond.    Here is an overview of Gartner's top 10 trends:     1) By 2018, digital business will require 50% fewer business process workers and 500% more key digital business jobs, compared with traditional models.  

Price and promotion tracker Brand View has joined the Revionics’ Competitive Data Partner program to enhance the competitive intelligence available to retail clients.

Enterprise cloud commerce solutions provider Demandware has upped its predictive analytics game with the acquisition of CQuotient.

New York -- The news of the recent security breach at Kmart stores generated lots of comments from security experts.    Here is a roundup:         

Boston -- Dollar General maintains its overall opening price point leadership position in Kantar Retail’s fourth annual opening price point (OPP) study. For the third consecutive year, Dollar General‘s overall basket was the least expensive, edging out Walmart supercenter’s basket by 2.5%, representing a widening of the gap between the two in the 2013 study.   

New York -- Last week, SAP hosted its annual Retail Forum in the palatial confines of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. Within the elegant surroundings a lot of very practical and down-to-earth information about the latest retail IT trends was dispersed. Here are three tech trends retailers should pay extra close attention to.   Predictive Analytics