Consumer Analytics

Omnichannel marketers have gained a new personalization weapon to engage with shoppers thanks to a partnership between nGage Labs and Web Decisions.

The firms announced a new arrangement that combines nGage’s personalized mobile customer engagement capabilities with Web Decision’s omnichannel marketing database solutions to create a fully integrated database-drive mobile customer engagement solution.

The ability to develop actionable insights by listening to social conversations is among several powerful new capabilities that have been added to Microsoft Dynamics CRM portfolio.

Microsoft introduced a comprehensive set of new marketing and social listening capabilities to its Microsoft Dynamics CRM suite which are designed to help organizations match their customers to the right products and services, engage with them in the right way at the right time and nurture relationships.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has entered into a partnership with the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) to enhance cybersecurity information sharing and expand retailers’ proactive and vigilant approach to cyber threats to protect consumers against criminals.

Seattle — Pinterest will emerge as a stronger alternative to Facebook and Twitter, according to global research and analytics firm Blueocean Market Intelligence. The company analyzed the online data of the nation’s top 100 retailers from September through December 2013 as part of its on-going study assessing the business impact of top retailers’ social media efforts.

Based on the analysis, Blueocean Market Intelligence predicts the following top social media trends for the retail industry in 2014:

White Plains, N.Y. — Overall online shopping rose 8% during the week before Valentine's Day compared to the same period in 2013. Growth was particularly strong in the categories of gifts (up 20%), apparel (up 17%) and health and beauty (up 15%), and department stores (34%) compared to the previous year.

Dallas — Zuri Furniture has deployed Yottaa Engagement Cloud to optimize user engagement and business performance. To scale online operations in the U.S. and Canada, Zuri sought a solution that could offer immediate results in improved conversions and revenue.

Cheshunt, U.K. — Major British supermarket chain Tesco plc has reportedly been the victim of a data breach. According to CNBC, hackers have gained access to the personal data of more than 2,000 Tesco customers and posted it online.

Chicago — Consumers reportedly are not willing to pay higher fees for Amazon Prime subscription service. According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent survey of 300 current Amazon Prime members from research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners indicates fewer than half of members would renew their subscription at a higher cost.

Boston — Businesses are spending more money on and paying more attention to user experience research. According to a new survey of 1,300 marketing, product and user experience professionals from user experience technology provider Usertesting.com, 55% say usability testing budget increased in 2013.

Minneapolis — A “phishing” attack using an email containing malware reportedly enabled hackers to gain access to Target’s computer network in 2013. According to the security blogger Brian Krebs, an employee at the HVAC vendor Fazio Mechanical in Sharpsburg, Penn. which includes Target among its clients, opened a fraudulent email that allowed hackers to enter Fazio’s network and take over a computer.