Consumer Analytics

Digital coupon use is at an all-time high with more than 2 million Meijer shoppers now subscribed to the free mPerks program, and Meijer has made significant investments to make digital savings easier for its customers.  

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer now has free Wi-Fi capability in all its stores, making it easier for customers to access their mPerks accounts and the Meijer mobile app, freeing up their smartphone data plans for other uses.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – Retailers are most likely to use data for planning, but a majority of retailers do not have a long-term enterprise business intelligence (BI) strategy in place that meets their needs. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Retail Analytics Moves to the Frontline,” 57% of retailers think planning and executing more effectively is a top use of data, followed by managing customer relationships (47%) and reporting results of business activities (44%).

Hearts On Fire is showing off its new store design at the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pa. The location is part of Hearts On Fire's global expansion plan, and is designed to transform the way consumers relate to and buy fine diamond jewelry in malls nationwide.

By Netta Kelvis, head of marketing, Custora

[Editor’s Note: Custora has released its Holiday 2013 E-Commerce Recap, which is based on the company’s real-time dashboard aggregating data from over 100 U.S. retailers. Here's a blog post by Custora’s head on marketing summarizing the recap's highlights.]  

By Rosie Poultney, 89 Degrees

As businesses try to figure out how to best use all the extra information flooding in from the omni-channel world, segmentation is a hotter topic than ever. Looking back at our conversations with clients in 2013 on the best segmentation approaches to help build their businesses, some key themes stand out. Here are those five key points, each of which will continue to be important in 2014 and for many years to come:

1. One is Never Enough

Seattle – Amazon.com has reportedly obtained a patent for “anticipatory shipping,” or a logistics technique using customer behavior and history to prepare items for shipping before they are actually ordered. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon received the patent in December 2013.

Amazon has reportedly obtained a patent for “anticipatory shipping,” or a logistics technique using customer behavior and history to prepare items for shipping before they are actually ordered. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon received the patent in December 2013.

New York – Neiman Marcus reportedly first experienced a data security breach in July 2013 and did not fully resolve the issue until Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. According to the New York Times, in a private call with credit card companies held Monday, Jan. 13, the time stamp on the first breach indicates it took place in mid-July.

New York – The retail industry may be facing a major threat by hackers targeting sensitive consumer data held by numerous chains. According to Bloomberg, a report from security company iSight Partners says multiple groups of hackers have been targeting retailers since June 2013 using a piece of software known as Kaptoxa.

New York -- Neiman Marcus Group on Thursday posted a statement on its website in which it said that, to its knowledge, customers' Social Security numbers and birthdates were not stolen during its holiday security breach. Last week, the retailer revealed that some of customers' payment information had been stolen and that the thieves had made unauthorized charges.