Consumer Analytics

When specialty retail apparel chain Express issued its fourth quarter guidance in early December 2013, it anticipated a promotional holiday season as well as a slowdown in traffic after the Thanksgiving week. What the company encountered, however, was a drop in traffic that was even deeper than expected because consumers waited until much closer to Christmas to shop.

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San Jose, Calif. -- The full months of November and December 2013 suffered a brick-and-mortar customer traffic decline as compared to the same two months in 2012. According to new analysis from RetailNext, average sales decline remained at low single digits, which was aided by average growth in average transaction value (ATV) and a slightly positive 0.2% point increase in conversion.

New York -- From mobile devices to social media to 24/7 connectivity, it’s a brave new world for retail — and one that Chain Store Age will explore at its first-ever Customer Disruption event, May 7-9, 2014, at Sofitel Hotel, Redwood Shores, Calif., the Gateway to the Silicon Valley.

By Scott Jennings, director of market development, Retail & Services, QlikTech

Omni-channel is one of the most discussed (and debated) topics in the retail industry. Some proclaim that it is a total game changer, while others say it is simply the rebranding of a multi-channel strategy. I would argue the omni-channel concept is going to redefine the future of retail business intelligence.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Super Markets Inc. has expanded its Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse to accommodate growth and more complex analytics. The upgrade moves the data warehouse functionality beyond traditional strategic analysis and into tactical operational intelligence.

The expansion includes the latest Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse platform, database software, and services. The new platform is designed to enable quicker reaction and response to changing business conditions and consumer behavior.

Dallas – A majority of consumers find point-of-sale (POS) prompts, such as discount alerts on their mobile devices an invasion of their privacy. According to a recent website poll from CompuCom, respondents were asked, “Do you find point-of-sale technology prompts, such as a customized alert for discounts upon entering a store”: 63% said it is Big Brother-ish/intrusive while 37% said it is helpful and cool.

The poll collected 307 responses from IT professionals across multiple industries from Nov. 16, 2013 through Dec. 17, 2013.

New York – There were increases in total time to live agent, a metric that measures how long it takes o reach a human customer service representative, including time spent navigating interactive voice response systems (IVRs), during the initial aftermath of the December 2013 Target data breach.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. on Friday cuts its profit forecast on the heels of disappointing fourth quarter same-store sales. The retailer also disclosed that its previously announced data breach involved many more people was much wider than it initially thought.

New York -- Sales for the November-December holiday period increased 3.0%, based on a tally of monthly reporting firms compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centers. The rise came despite the extreme weather across much of the United States during prime holiday shopping time, and a shortened holiday season.