Consumer Analytics

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores named Cindy Davis as executive VP Global Consumer Insights. In the position, she will lead the newly created Global Customer Insights team, helping both Walmart and Sam's Club understand broad consumer trends, provide insight into customers' needs across the world and create advanced analytical tools to support the business.

Davis most recently served as executive VP membership, marketing and e-commerce at the Sam's Club warehouse store division. A successor in that role will be named at a later date, Wal-Mart said.

New York City -- Information Builders, a provider of business intelligence solutions, announced that Helzberg Diamonds has standardized on the WebFocus BI platform to provide advanced analysis and reporting capabilities to managers at 230 stores across the United States.

New York City -- The California Supreme Court says merchants in the state can no longer ask credit-card customers for their ZIP codes, the Associated Press reported.

New York City -- One-third (29% ) of consumers across eight major economies have been victims of credit-card fraud in the past five years, according to the 2010 Global Card Fraud Survey by ACI Worldwide, an international provider of payment systems.

Word out of Minneapolis this week courtesy of a Bloomberg story is that Best Buy plans to emulate Walmart’s pricing model in order to confront the issue of price transparency and simplify its operations. Smartphone wielding shoppers armed with price comparison apps have quickly changed how consumers shop and make purchases of highly considered items, such as those which dominate the product mix at Best Buy or in Walmart’s electronics department.

By Lindsay Carpen, [email protected]

NEW YORK-- Barneys New York has launched a new editorial site called "The Window," which will reside on Barneys.com. According to the company, The Window will give viewers "a unique and expertly cultivated view into the worlds of luxury, culture, beauty and the people behind the most celebrated design houses, through interactive features and exclusive content."