Data Management

MOORESVILLE, N.C — Former Whirlpool executive, Kevin Summers, has been appointed chief information officer of Lowe's, effective July 9. Summers will report to chairman, president and CEO Robert Niblock. He replaces Michael Brown, who retired earlier this month.

Sustainability is a top priority for Walmart, and energy efficiency is central to its efforts. One of the chain’s three primary long-term objectives is to use 100% renewable energy. Walmart is actively working to meet that goal with projects that employ a wide range of technologies, from solar power to fuel cells, in development across the country.

Retailers and other building owners are caught between two powerful and conflicting forces: the need to lower energy and equipment costs, and the need to meet or exceed outdoor air ventilation regulations for the health and comfort of customers and employees alike. Indeed, studies have proven that outdoor air ventilation creates a healthier work environment. However, as outdoor air rates increase, so does the size, cost and operating expense of HVAC systems.

The term “cloud computing” generally means anything that involves delivering hosted computing services over the Internet. Here, the word “cloud” is used to refer to the Internet, most frequently depicted in diagrams as a cloud.

Macys.com has made a name for itself by analyzing consumer data to gain insight into its loyal shopper base. The retailer, which features more than 60,000 products online and leverages multiple digital channels to share product information cross-channel, has armed itself with a set of internal cloud-based, high-performance analytics tools designed to improve customer segmentation, market-basket analysis and real-time personalization cross-channel, based on a broader scope of product attributes.

The phrase “big data,” is all the rage these days and IBM made a major move to drive growth.

By Stephen J. Pargeter, [email protected]

Chicago -- Charming Charlie said Tuesday it has selected ShopperTrak to measure, analyze and deliver store-performance data for its nearly 200 locations.

ShopperTrak's Managed Service, which provides access to secure and anonymous foot-traffic data and actionable analyses, is currently being installed in all Charming Charlie stores and will continue through November 2012.

Dallas -- Patagonia said Thursday it has renewed its partnership with Epsilon, a subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corp., so that Epsilon will continue to provide comprehensive database marketing services designed to give Patagonia a better understanding of customers and improve cross-channel marketing campaign results.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM announced it has completed the acquisition of Vivisimo, a leading provider of federated discovery and navigation software that helps organizations access and analyze big data. Financial terms will not be disclosed.