Predictive Analytics

Winter is coming — and not just to “Game of Thrones.”     A blast of cold air will move from the West Coast and across North America next week (Dec. 5-11), fueling demand for outerwear, gloves, hats, sweaters, heaters, and blankets, according to weather analytics company Planalytics.  

Kroger Co. lowered the higher end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast amid a “difficult” operating environment, marked by falling food prices and increased competition.    The nation’s largest grocery store operator reported net earnings of $391 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, and identical supermarket sales growth, without fuel, of 0.1% in the third quarter, which ended on Nov. 5. Net earnings in the same period last year were $428 million, or $0.43 per diluted share.  

Cyber Monday has made history — again.   With shoppers spending $3.45 billion online on Cyber Monday, Nov. 28, a 12.1% jump year-over-year, sales not only surpassed predictions, but made this the largest Cyber Monday shopping event to date, according to Adobe Digital Insights, which aggregated data from 23 billion visits to retail websites.  

More Amazon Prime shoppers skipped the Black Friday hype this weekend than ever before.   Only 59% of Prime members ended up shopping in-store on Black Friday, down from 65% last year. This drop represented a 9.2% year-over-year decline.   This message was delivered in a survey conducted by InfoScout. The study, which was conducted the day after Black Friday, tapped 2,000 shoppers.  

When it comes to holiday inventory, most retailers use their intuition and industry knowledge to make their sales projections, plan their promotional calendar, and schedule product reorders. This was fine when the season’s promotions were merely percentages off and customers purchased products in stores. But as the retail world becomes more complex, so too must retailers’ holiday plans. With an estimated 40% of retailers’ yearly profits on the line, intuition this holiday season just isn’t enough.  

To cut through the noise in a cluttered marketplace, Express Gifts is getting personal.    With 35,000 products sold and a growing online presence, web-based sales continue to drive significant turns for Express Gifts. However, to understand and influence their online visitors, the gifting retailer knew personalization was critical to extend the loyalty of their existing customer base, and increase market share.  

Frustrating digital experiences will land brands on the naughty list this holiday season.   In fact, 81% of frequent online shoppers said they have previously been frustrated with slow-loading websites, mobile sites or native mobile apps, with over three-quarters (76%) saying if a retailer’s web site or mobile site performs poorly they tend to avoid shopping there again.  

Cyber-criminals will be up to no good this holiday season, and they are using the Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) shift as their way in.    The EMV mandate may be adding a layer of protection at store-level, however, it is increasing card-not-present (CNP) fraud for digital retailers. In fact, global retailers can expect 12% growth in online fraudulent activity in the upcoming holiday season, compared with the same period last year.  

Walmart has fired the first shot in the Cyber Monday wars.   The discounter said it will launch its “Cyber Week” sales several days early this year, with the first round to be offered on Friday, Nov. 25, at 12:01 a.m. (EST).   In announcing the deals, Walmart noted it has nearly tripled its online assortment to more than 23 million products from 8 million last year, with the growth partially driven by the increase in the chain’s third-party sellers.