Predictive Analytics

Vinings, Ga. - Video’s ability to engage shoppers, and increase conversion rate and revenue, makes it a valuable e-commerce tool. According to a study of 26 retail clients during second quarter 2014 from video commerce solutions provider Liveclicker, the average order value (AOV) for customers that watch video on a product page is at least 50% higher than a site’s overall AOV for 57% of retailers.

Washington, D.C. – The holidays were at least moderately happy for in-store retailers. According to the Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) Index, in-store sales for the 2014 holiday shopping season were up 0.7% although sales decreased on Black Friday and Super Saturday weekends.

The number of transactions: actually declined 0.4%, but this was more than offset by a 1.1% increase in average purchase amount. Black Friday weekend retail sales were down -3.5%, while Super Saturday weekend retail sales were down -1.7%.

By Ulf Mattsson, Protegrity

Austin, Texas -- Revionics announced that Save Mart Supermarkets, which operates 221 stores under the banners of Save Mart, S-Mart Foods, Lucky and FoodMaxx, has entered into a multi-year agreement for Revionics’ SaaS-based price optimization solution and its advanced analytics services, including the key value item (KVI) analysis and store cluster analysis.

Armonk, N.Y. – Retailers are suffering fewer cyber attacks, but for hackers it is becoming a situation of quality over quantity. According to findings released by IBM, despite a 50% decline in the number of cyber attacks against U.S. retailers, the number of records stolen from them remains at near record highs.

Western grocer Save Mart Supermarkets plans to increase its shopper relevance by implementing new technology that ensures the operator of 221 stores prices more strategically, consistently and competitively.

Armonk, N.Y. – It was a very happy holiday for online and mobile retailers in 2014. According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark data for the 2014 holiday period (Nov. 1 - Dec. 31), online sales surged, as did mobile sales and traffic.

Online sales were up 13.9% from the same period in 2013. Mobile traffic accounted for 45% of all online traffic for the 2014 holiday season, an increase of 25.5% year-over-year. Mobile sales accounted for 22.6% of all online sales for the 2014 holiday season, an increase of 27.2% year-over-year.

Retailers are always looking for ways to operate more efficiently and it appears a similar philosophy is being employed by cyber thieves who covet their massive trove of personal information.

Pataskala, Ohio – Specialty apparel retailer Avenue Stores is turning its online customers into brand advocates by using ShopSocially’s referral marketing solution to generate referrals from its website users.    By encouraging users to connect with the Avenue brand on Facebook and share their purchases on social media, Avenue is driving word-of-mouth promotions resulting in a referral traffic that is converting at a rate as high as 28.48%.   

Washington, D.C. – Consumers research a purchase heavily online prior to making a purchase. According to a new study from business mentoring firm Score, almost all (97%) consumers search online for products and services.