Predictive Analytics

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly using a proprietary machine learning solution to analyze online customer reviews and present newer and more relevant reviews first. According to CNet, the system takes into account factors such as newness, whether the review was written by a verified Amazon purchaser and how many customers found the review helpful.

Whether buying online or in the store, consumers today want more control over their shopping experience. If they could have greater control, the number one aspect that consumers would change is the frustration of waiting in a long checkout line in store. In fact, industry research has shown that 52% of consumers say they would actually take their business elsewhere if their checkout wait times exceed five to 10 minutes.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- There is a disconnect between IT and loss prevention departments when it comes to budgets, focus and staffing, according to a study by IHL Group and Axis Communications.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – Retailers are increasingly placing a high value on competitive price intelligence.

A new survey of 123 retailers from RSR Research co-sponsored by 360pi, “Pricing 2015,” indicates 59% of respondents reported competitive price intelligence as very valuable.

The survey also shows that competitive price intelligence was cited as the top intent for change at 34% of “retail winners” and 50% of “retail laggards.” Additional takeaways include:

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid's first-quarter earnings plunged 55%, mainly on costs tied to a $2 billion acquisition. The chain also lowered its full-year profit outlook.

The drugstore chain in February announced that it would buy pharmacy benefits manager EnvisionRx.  Rite Aid said it expects the deal, expected to close by the beginning of July, to increase its annual revenue by as much as 18.6%.

The retailer earned $18.8 million in the quarter that ended May 30, down from $41.4 million in the year ago period.

Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups that offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Chain Store Age’s Customer Disruption newsletter provides a Q&A with the CEO of one of those companies in each issue. This time, the spotlight is on Will Summerlin of Pinn.

What does your company do?

Membership buying club DirectBuy Inc. takes an unusual approach to retailing. It offers paid members the chance to directly purchase goods from manufacturers and wholesalers, without paying retail markup

So perhaps it is to be expected that 50-plus-store DirectBuy, which also offers online and in-home shopping options to its 250,000-plus members, approaches business intelligence (BI) a little differently, as well.

Somerville, Mass. – Almost all (91%) of marketers either use or intend to use personalization for online customer interactions within the next year. According to a new survey from real-time personalization provider Evergage, nearly one in two marketers surveyed (49%) intends to increase their budgets for personalization in the year ahead, with 80% planning to increase them significantly (by more than 10%).