Predictive Analytics

Deerfield, Ill. — Market6, a provider of Web-based retail analytic applications, is introducing Market6 Vantage, a suite of retail analytic applications that automate and simplify joint business planning and retailer/supplier collaboration. Vantage is designed to enable retailers and their suppliers to streamline their collaboration efforts to build and execute more effective and profitable shopper-centric merchandising plans.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. — Shopatron, a provider of cloud-based distributed order management solutions, is releasing a free inventory visibility API. Shopatron Retailer Inventory Lookup is a cloud-based solution that offers enterprise-wide inventory visibility and also provides retailers with actionable analytics to improve in-store operations, stocking, merchandising and product marketing.

The solution enables retailers to instantly connect customers with local, available inventory.

Mindshare Technologies acquired Empathica last year, rebranded the company as InMoment and launched a new customer experience optimization platform called the Experience Hub.

While the mantra of “keep it simple, stupid” has long been a staple in the world of business, the message of the recent SAP Sapphire 2014 conference in Orlando could be summed up as “keep it simple, smart.” Speakers throughout the three-day event stressed how leading-edge technology allows enterprises to operate with a previously unavailable simplicity and flexibility, providing new and exciting capabilities.  Here are a few examples.

Shopzilla, a leading platform that connects 50 million retail shoppers monthly with online marketers, has consolidated three marketing-centric business units — Audience Discovery and Activation Services — under the Connexity brand name.

“Connexity will uniquely combine consumer insights and media buying within the same programmatic platform, helping marketers to learn more about their customers, discover valuable audiences, and activate new consumers at scale,” the company said in a statement.

Retailers and mall owners looking for innovative solutions to understand their performance in context have a new ally in ShopperTrak.

The leading global provider of consumer behavior insights and location-based analytics recently announced plans to launch a customizable benchmarking product called Market Intelligence as part of its Performance Analytics offering.

Portland, Ore. — Between 60 and 80% of mobile device users commonly allow mobile location-sharing, with an average location opt-in rate of 62%. According to a study from mobile relationship management software provider Urban Airship, 51% of mobile device users also opt into push notifications.

Opting into both location and push notifications are necessary in order to receive messages based on beacon proximity, current location or location history.

New York -- Mobile shopping, same-day delivery, and growing volumes of data from online channels are forcing retailers to a tipping point to remain competitive and better respond to evolving customer needs and preferences, according to a new research report by Capgemini Group.
 

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples announced the opening of its Development Center in downtown Seattle. One of two Staples’ west coast offices, the new center is made-up of e-commerce and engineering teams responsible for driving major initiatives to enhance areas including search, SEO and personalization.

Staples plans to open a development center in downtown Seattle, near the Pioneer Square/International District — its second in the West Coast — staffed with e-commerce and engineering teams, which will be responsible for enhancing search, SEO and personalization.