Predictive Analytics

New York -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index which had declined in July, increased slightly in August. The Index now stands at 81.5, up from 81.0 in July.

Schaumburg, Ill. – Sixty-six percent of warehouses plan to expand their IT investments by 2018, a 71% increase in the number of warehouses currently planning an IT expansion. A recent survey of 328 warehouse IT and operational professionals in the logistics, manufacturing, retail and wholesale market segments also indicates that 26% of respondents reported that company management views warehouses and distribution centers as an asset that can drive growth for the business.

Other results of the Motorola Solutions Future of Warehousing Survey include:

ST. LOUIS — Brown Shoe Company saw a shift in sales to the second quarter from the third quarter which helped deliver net sales of $621.7 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 3, up 10% from $564.9 million last year.

Total m-commerce spending is poised to exceed $25 billion this year following a 24% surge in second quarter smartphone and tablet enabled sales that pushed estimated spending to $4.7 billion, according to digital measurement provider comScore.

The firm said m-commerce spending in the first half of the year totaled $10.6 billion, representing 10% of total digital commerce during that time. With the expected seasonal surge coming in the fourth quarter, m-commerce spending could surpass $25 billion for the full year, according to comScore’s estimates.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS Caremark is evaluating data on prescriptions filled at CVS/pharmacy to identify providers with extreme patterns of prescribing high-risk drugs. Providers who cannot offer a reasonable explanation for these patterns have their controlled substance dispensing operations suspended.

Armonk, N.Y. – Back-to-school sales may have been stronger than anticipated this year, judging by online sales performance in July and August. According to the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, online sales saw substantial gains from July through the third week in August, fueled by double-digit growth in mobile buying.

Specific findings for online sales activity in each month include:

July

New York -- Improvements in housing and labor probably helped boost U.S. consumer spending last month. A Bloomberg survey of 59 economists in advance of the official Commerce Department July spending figures on Aug. 30 indicates purchases of goods and services increased 0.3% last month after a 0.5% increase in June.

New York -- Hibbett Sports reported that profit surged 34% to $10.5 million in the second quarter, compared with $7.9 million last year and just edging Wall Street expectations.

Sales matched forecasts with a 13% rise to $186.2 million. Same-store sales edged up 0.3%.

But the sporting goods retailer lowered its full-year outlook, citing concern over consumer spending.

Redwood City, Calif. -- Sur La Table is deploying eCommera’s DynamicAction SaaS solution, which provides timely analysis of marketing, merchandising and inventory data, giving Sur La Table actionable insights and recommended business changes to improve omni-channel performance.
 

The National Retail Federation definition of September 2013 shifts the month one week later in the calendar when compared to 2012. This shift introduces a significant cooler bias in the forecast. Therefore, while the nation on a year-on-year basis trends cooler, most of that will be due to a calendar shift and not a change in the weather. Conditions are expected to be similar to 2012 when the shift is removed.