Predictive Analytics

Emeryville, Calif. -- Lyris announced that Crew Clothing, Britain’s leading retailer for casual outdoor clothing, has selected Lyris to power data-driven engagement across every customer interaction. Using Lyris ONE, Crew Clothing expects to improve synergies across channels, enhance targeting using Lyris integrated marketing analytics and experience immediate revenue improvements by increasing email open rates by 10% and email conversions by at least 25%, the provider said.

Reston, Va. -- For the holiday season-to-date, $26.6 billion has been spent online, up 13% versus the corresponding days last year, according to comScore. The firm predicts that Green Monday (Monday, December 10, 2012) is likely to be one of the heaviest online spending days of the season and a headliner for what is expected to the busiest online spending week on record.

Online sales are up 13% so far this holiday season and approaching a record $27 billion, according to the latest tally from the digital measurement firm comScore.

From November 1 through December 7, comScore puts total online spending at $26.8 billion, up 13% from $23.7 billion during the comparable period last year. Last week saw spending on December, 3, 4 and 5 each surpass $1 billion, according to the firm. That brings the number of billion spending days to seven. The highest volume day so far was Cyber Monday when sales hit nearly $1.5 billion.

Framingham, Mass. -- The omnichannel retail experience figures prominently in IDC Retail Insights’ Top 10 Predictions for the Retail Industry 2013. A hallmark of IDC’s offering for three decades, the annual report provides IDC's outlook on the IT market, across industries, in the coming year.

Online holiday sales continue to set new sales records, according to digital measurement firm comScore, and Walmart is presumably sharing in that growth given its site typically ranks second only to Amazon in terms of traffic.

Total U.S. Shopper Traffic in Retail Stores and Malls for November 2012

Shopper traffic in November increased as Black Friday weekend sales promotions — and the Veterans Day holiday earlier in the month — drew shoppers into retail stores.

As a result, the month saw an 18 percent increase in retail foot traffic compared to October. November 2012 continued a trend of year-over-year improvements with a 6 percent increase in retail foot traffic when compared to the same month last year.

Reston, Va. -- Online holiday spending reached $21.4 billion for first 32 days of the November-December shopping season, up 14% year-over-year, according to comScore.

The most recent week saw three individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Cyber Monday, which became the heaviest online spending day on record at $1.46 billion. However, growth rates softened considerably in the wake of Cyber Monday and through the weekend.       

SmartWatch is the name of a new risk-monitoring tool LexisNexis created to help supply chain management professionals keep tabs on potentially disruptive events.

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM announced Tuesday the closing of its acquisition of Kenexa, a provider of recruiting and talent management solutions, for approximately $1.3 billion.

IBM said that Kenexa complements its strategy of bringing relevant data and expertise into the hands of business leaders within every functional department, from sales and marketing to product development and human resources.

By Tom Rittman, Theretailequation.com

The holiday season is often considered the most wonderful time of year, but as retail sales soar, so do returns. And don’t be fooled by a seemingly valid receipt. Savvy fraudsters know how to prey on holiday cheer costing retailers thousands of dollars in fraudulent returns and exchanges.