Predictive Analytics

London -- Three cities in Germany are ranked the top five European markets for commercial real estate investment, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Munich took the top spot in the report, “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013,” followed by Berlin, London, Istanbul and Hamburg. The ranking of 27 cities across Europe was based on respondents’ expectations for market performance in 2013.

CHICAGO — One-in-five consumers between the ages of 35 years and 54 years are choosing products due to a loyalty card discount, SymphonyIRI Group reported Wednesday as part of its Q4 2012 MarketPulse survey. And almost one-third are forsaking their preferred brands due to a sale price. The survey found that shopper sentiment dropped to its lowest point since Q3 2011.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — Kohl's has engaged Oracle's services to integrate core retail operations across the company's 1,146 stores in 49 states.

Oracle solutions will help Kohl's by providing an integrated, scalable retail suite of applications to streamline merchandising and planning while enabling its multi-channel growth strategy.

The National Association of Home Builders sees the residential construction industry gaining momentum in a larger economy that includes a few wild cards.

At the International Builders’ Show here in Las Vegas, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association updated its 2013 housing starts forecast to 949,000 starts in 2013, up 21.5% from the prior year. At the end of January, the group had forecast 932,000.   

New York -- Pervasive computing, the ability to digitally engage and interact (via your mobile devices) with enabled objects around you, ranks among the top technology trend that will impact businesses this year, according to PwC’s just released “2013 Top 10 Technology Trends for Business” report.

Hartford, Conn. -- SCIO Health Analytics, a health analytics services company, has entered into a relationship with Walgreens to help employers gain maximum return on investment through worksite health centers and wellness programs, identifying opportunities to improve workforce health while also reducing costs.

Portland, Ore. -- Survey results released Monday by Infogroup Targeting Solutions and Yesmail Interactive found that almost 70% of companies plan to spend more on data-related marketing initiatives in 2013, with a heavy emphasis on hiring.

More than half of the respondents surveyed said they plan on adding new employees to oversee their data efforts this year, including analysts and executives.

Atlanta – Predictix announced that Crate and Barrel is implementing a broad suite of planning solutions from Predictix, including merchandise financial planning/merchandise financial management, assortment planning and item planning.

The Predictix solutions are being deployed across all Crate and Barrel brands — Crate and Barrel, CB2 and The Land of Nod — and will go live this quarter as part of a strategic plan to optimize the retailer's planning processes.