Data & Analytics

Amazon maintains price advantage on Prime Day
Early indications are that competitors didn't give Amazon much competition price wise Prime Day. The third annual shopping extravaganza, which kicked off on July 10 at 6 pm PST and was scheduled to run until the wee hours of the morning of July 12, was originally introduced as a way to reward existing Prime shoppers and attract new ones. With promises of new deals every five minutes, the company reported on Tuesday that customers worldwide are shopping at “record levels,” according to CNBC.
Office supplies giant makes big changes to loyalty program
Office Depot had one goal when updating its loyalty program: to make sure that every shopper is rewarded. The office supplies giant debuted its new loyalty program. Besides being free, the “Office Depot OfficeMax Rewards Everything” program is designed to save customers money, and deliver expanded benefits. The program evolved following a year-long pilot in several markets, a process that enabled the company to gather customer feedback needed to redesign the program.

No deal as teen apparel retailer decides to go it alone

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has taken itself off the selling block. The teen retailer said it has ended talks regarding a potential sale and will instead continue to focus on turning around its business as a standalone business.
Accessories retailer readies for international expansion

With plans to triple its store portfolio in six years, Parfois needs to expertly anticipate demand and gain global visibility into its inventory. By partnering with Oracle, the accessories retailer is one step closer to scaling its operations. Parfois added the Oracle Retail Merchandise Operations Suite and the Oracle Retail Warehouse Management System — two solutions that will support the company’s high growth and international expansion plans.
Penney launching new loyalty program, app

J.C. Penney is enhancing customer benefits in its loyalty program. The retailer is debuting a revample program that allows Sephora customers to double-dip on rewards and also allows earned points to roll over from month to month, reported the Dallas News.
BDO: The top risk factors for retailers are....

Consumer confidence remains strong, but that's not stopping retailers from worrying about the economy. General economic conditions ranked as a top risk factor for the 9th consecutive year in an annual ranking of the top 25 risk factors by retailers, cited by 100% of respondents. Cybersecurity and regulatory concerns shared the top spot with the economy.
Amazon adds Prime Now deals to Prime Day mix

Amazon wants to get Prime Day deals into shoppers hands even faster. The online giant has added exclusive deals related to its Prime Now service to its Prime Day shopping extravaganza — a move that will get qualifying purchases to members within two hours. These deals will begin on Saturday, July 8 (two days prior to Prime Day’s launch), and run through July 11.
QVC to acquire its biggest rival in $2 billion-plus deal

In a deal that will bring together two longtime home shopping rivals, QVC is acquiring the Home Shopping Network. Liberty Interactive Corp., owner of QVC, currently owns 38.2% of HSN parent HSNi. Under the agreement announced Thursday, Liberty will acquire the remaining 61.8% stake, making HSNi a wholly-owned subsidiary. The all-stock transaction has an enterprise value of $2.6 billion.
No June gloom for Costco

The nation's largest wholesale club operator reported strong sales for the month of June, both domestically and globally. Costco Wholesale Corp. posted net sales of $12.17 billion for the five weeks ended July 2, 2017, up 5% from $11.33 billion during the year-ago period. Total same-store sales were up 6%. In the U.S., same-store sales rose 6.5% in June. International same-store sales increased 6.2%. Canadian same-store sales rose 3.2%.
Amazon’s Biggest Bite Yet: In-Store Shopper Data

In ancient Greek mythology, the Amazon were described as a tribe of man-slaying women warriors. Similarly, today’s Amazon is sometimes described as a slayer – of brick-and-mortar stores – blamed for the demise of multiple retailers. So, it’s interesting that the company has offered to pay $13.7 billion for Whole Foods Market and its brick-and-mortar footprint of more than 460 stores.
Will Amazon fund an IoT network?

A potential partnership could help Amazon enter the wireless business — a move that could further streamline its digital services. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Charlie Ergen, CEO of Dish, reportedly may be considering partnering on a potential wireless project. With Amazon’s financial backing, sources said the team could create an Internet of Things (IoT) network, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Study: EMV is shifting fraud online

A new fraud pattern is emerging. For 84% of U.S.-based companies, EMV has lowered their fraud prevention costs. However, 52% of retailers said their card not present (CNP) losses are growing. This is according to the “2017 Global Payments Insight Survey: Merchants and Retailers,” from ACI Worldwide and Ovum. The study tapped 1,475 payments executives globally in December, 2016 -January, 2017.