Data & Analytics

As demand for American baby products increases among Chinese shoppers, Babyhaven not only saw an opportunity, it ran with it.   Babyhaven is an online retailer of baby and children’s merchandise in the United States. Like other brands however, the company is feeling pressure from competitors like Amazon, Walmart, and other traditional category retailers, such as Babies “R” Us, that can not only compete on price, but can offer speedier delivery windows.   

Free coffee was on the menu at some Starbucks locations on Tuesday, due to a point-of-sale software glitch.    What the coffee giant described as a typical software update ended up putting point-of-sale systems out of commission — and for longer than expected, in some locations. The outage began in the evening on Monday, May 16, and continued into Tuesday, May 17, according to CNBC.  

Urban Outfitters reported disappointing results for its first quarter, weighed down by heavy promotional activity at its namesake and Anthropologie banners.    The company’s net income fell 60% to $11.94 million, or $0.10 per share, down from $29.56 million, or $0.25 per share, in the year-ago period. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.16 per share,   

Southeastern Grocers’ announcement it would close six Bi-Lo stores in South Carolina leaves two Wheeler centers anchors, and the REIT has put out a call out for replacements.   CEO Jon S. Wheeler said his company would entertain a grocer or non-grocer to fill the vacancies at Cypress Shopping Center in Boiling Springs and Shoppes at Myrtle Park in Bluffton. Bi-Lo will shut down operations at the 47,260-sq.-ft. Cypress store and the 37,900-sq.-ft. Myrtle Park store in June.  

Regardless of how volatile the retail landscape is, brands must remain focused on driving customer engagement — especially if they want to survive.   This point was driven home during Manhattan Associates’ Momentum conference, held in Las Vegas, May 8-11. During the event, industry observers discussed how the future of retail will center around the customer — and delivering a seamless, personal experience moving forward.   

Snapchat’s newest filters are moving beyond the selfie.   The company is rolling out a new augmented reality ad division that lets users overlay marketers’ life-like filters on any photo they snap with their smartphone, according to ReCode.   Warner Brothers is the unit’s first advertiser, tying the lenses to promote its new movie, “Everything, Everything.” Dunkin Donuts and Netflix are next in line to launch the service, the report said.  

Amazon is celebrating two decades as a public company in a big way — as an enterprise worth nearly $460 billion.   The retail giant, which began as a modest online bookstore, went public on the Nasdaq in an IPO valued at a modest $438 million. Today, Amazon has grown into an empire that not only sells books, but has become a major player across categories, including clothing, food, furniture, jewelry, private-label goods and electronics, among other segments.   

American Express cardholders are now only a voice-command away from browsing their account or paying their bill.   The credit card company is expanding its partnership with Amazon by launching its new Amex skill for Amazon Alexa. The skill brings select experiences of AmericanExpress.com and AmEx’s mobile app to Amazon’s voice service Alexa, within devices like Amazon Echo and Echo Dot.  

Growth struggles, including lower-than-expected active user volume, marked Snap’s first quarter as a public company.   The photo-based messaging company, which went public in early March, is growing — albeit slower than expected. For the quarter ended March 31, Snap’s daily active users (DAU) grew to 166 million from 122 million in the first quarter of 2016 — an increase of 36% year-over-year.   

J.C. Penney got off to a rough start in the new year as it joined fellow department store operators Macy’s, Kohl’s and Nordstrom in reporting disappointing sales results.