Data & Analytics

A move to a more fast-fashion model helped Francesca’s to outperform many of its peers in the fourth quarter, with sales and income that topped expectations.       The retailer reported better-than-expected profit of $14.6 million, or 39 cents a share, for the quarter ended January 28, compared to $14.7 million profit, or 35 cents a share, in the year ago period.  

Online reviews have boomed in recent years. Once just another step in the customer decision-making process, they are now a pervasive part of daily life.  

The nation’s largest retailer is delving deeper into e-commerce and evolving technology with its newest investment.   Walmart has formed Store No. 8, a technology incubator that will be based in the Silicon Valley. (The new initiative is named after an early Walmart store that company founder Sam Walton used to try out new retail strategies.)  

eBay is preparing to connect with each of its individual consumers — starting from the first minute they visit the site.   The company plans to do so with a new homepage that is “designed to inspire and engage with relevant, personalized content and highlighted deals,” according to the company.  

The use of artificial intelligence has given Charlotte Russe an important competitive edge.    With its online and mobile shopping communities growing larger and their expectations for flawless services increasing,   the apparel retailer turned to IBM to prepare for the busy and critical 2016, five-day holiday shopping season kick-off. To get a jump start, Charlotte Russe launched IBM’s Watson Customer Engagement solutions in seven months. And the technology immediately gave the retailer a wake-up call.  

The nation’s largest retailer is ready to put a whole new spin on merchandise fulfillment.   Speed is the name of the game in retail these days, in store and online.   

As the retail experience becomes increasingly digitally-influenced, retailers need a flexible point-of-sale (POS) system that can deliver a consistent brand experience at store level.    Nordstrom is taking steps to make this happen through a partnership with Infor to run POS in the cloud. Having a POS system in the cloud will give Nordstrom the tools to be more accurate and consistent across multiple locations, attend to customers more quickly, and better manage and track information, according to Infor.   

Saks Fifth Avenue is the latest retailer to compromise the personal data of some of its shoppers.   Saks inadvertently exposed personal information, including email ad-dresses and phone numbers of some of its shoppers on its online shop-ping site this weekend, according to BuzzFeed News.   

That was fast.   The Kroger Co. wasted no time in naming a replacement for Jeff Burt, president of Fred Meyer Stores, who resigned on Monday, March 20, to head up Target’s grocery business.    Kroger tapped company veteran Joe Grieshaber as president of Fred Meyer Stores, immediately.  

Charlotte Russe is taking steps to blend its online and offline experiences.    The young women’s apparel specialty chain recently added a mobile commerce platform from PredictSpring designed to deliver a next-generation app to its customers. The app delivers the three key elements most demanded by Charlotte Russe’s customer: speed, flexibility, and a smooth blend of the online and offline brand experience.