Data & Analytics

Pleasanton, Calif. – Safeway has appointed Brian Baer to president of the company's Eastern Division. Baer joined Safeway in 2001 as VP finance for the company's Phoenix Division. In 2004, he became group VP finance planning and analysis at the Safeway's corporate headquarters.

Waltham, Mass. – Personalization software company True Fit has become a Demandware Link Technology Partner. Through the Link Technology Partner Program, True Fit has developed a pre-built integration between its fit technology platform and Demandware Commerce.

Walldorf, Germany – SAP is releasing the new InfiniteInsight solution. Based on patented automation technology from KXEN, an SAP company, the solution is designed to provide businesses the ability to deploy predictive analytics across the enterprise.

Capabilities of SAP InfiniteInsight include analytical data sets for predictive modeling, automated modeling, optimized scoring equations, and factory capability for model refreshes as needed.

We are all susceptible to media hype, and to established narratives, so it’s easy to miss important details in the growing chaos and chatter that surrounds Black Friday each year. We see big crowds and big bargains and a holiday shopping event that used to be a day now morphing into a brick-and-mortar and online extravaganza that lasts more than a week. That said, we should be asking what is really going on behind the scenes — and behind the numbers — and what does that mean for retailers for the rest of the holiday shopping season?

San Francisco -- Shopper traffic and window conversion improved significantly as heavy promotions brought shoppers back out to the mall. According to analysis of nearly 25 million domestic shopping sessions during November 2013 by in-store analytics provider Euclid, average visit durations were shorter than a year ago for the fourth month in a row as the increasingly omni-channel marketplace continued to drive more focused shopping trips.

Catchpoint Systems, a Web performance and application monitoring tools developer, has unveiled a new Real User Measurement (RUM) tool called Glimpse.

According to the company, the measurement solution is designed to give companies a better understanding of the quality of their actual website user experiences to drive business success by offering a comprehensive view of end user experience, website performance and engagement.

By Alex Brown, CEO, 10th Magniture

I certainly don’t have to tell you that the 2013 holiday retail season is upon us, since you’ve probably had to plan your technology all year to handle the imminent spikes in in-store and online traffic. And, in just a couple of weeks, you’ll start planning your technology budget for 2014’s holiday season.

Lumber Liquidators has raised its full year 2013 outlook based on year-to-date results and current trends.

The company now expects net sales in the range of $994 million to $1 billion, up from a previous range of $985 million to $995 million, with the fourth quarter ranging from $252 million to $258 million.

Lumber Liquidators also expects to open a total of 29-30 new stores during 2013 and increase net store sales 15% to 16%, up from a previous range of 14% to 15%, with the fourth quarter ranging from 13% to 15%.