Data & Analytics

Bentonville, Ark. -- One-in-three microbusiness owners (31%) depend more on a second job for their personal income than they do on their business, yet 69% say owning their business is the ideal job. In collaboration with Gallup, Sam’s Club has unveiled a new quarterly tracking poll focused on America’s smallest businesses, or microbusinesses, with five or fewer workers.

Holmdel, N.J. — Levin Management has been named the exclusive leasing agent for Holmdel Crossing, a planned 140,000-sq.-ft. retail development in Holmdel, N.J.

According to Levin, pre-leasing efforts will focus on identifying anchor or junior anchor tenants that will drive the remaining retail tenancy,

Washington, D.C. -- Despite a slight decrease in corporate payments fraud and a heightened interest in security risks, 2013 saw an increase in fraud specific to credit and debit cards as criminals and their schemes became more sophisticated, according to the 2014 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey released by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).

By Shelley E. Kohan, VP, retail consulting, RetailNext; instructor, Fashion Institute of Technology

Consumer confidence is 10 points higher than this time last year. Spring weather forecasts show April will be warmer than average for many areas. So, how can retailers optimize sales during this season? Learning from last year’s data and trends is a great place to start.

San Jose, Calif. -- VeriFone Systems announced today that five devices in its PAYware Mobile line of EMV- enabled mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) devices have been approved by the Visa Ready Program. The program is designed to ensure that devices, software and solutions used to initiate or accept Visa payments are compatible with Visa’s requirements.
 
By adopting PAYware Mobile devices that are Visa Ready approved, merchants enjoy the benefits of secure electronic payment acceptance from virtually any location.
 

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Sears Holdings with a 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. Sears Holdings, an Energy Star partner since 1998, will be honored for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency.

The company's related accomplishments in 2013 included:

Jeffersonville, Ind. - The key to repeat customers is personalized communication from brands after purchases. According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from multichannel customer engagement solutions provider Accent Marketing Services LLC, 86% of consumers say it’s important to have a positive experience after making a purchase.

Key findings in the report also include:

• Nearly half of consumers interact with brands after a purchase.

Deerfield, Ill. - Walgreens had March 2014 sales of $6.43 billion, an increase of 4.5% from $6.16 billion for the same month in fiscal 2013.

Same-store sales increased by 3.5% in March. Calendar day shifts positively impacted total same-store sales by 0.6%.