Data & Analytics

SPECS, the “Retail Event for Store Innovation,” has officially opened registration for its 53rd annual conference, to be held next March.   SPECS/2017, exclusively produced by Chain Store Age, is a diverse, dy-namic and engaging window into the world of retail, offering an annual opportunity for education and networking. A lineup of more than 30 workshops and sessions will cover topics and issues that impact store de-sign, construction and maintenance.   

Who are the leading women working in retail technology? Chain Store Age is accepting nominations for its annual feature recognizing female executives who are helping to transform the retail industry through technology.   The “Top 10 Women in Tech” will celebrate the achievements of female executives from all areas of retail technology. The winners will be profiled in a special section of the January 2017 issue of Chain Store Age, as well as in an online report on chainstoreage.com.  

WalmartLabs’ newest project is giving comrades and competitors alike, a peek into its open-source software.   The retail behemoth has migrated its online platform to a React-based application platform over the last year, one that was built in-house by WalmartLabs. Now Walmart’s innovation division is open-sourcing this platform, reported TechCrunch.  

In the strongest forecast so far this year, holiday spending is expected to reach its highest point since the Great Recession, led by strong digital sales.   That’s according to PwC’s 2016 Holiday Outlook, which forecasts a 10% total rise in holiday spending over last year, and a 25% rise in digital sales.    “The great news for all retailers is consumers are much more optimistic this holiday season,” said Steven Barr, PwC’s U.S. retail & consumer leader. 

From increased budgets to a desire for free shipping to gifts for pets, PwC’s “2016 Holiday Outlook” report predicts the following trends will drive the upcoming holiday season:    1. Bigger holiday budgets: Shoppers will likely spend 10% more this holiday season; an average of $1,121 each. And consumers with annual household incomes less than $50,000 will likely increase their percentage spending levels even more than consumers overall.  

Don’t believe the rumors. Kmart is not going out of business.   That’s according to Eddie Lampert, the beleaguered  CEO of Kmart parent company Sears Holdings Corp.  

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp. is losing a 46-year company veteran.   The retailer announced the retirement of Richard A. Johnson as executive VP. As part of the transition following Johnson’s retirement, Michael P. Marrone is being promoted to senior VP of store operations.      Marrone began his career with Big 5 in 1973 as a store sales associate.  He held numerous leadership roles of increasing responsibility at the company, and was named VP of store operations in 2002.

​Bass Pro Shops is entering into a 10-year agreement with Capital One, a move that will make the card provider the exclusive issuing partner of co-branded credit cards to Cabela's customers.

As consumers connect with their favorite brands, they expect a consistent shopping experience.   With the help of Salesforce.com, The Aldo Group consolidated shopper data across its enterprise so it can create a singular shopping experience. By adding a cloud-based platform, Aldo gained 360-degree views of each shopper, a move that provides better insight into their preferences and allows the chain to engage with consumers more effectively.  

Rue 21 announced a series of leadership changes as it looks to reinvigorate its brand.    In a surprise announcement on Saturday, the retailer said it had appointed CFO Keith McDonough as interim CEO, succeeding Bob Fisch, who has served as president and chief executive of Rue 21 since 2001.