Data & Analytics

Home goods retailer misses in Q2
Kirkland’s reported a second-quarter loss that was larger than expected as it lowered its outlook for the year. The home goods retailer lost $3.6 million in the quarter ended July 30, compared with a loss of $2.3 million in the year-ago period. Net sales for the quarter increased 6.7% to $123.0 million. Same-store sales, including e-commerce sales, decreased 4.3%.
Commentary: The false fight over job loss
Let’s talk about pizza, shall we? A truly historic and transformative moment occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio early this month that changes the way college students can satisfy their late night munchies. Xavier University installed the nation’s first Pizza ATM. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves up fresh, restaurant-quality pizza cooked in minutes. The school’s dining service announced the occasion with a Tweet that reads, “One small step for pepperoni, one giant leap for pizzakind.”

Retailer in store expansion push

Not all retailers are reducing their store portfolios. DSW Inc. announced it will open 21 stores nationwide between August and October. The footwear and accessories retailer currently operates 482 stores in 42 states. "New store growth is an important and exciting piece of the DSW formula,” said Valara Gee, VP of stores, DSW.
Walmart and Jet.com: The future of clicks and mortar

On Aug. 8, Walmart announced it would buy Jet.com -- one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies in the U.S. -- for a whopping $3 billion.
Best Buy puts out welcome mat for connected store concept

Best Buy has opened a pop-up dedicated to smart technology products for the home in the rotunda of the nation’s largest mall.
Q & A: Meeting the Rising Demands of Consumers in an Omnichannel World

John Byrde, General Manager, Omnichannel Technologies of omnichannel commerce solutions provider Radial, discusses challenges and opportunities for retail CFOs who are evaluating IT decisions.

Chain Store Age: How do you meet the needs of the modern omnichannel consumer?
Bonobos moves to the cloud for content management

Bonobos has decided to move from a consumer file sync and share solution to enterprise-wide content management in the cloud. The menswear retailer is deploying Box’s content management platform enterprise-wide for managing and collaborating on content in the cloud.
Report identifies holiday shopping challenges

Consumers expect to spend the same or less on holiday gifts this year. That’s according to Berkeley Research Group, whose 2016 Holiday Retail Outlook report also identified five major challenges facing retailers as they head into the holiday season.
Online home furnishings retailer moves into virtual reality

Wayfair Inc. has launched an in-house developed virtual reality app to help customers plan their outdoor patio area. The retailer’s new Patio Playground application uses Facebook’s Oculus Rift platform, Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the app allows shoppers to immerse themselves in an inspirational landscape, where they can explore, rearrange, and discover furniture and décor from Wayfair’s catalog.
Ikea to power up with fuel cells in Northeast

Ikea is extending its renewable energy commitment with plans for its first biogas-powered fuel cell system on the East Coast. The home furnishings giant contracted Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, California, for the design, development and installation of the system, which will be located at Ikea’s location in New Haven, Connecticut. Combined with the 940.8-kW solar array that was installed atop the store in 2012, the fuel cell project will help generate a majority of the store’s energy onsite.
Best Buy full of surprises in Q2

Best Buy Co. exceeded analysts’ expectations on several fronts in its second quarter. Profit surged a better-than expected 21% in the quarter ended July 30, rising to $198 million from $164 million in the year-ago period. Best Buy’s overall revenue totaled $8.5 billion, which was basically flat with last year, but also better than expectations.
The retailer with the best digital gift card program is…

Beauty giant Sephora scores the highest when it comes to online gifting. That’s according to RSR Research’s sixth annual digital gifting benchmarking report. Sephora came out on top, scoring 55 points out of a possible 66 points, followed by Starbucks (50.5) and The Home Depot (46.5). Rounding out the top five: Dunkin’ Donuts (44.5) and Amazon (43). (The top 25 retailers in the study are listed at the end of article.)