Data & Analytics

Hurricanes Harvey and Harvey had a similar impact on retail sales and the toll was significant on online spending as well as spending in physical stores.  

Walgreens is relying on data analytics to ensure all of its IT systems are working as efficiently as possible.   Through a partnership with IBM, the drugstore chain is taking steps to drive more IT support across its enterprise. The first step is to integrate hardware and software from different vendors under one roof. This centralization will make it easier to stay abreast of performance.  

Finish Line missed analysts expectations for its second quarter amid continued heavy promotion in the athletic footwear market.    The retailer reported net income of $2.8 million, or 7 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 26, down from $22.1 million, or 53 cents a share, a year ago.  

Nearly all shoppers will be shopping a variety of channels this holiday season.   Ninety-six percent of shoppers plan to make a purchase from a retailer who has both a physical and an online presence, with 40% of them buying online and picking up in-store, according to a report by the International Council of Shopping Centers. And 81% of those shoppers plan to make additional purchases when collecting their item(s).  

Visual content has made H&M, Topshop/Topman Forever21 the most successful social media brands in the competitive fast-fashion industry.   This was according to data from visual content performance platform ShareIQ. The analysis digs into the data for the first three quarters of 2017 among the top brands in the fast-fashion category in the United States: H&M, Forever21, Uniqlo, Gap, Old Navy, Topshop/Topman, Zara, Mango and American Apparel.  

The continued popularity and development of town centers and lifestyle centers have made it clear that retailers can no longer go it alone. They must co-exist in a symbiotic live-work-play environment, and that means they must also co-exist with the different demands and cost structures of residential and office spaces.  

Albertsons Cos. has become the first national grocery retailer to acquire a prepared-meals company.   The nation's second largest supermarket chain is acquiring online meal company Plated in a deal that is expected to close later this month. The move taps into Americans' growing demand for meal delivery services and also shores up Albertsons' defenses against Amazon, which has become a key player in grocery with its acquisition of Whole Foods Market.    

Overall positive economic conditions will propel retail sales online as well as of offline this coming holiday season.   That's according to a report by Forrester, which predicts that U.S. online holiday sales will grow 12% to reach $129 billion in 2017, compared to $115 billion last year. Offline holiday sales will inch up 0.3%, to reach $549 billion in 2017.