Data & Analytics

Target Corp. is testing some of the concepts from its innovative Open House format in San Francisco in a traditional store setting.   The discounter has debuted Connected Living, an in-store experience dedicated to showing customers how connected products can work together to make life easier, more convenient and more efficient. The test is taking place in Target’s Ridgedale location in Minnetonka, Minnesota.   

In their never-ending quest to make the store shopping experience as seamless and painless as possible, an increasing number of retailers are offering variants of curbside pickup.   This simply means consumers can order goods online and then have the items delivered to their car as they wait, usually within five to 10 minutes. Some retailers accept payment ahead of time, while others execute the transaction on the spot with a mobile POS device.  

Just 9.8% of more than 5,400 financial and accounting professionals say their companies are prepared to comply with the new Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) lease accounting standards.   That is one of the highlights of a recent Deloitte poll. http://www.slideshare.net/DeloitteUS/new-lease-accounting-standards-are-companies-prepared-to-comply-62702689  

High-quality malls and lifestyle centers are best positioned to capitalize on the shift toward experience-based spending.    That’s according to a new study by the research arm of MetLife Investment Management (MIM), which finds that millennials’ preference for acquiring experiences and memories over material goods will play a significant role in determining which retail formats will outperform in the future.   

Quick-serve giant Subway restaurants has launched a new division, Subway Digital, to transform its customer experience.    Created in collaboration with Accenture, the new division has been charged with building a comprehensive omnichannel strategy and implementation support team to enhance engagement and build loyalty.   

Quality Solutions, Colwich, Kansas, a leading provider of facilities maintenance and constructions services, has changed its name to QSI Facilities.    The company has also launched a new website and introduced a new approach for overcoming “value leakage” in outsourced facilities services.  

Customers of Wayfair Inc. no longer have to guess how items will look in their own personal spaces.

The online home furnishings and decor retailer has launched WayfairView, its new augmented reality (AR) smartphone application. Developed by Wayfair Next, the company’s in-house research and development team, the app, using Google technology, allows shoppers to visualize furniture and décor in their homes at full-scale before they make a purchase.

The Wendy's Co., which was first reported to have suffered a POS breach in January 2016, is still discovering evidence of hacking attacks.

The fast food chain announced that additional malicious cyber activity has recently been discovered in some franchise-operated restaurants. Wendy’s has disabled the malware where it has been detected.

Specialty apparel retailer Christopher & Banks Corp. is not out of the red, but headed in the right direction during the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
The company reported net loss of $0.2 million, down from a net loss of $1.4 million the same quarter the previous fiscal year. Improved gross margin helped shrink the loss. Net sales totaled $100 million, an increase of 9%, compared to $91.6 million.

Francesca’s Holdings Corp. saw net income decline, but still beat Wall Street predictions, in the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
 
The specialty apparel retailer reported net income of $7/08 million, down 2% from $7.24 million the same quarter a year earlier. Higher selling, general and administrative (S,G&A) expenses offset improvements in gross profit.