Data & Analytics

U.S. consumers have named their top grocery chain, and for the first time in four years it isn’t Trader Joe’s.

Findings from an online study of more than 10,000 consumers conducted in February 2016 by Market Force Information revealed that Wegmans is America’s favorite grocery retailer. Wegmans was followed by Publix Super Markets and Trader Joe’s.

Merrillville, Indiana-based membership buying club DirectBuy is hoping mobile visual search capability will help spur growth beyond its 25 brick-and-mortar stores.

“It seems that more members, instead of going to club locations, are browsing and shopping completely online,” Ted Fay, senior director of digital marketing and e-commerce at DirectBuy, said in an interview with Chain Store Age. “We see this as an opportunity to grow our membership base and go places we don’t have a brick-and-mortar store.”

Amazon is the best place in the world to fail—that’s just one of the  insights and observations in CEO Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders.  

The world’s largest social network has updated its policies regarding branded content and, in so doing, given retailers a new marketing tool.

Facebook is now allowing retailers and other marketers to work with media companies, celebrities and other key “influencers” to place certain types of branded content on its platform.

The world’s largest social network has updated its policies regarding branded content and, in so doing, given retailers a new marketing tool.

Facebook is now allowing retailers and other marketers to work with media companies, celebrities and other key “influencers” to place certain types of branded content on its platform.

Glendale, California-based casual dining retailer Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar already allows customers to place orders ahead of time for curbside pickup, but is looking to extend omnichannel convenience even further.

Applebee’s, which operates more than 2,000 franchised stores in 49 states, designed the revised mobile app in partnership with digital ordering provider Olo. The revision comes with new capabilities including a simplified order placement process that allows for advance ordering and order scheduling for any time in the future.

Most U.S. consumers now carry a smart credit card, but they haven’t had all that much opportunity to stop swiping and start dipping their cards into upgraded terminals.

That’s according to a survey of 932 U.S. credit card-holders by CreditCards.com, which found that 70% of respondents carry at least one chip-based card. This is up from only 14% in a survey conducted by the same company in September 2015, before the October 1 deadline that shifted liability for some fraud shifted from card issuers to merchants that can't accept the new cards.

Amazon is the best place in the world to fail — that’s just one of the insights and observations in CEO Jeff Bezos’ annual letter to shareholders. Bezos talks about the importance of experimentation at Amazon in the letter, and also discusses failure in words that are rare for a CEO to use in a letter to investors, according to the Washington Post. He also cites the three "bold bets" at Amazon that have worked, starting with Amazon Web Services.

If you are following the presidential race with even a passing interest, you have no doubt heard a great deal about wage stagnation and economic inequality.

Numerous causes and remedies have been offered ranging from a needed increase in the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, mandatory paid sick leave, “wage theft” protections and even scheduling reform for hourly workers. And, while there hasn’t been significant progress in Washington, D.C., on those issues, numerous states and localities have passed similar measures addressing wage and benefit issues.

Retailers have a way to go in satisfying their customers in several key areas.

The IBM 2016 Global Customer Experience Index (CEI) evaluated 550 brick-and-mortar and pure-play retailers spanning eight different retail segments in 23 countries across the globe. This study revealed that the industry achieved an overall performance score of 40%, a failing grade, when measured against customer satisfaction criteria.