Data & Analytics

Bangalore, India – Mobile cloud platform company MobStac has added a new set of mobile commerce features that are capable of providing consumers with a universal shopping experience across all devices. The MobStac platform now provides an extension for all major commerce backend systems such as Magento and OpenCart.

New York -- Pinterest, more than Facebook or YouTube, is supplying the greatest percentage of downstream traffic to retail sites, according to new research from Experian Marketing Services. The company’s 2014 “Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report” also reveals that after visiting Facebook, YouTube or Pinterest, consumers go to Amazon.com more frequently than any other retailer website.

Here’s how the downstream traffic from social media sites to retail sites shapes up in the Experian report:

Lawrenceville, N.J. -- EBay, Google and Walmart have endorsed a new GS1 U.S. guide that resolves incorrect and duplicate product information online. Developed for e-tailers, retailers, e-commerce platform providers, content aggregators and content distributors, the GTIN Validation Guide offers best practices for leveraging GS1 standards to enhance the consumer shopping experience while boosting e-tailer efficiency, revenue and loyalty.

Cortre Madera, Calif. – Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc. (RH) swung to a profit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 amid ongoing sales growth. The retailer posted net earnings of $26.64 million, compared to a net loss of $28.36 in the year-ago period.

Net revenues grew 18.5% to $471.69 million, from $398.05 million. Same-store sales grew 17%.

By Jeff Echols, senior director of product and solutions marketing, CommVault

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers opened up their pocketbooks a bit in February, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department. Consumer spending increased 0.3% last month after a downwardly revised gain of 0.2% in January. The February increase was the biggest since November.

Personal income was up 0.3%, matching January's gain. It was the second straight monthly increase.

New York – Amazon.com and Google were among the biggest winners in the annual CoreBrand Top 100 Most Powerful Brands Rankings for 2014, both increasing in their rankings. Walgreens and UPS dropped 11 spots each.

The report ranks the top 100 corporate brands in terms of market reputation and awareness. Consumer-cyclical and consumer-staple brands represent 58 of the top 100 corporate brands, which CoreBrand says indicates that the most powerful brands have a strong connection to consumers.

Washington, D.C. – Consumer spending growth of 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2013 helped drive a 2.6% increase in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). According to the third and final estimate from the Commerce Department, the price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents, increased 1.5% in the fourth quarter.