Data & Analytics

A social media giant is getting in on the chatbot wave.    Twitter launched a new, customizable Direct Message Card that brands can use to promote and share bots and other customer experiences built in its Direct Messages tool. Direct Messages helps companies create personalized ads and interactions — ranging from customer acquisition programs to engaging bots.  

CBRE’s Melina Cordero, an expert in consumer behavior, has produced a series of videos to instruct brick-and-mortar retailers in how to get more results at the point-of-sale.   The first three of these can be viewed on CBRE’s new retail innovation website.   

A tough February couldn't keep Tilly's down, which reported better-than-expected results for its first quarter.    The teen apparel and footwear retailer narrowed its loss in the first quarter to $161,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 million, or 10 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Its results were better than expected.    Net sales inched up 0.6% to $120.9 million, better easily beating the Street. Same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

Williams-Sonoma Inc. on Wednesday reported better-than-expected quarterly results, fueled by a strong performance at its millennial-targeted West Elm division.    The home furnishings retailer's first-quarter earnings were $39.6 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with $39.6 million, or 44 cents a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 51 cents a share. Analysts had forecast earnings of 49 cents a share.   

Self-checkout technology tops the list of items that IT professionals would like to see in use over the next year, according to a poll by CompCom.   “It’s perhaps not surprising to see self-checkout rise to the top in the poll, since paying for purchases is probably the least pleasurable part of the shopping experience, and making the process as quick and easy as possible is increasingly important to retailers," said Tom Alvey, senior VP, retail solutions group at CompuCom.  

Even with a double-digit sales increase, Lowe's Companies still managed to disappoint analysts with first quarter profit and comparable sales that missed their estimates.   Sales rose 10.7% to $16.9 billion, up from $15.2 billion in 2016. Same-store sales rose 1.9%, below the 2.6% increase expected by analysts polled by Consensus Metrix.  

Despite social media’s growing presence in many consumers’ lives, it is not the ideal platform for brand interaction.   That's according to the “2017 Generational Marketing Insights Survey,” from Campaigner, the email marketing brand of j2 Global. According to findings, less than a quarter (24%) of online shoppers use social media as one of their preferred channels for brand interaction. And it seems that not all social media channels are created equal.  

A former Lowe's executive whose resume includes a 16-year stint at Stapes has joined the executive leadership team at J.C. Penney.   Penney said Marci Grebstein will join the company as executive VP, chief marketing officer, in June. Grebstein succeeds Mary Beth West who stepped down as Penney's marketing head on April 1, 2017, after two years on the job, and went on to join The Hershey Company.