Data & Analytics

In his 1987 book "The Art of the Deal," then developer Donald Trump wrote about the value of starting a negotiation with a dramatic and even unrealistic proposal. That makes one ponder how much of President Trump’s strong language is just bluster and how much might be indicative of a true departure from policy orthodoxy.  

Eighteen year-old online home décor and furnishings brand ATGStores.com has a new name, a new look and a new focus on personalized, one-on-one service.  

Who is responsible for fees related to unexpected, yet low shipping volume? According to UPS, it should be its retailer partners.   The delivery service is putting retailers on the hook to share costs related to labor and surplus space on trucks if the merchant fails to ship its forecasted packages during peak periods, according to MarketWatch. Fees could also apply if there is a discrepancy among the sizes of boxes expected to ship,   

Customer experience is everything. In fact, Accenture found that 45% of customers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience. It’s also what gets customers into the physical store. With more consumers turning to the ease of online ordering and straight-to-door shipping, retailers are in a bigger crunch than ever before to not only increase footfall, but to keep customers coming back.    So what can retailers do to turn first time visitors into loyal customers? Get unified.   

After growing its store base through an acquisition last year, Weis Markets is investing $90 million in its growth in 2017.    The budget includes new stores and remodels of existing locations. It also calls for supply chain improvements and continued information technology upgrades.    

Although Amazon's sales advanced by a respectable 23% over the quarter (do link to our story yesterday), the pace of growth at the online behemoth remains much slower than it was over most of the prior fiscal year. Some of this is the result of a less favorable exchange rate diluting contributions from the international business. However, some is also down to a more challenging demand environment in North America which has limited spending uplifts on products within Amazon's core territory.  

While some industry observers fear that robots will replace retail workers, Boxed is embracing the technology.   The online retailer, which sells consumer packaged goods in bulk, announced on Thursday, April 27, that it will completely automate its fulfillment center in Union, New Jersey, with robotics — a move that will contribute to driving reliable profits, according to Business Insider.  

Starbucks Corp. met profit expectations for its second quarter even as its sales disappointed.     The retailer’s net earnings increased 13.5%, to $652.8 million, or 45 cents a share, in line with expectations. Revenue totaled $5.28 billion, less than expected.   Same-store sales rose 3%, also below forecasts, as average tickets rose 4%. Customer transactions were down 2%, which the company attributed to a change in its rewards program.