Data & Analytics

Women’s apparel brand fits into seamless engagement
BCBG Max Azria Group LLC, a vertical specialty women’s apparel retailer that operates an e-commerce site and store-within-a-store locations, is working to eliminate channel silos.

BCBG has selected cloud-based Aptos solutions to integrate its in-store and digital commerce operations, supporting a seamless omnichannel customer experience. The retailer was looking to transform aging legacy systems, integrate sales channels, and elevate in-store customer experience, while gaining 360-degree visibility of customers, inventory and transactions across all channels.
Cheap gas prices hurt Stage Stores sales

The CEO of Stage Stores blamed warm weather and cheap gas prices for a drop in same-store sales over the holidays.

The company said same store decreased 2.5% for the 10-week period ending Jan. 9.

ICSC: Omnichannel wins, with physical stores at epicenter

A just-released holiday survey reinforces the dominance of the omnichannel shopper.

Nearly one-third (32%) of shoppers the past holiday season used the click and collect method – with 69% of these shoppers purchasing additional items in the store when they went to pick up the item and 36% making another purchase in an adjacent store, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Holiday Consumer Purchasing Trends study.
Christmas shoppers flock to Ollie's Bargain Outlet

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is raising its full year outlook after the discount retailer holiday strategy delievered strong sales growth.

The company annouced that net sales over the holidays increased 23%, while same store sales increased 5.6%.
New Video Technology to Maximize Customer Attraction, Loyalty

The winners in today’s retail food retail sector will be those who can continually stay ahead of competitors by retaining current customers and attracting new ones.

However, many of the tools of yesterday are likely stale and ineffective today. Trending indicates that older, traditional practices of discount/promotional pricing, printed signs/stickers, and aisle video display monitors to attract customers and increase sales are becoming outmoded and have lost their effectiveness in many food retail environments.
Wheeler appoints new COO and CFO

Virginia Beach, Va. -- Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust announced Wilkes Graham will join the company as its CFO, effective Jan. 19. Graham will oversee corporate finance, accounting, investor relations and capital and financing strategies for the Company and will report to CEO and chairman, Jon Wheeler. He will succeed Steven Belote, who will remain with the Company as its COO.
Tech Bytes: Evaluating IT Vendors: Three Lessons from the Dotcom Crash

For millennials it’s little more than legend, but the dotcom crash of the early 2000s was a very real event for any retail IT professionals of the Gen X or Baby Boomer demographics.

As retailers prepare to kick off the technology conference/user group season with the upcoming NRF “Big Show,” it might be a good idea to review a few lessons from that era about how to properly evaluate vendors and solutions.

A Shaky Investment
The Container Store can't contain expenses in Q3

The Container Store is cutting its guidance for the year after the company says expenses led it to report a loss in the third quarter.
comScore: Mobile shoppers keep holidays happy for retail

The final tally is in, and it was a happy holiday for retailers engaging in digital commerce, with help from strong mobile performance.

According to data from comScore, total digital spend for the holiday season (including preliminary mobile commerce estimates) reached $69.1 billion in 2015. This represents about a 13% annual gain from $61.3 billion spent in the 2014 season.
Lowe’s delves deeper into VR space

Photo: Lowes Project Tango app shows where a virtual refrigerator might fit in your kitchen. Image Credit: Google
Retale envisions virtual showroom app

The Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset is slowly gaining popularity with retailers as a customer engagement tool, and an industry vendor is hoping to capitalize on the trend.

Location-based mobile platform Retale is releasing Retale Virtual Reality (VR) for Oculus Rift this year. Designed to be a VR, location-based shopping companion, it will provide an immersive, 3D environment where customers can shop context-based local offers.
Strong dollar hits Bed Bath & Beyond

A drop in same-store sales led Bed Bath & Beyond to report a 21% decline in profit for the third quarter.

The retailer said same store sales in the third quarter ended Nov. 28 decreased by approximately 0.4%, compared with an increase of approximately 1.7% in last year's fiscal third quarter. Same-store sales from digital channels grew in excess of 25%.

Bed Bath & Beyond reported a profit of $177.8 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with $225.4 million, or $1.23 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 0.3% to $2.95 billion.