Data & Analytics

IBM is looking to give retailers an edge in dealing with the effects of the weather, with help from the Internet of Things (IoT).

The technology firm has entered into an agreement to acquire The Weather Company’s B2B, mobile and cloud-based web properties, including WSI, weather.com, Weather Underground and The Weather Company brand.

The Internet of Everything (IoE) has moved from vision to reality in retail and food industries, creating a “Connected Food” movement that is transforming everything from the way consumers shop, to how products are sold and how retailers can run their businesses.

Fresh on the heels of its announced $17.2 billion acquisition of Rite Aid, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $26 million and a boost in same store sales.

Net sales climbed almost 50% to $28.5 billion during the quarter, which ended August 31.

Kroger customers who don’t have time to do their own shopping have another option.

At its investor meeting, Kroger officially announced the name of its click & collect program – “ClickList.” Click & collect lets customers select (and in many cases pay) for groceries online. Store employees then gather the items off store shelves for convenient customer pickup.

The mobile payment arena keeps getting more crowded.

Two weeks after U.S. bank Capital One partnered with MasterCard and Visa to offer contactless mobile payment capability in its Capital One Wallet app, another major bank plans to offer a mobile payment app.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is launching Chase Pay, a tokenized mobile payment service for in-store, in-app and online purchases. Interestingly, Chase is partnering with MCX, a retailer-backed mobile payment consortium, as its premier partner.

Coach says increased demand for its merchandise and fewer discounts led the luxury goods maker and retailer to report increased profit in the first quarter despite a steep 9.5% drop in same-store sales.

The company said that for the first quarter ended Sept. 26, earnings were 41 cents a share (analysts expected 40 cents). Net income fell 19% to $96.4 million. Sales dropped 0.8% to $1.03 billion in the quarter, missing analysts’ $1.04 billion projection.

A new holiday shopping survey reveals major disruptions in holiday shopping traditions, largely due to digital engagement.

Deloitte’s 30th annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends finds that some shopping traditions are losing their luster.

Key findings from the survey of more than 4,000 U.S. consumers include:

Alibaba Holding Group Inc. profits surged as a result of a one-time benefit in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, while mobile sales boosted revenue.

A revaluation of Alibaba’s holding in its Alibaba Health Information Technology Ltd. subsidiary drove year-over-year net income growth of 657% to $3.57 billion, from $480 million.

Two weeks after publicly stating it had lost $56 million processing payments for Starbucks, Square no longer has to worry about future losses.

Starbucks has selected Chase Commerce Solutions, the global payment processing and merchant acquiring division of JPMorgan Chase & Co., to transition processing of all non-mobile payments and U.S. retail card payment transactions in company-operated stores. Chase will also partner with Starbucks on the rollout of chip-enabled payment terminals.

Instacart will be opening a temporary online Halloween pop-up shop.

Customers in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco will be able to receive same-day delivery of costumes until supplies last. Instacart successfully piloted the Halloween shop in Seattle in 2014.

Instacart will charge its normal delivery prices for the special program: $3.99 for a two-hour delivery, and $5.99 for a one hour delivery when customers spend $35 or more. First-time Instacart users can have their costume delivered for free, as can Instacart express members.