Data & Analytics

Just a few weeks after installing a new CEO, the Fresh Market is planning to conduct a strategic review that may include a sale of the specialty grocery chain.

The company says it has retained J.P. Morgan Securities as its financial advisor to assist in this process, which may result in the company continuing to pursue value-enhancing initiatives as a standalone company, capital structure optimization, or a sale of the company or other business combination.

Target Corp. is making a number of aggressive moves to become more self-reliant when it comes to IT development.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest move is the adoption of the DevOps software development strategy. DevOps emphasizes increased cooperation among software engineers and product deployment employees, and also focuses on agile development and testing methods.

Online fraudsters apparently do not keep nine-to-five hours.

According to a new study from fraud detection technology provider Sift Science, “The United States of Fraud,” online transactions conducted at 3 a.m. are most likely to be fraudulent.

The high likelihood of fraud at 3 a.m. occurs across all time zones. Also, fraudsters are more likely to transact during the weekdays.

Retailers operating across multiple channels need to ensure customer experience does not vary by touchpoint.

According to a new survey of 1,000 consumers by customer experience management technology provider Sitecore and King Brown Partners, 80% of respondents agreed that offering consistent shopping experiences strongly impacts a retailer’s brand perception. Ninety percent of consumers would switch brands if the brand promises one thing and delivers another.

When you know what’s coming your way, it’s much easier to make successful plans.

For this reason, furniture retailer Havertys will deploy the GT Nexus collaborative supply chain management platform to improve supplier and inventory visibility. This, in turn, will allow Havertys to automate procurement processes, including purchase order management, three-way matching and invoice settlement.

Most retailers recognize the importance of combining the best of digital technologies and physical stores to profitably create a seamless and consistent customer experience across channels. There’s a good reason for this. Their most valuable customers are engaging with them across all channels: store, mobile, social and online. Some retailers find that these omnichannel customers spend two times to five times more than customers who buy in only one channel.

Amazon.com Inc. is suing more than 1,000 people for writing fake product reviews on its website. Defendants are misleading Amazon’s customers and tarnishing Amazon’s brand for their own profit and the profit of a handful of dishonest sellers and manufacturers,” according to a complaint filed Friday in a Seattle court. (USA Today)

Ikea and Best Buy are among the top retailers supporting a U.S.-sponsored pledge to act on combating climate change.

President Barack Obama met with a group of business leaders Monday at the White House to announce the signatories of the American Business Act on Climate Pledge.

"The perception is that this is an environmental issue, it's for tree-huggers, and that hard-headed business people either don't care about it or see it as a conflict with their bottom lines," Obama said.

Consumers’ intentions often differ materially from their behavior and retailers better hope that is the case this year or it won’t be a happy holiday, according to the latest consumer research from the National Retail Federation.