Data & Analytics

Black Friday still a big thing in Britain
Black Friday may not be what it used to be in the United States, but the tradition has caught on big time across the pond, according to a report by the New York Times.
Mashable, Visa mix it up for e-commerce
Digital media company Mashable and Visa are doing a little mashing of their own to launch a new online retail entity.

The two companies have launched the Mashable Shop, an e-commerce storefront accessible via the Mashable media site. Mashable Shop offers both original apparel and accessories, as well curated technology products and select merchandise from Williams-Sonoma. The Visa Checkout online payment service will be the exclusive form of payment.

Study: Younger consumers phone it in

The stereotype of younger consumers spending all their time glued to smartphones may have some validity, at least when it comes to shopping.
Cyber Monday looks promising

Early indicators point to retailers having an historically strong Cyber Monday.

According to the Adobe Digital Index, as of 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 30, Cyber Monday online sales had already reached $490 million. Considering Cyber Monday online sales in 2014 reached a total of around $2 billion, and early Cyber Monday sales were tracking ahead of the prior year by 14%, this is a very possible start to a record-breaking day.
NRF: Data security looks good for holidays

As the holidays approach, retailers face issues like longer wait times to process EMV-compliant cards, the threat of the newly identified ModPOS malware, and the need to go beyon
Tech Guest Viewpoint: Three Ways to Have Singles Day all Year Round

Alibaba generated a record $14.3 billion in sales in a 24-hour period on Singles Day (Nov. 11) this year. That is roughly five times what Cyber Monday is expected to generate.

Clearly, Alibaba is doing something right and is setting a precedent for what other retailers worldwide hope to achieve. It’s worth looking at why Alibaba was so successful. So what can retailers take away from the Singles’ Day experience to maximize sales and give customers a great experience this holiday season, and throughout 2016?
Jet.com secures more funding to build brand

Online retailer Jet.com has secured an additional $350 million in funding and joined the ranks of startup unicorns whose valuation exceeds $1 billion.
Want to sell more expensive items online?

Retailers looking to maximize online revenues should utilize one specific digital promotional solution to create a sense of pleasure.
How popular is holiday click and collect?

Click and collect, or customers ordering goods online for retailers to assemble for in-store pickup, is a practice retailers should consider this holiday season.

According to a new survey from order management solutions provider Shopatron, 31% of U.S. shoppers plan on using click-and-collect this year for holiday shopping.
Customers will make merry online

Online spending this holiday season is shaping up to be downright joyful for retailers.

According to comScore, total online retail spending for the November–December period will reach $70.1 billion, representing a 14% gain from $61.3 billion a year earlier. Total desktop spending is expected to reach $58.3 billion, up 9% from $53.3 million.
Warm weather didn’t hurt this retailer’s sales

The parent company of Zales and Jared is looking forward to a happy holiday after producing third quarter results that met the company’s growth targets.
Somebody is getting new shoes this Christmas

In addition to the requisite comment about expecting the holidays to be highly promotional, Famous Footwear also expects the momentum it saw during back-to-school season to carry over to the fourth quarter.

Famous Footwear’s third quarter same store sales increased 4.4% and total sales increased 4.8% to $456 million, excluding the performance of the divested Shoes.com business, to represent 63% of parent company Caleres total sales of $728.6 million. Caleres is the company formerly known as Brown Shoe Company that changed its name earlier this year.