Data & Analytics

An assessor processes your annually filed personal property tax return and assigns a value based on the cost of and age of your store fixtures. Is that assessment correct?    Increasingly the answer is “no” in a fast-changing retail environment in which online sales are turning in-store shelves into museum pieces. Online sales have increased 75.8%, to $341.7 billion, over the past five years alone. Statista forecasts that to double by 2020.  

Retailers know that personalization equates to higher sales, but companies still struggle with execution.    Specifically, retailers are eager to offer personalized experiences to achieve higher sales. Failing to remove unintended barriers are only overwhelming shoppers, who then abandon shopping carts.  

With 46% of shoppers ready to start holiday shopping online and in-store in early November, retailers need to be ready.   As shoppers begin holiday shopping next month, make no mistake, mobility will be a mainstay this season, according to “Unwrapping Holiday Insights: The 2016 Retailer Guide to Consumer Trends,” a report from RetailMeNot.  

Not only is online shopping a way of life for many shoppers, more and more of them are doing it across borders.   Those are among the findings of the third annual Pitney Bowes Global Online Shopping Survey, in which nearly one-third of consumers reported they make domestic online purchases on a daily or weekly basis. While it's no surprise that consumers frequently make domestic online purchases (94%), more than two-thirds (66%) of these consumers have also made an online purchase from another country in the past year.

The University of Washington is teaming up with Costco, UPS, Nordstrom and other stakeholders on a new project that aims to improve the way consumers receive their goods.

The SCTL Center Urban Freight Lab says it will be working to improve the management of both public and private operations of urban goods delivery systems. Urban Freight Lab members plan to engage in strategic applied research projects at the SCTL Center, and help identify priority problems for future research.

Founding members of the SCTL Center Urban Freight Lab include:

To stand out in a crowded category, At Home is rewarding shoppers for their loyalty.   The home décor superstore launched a new credit card program through a partnership with Synchrony Financial. Based on a multi-year agreement, At Home shoppers now have the opportunity to sign up for one of two credit cards that reward them for all brand purchases.  

Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores’ is making more executive changes.   The chain appointed Michael Goulder to senior VP, inventory management and supply chain. Chosen for his ability to drive significant performance improvements, Goulder has a track record for linking innovative strategies to operating tactics and leading organizational change, according to a company statement. He will report to the company’s president and CEO, Jill Soltau.  

With its recent acquisition of Jet.com, a commitment to growing its online grocery business with a convenient grocery pick-up option and an extensive investment against delivering a seamless digital shopping experience, Walmart is once again flipping the script on what it means to compete for America's shopping dollar.   The company's investment in grocery pick-up services represents the cover of that new script - and Walmart is expanding that service to 600 stores this year and 500 stores next year.