Data & Analytics

Just in time to kick-off the 2016 NFL season, the Carolina Panthers are giving fans another reason to cheer.   The defending NFC champions upgraded the Carolina Panthers Official Shop, the team’s official online store — a move that promises “to pro-vide Panthers fans worldwide with an exceptional online shopping expe-rience,” according to a company statement.   

As retailers industry-wide search for the ideal customer engagement program, Williams-Sonoma is getting back to basics.  

Collaboration is key when it comes to seamlessly creating private-label apparel to sell across branded stores and department store partners.   In effort to streamline information sharing across product development processes, GANT is deploying a product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that promises to improve its product-hit rate, shorten lead times, and enhance margins.  

Chain Store Age is pleased to announce that its sister brand, Retailing Today, has become part of a larger, more robust Chain Store Age, one with greater industry coverage and retail audience reach.   “With the merging of Retailing Today into Chain Store Age, readers and advertisers can expect a comprehensive brand representing the full range of omnichannel retail operations,” said Gary Esposito, group publisher, Chain Store Age.  

Retailers have learned a lot of hard lessons from cyberattacks. Many cyberattacks successfully targeted the giants of the industry. Wanting to avoid the same fate, organizations are making significant investments in security technologies and educating their employees on best practices.

But what happens when these investments aren’t enough? While companies are becoming smarter in their security approach, hackers are also growing more sophisticated in their attacks.

Taking a lesson from B.F. Skinner, Office Depot is taking steps to reward college students for refraining from using their phones at the most critical time of the day — during class.   College students are so obsessed, and thus distracted, by their phones that 33% said they checked their device a minimum of 10 times a day, according to a study conducted by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  

Francesca’s Holdings Corp. posted better-than-expected sales and earnings for its second quarter, helped in part by higher online sales.   The retailer reported a profit of $10.6 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with a profit of $9.3 million, or 22 cents a share, in the year-ago period.      Sales increased 9% to $115.3 million, helped by a net gain of 44 stores over the year-ago period. Online sales rose 37%.    

The ability to scale solutions as a means of meeting customer expectations is the name of the game in omnichannel success.    By adding a new cloud-based retail suite, DSW is modernizing its back-office applications, and adding a new level of flexibility, security and innovation required in an always-evolving omnichannel landscape.