Data & Analytics

Target customers at select stores in New York and New Jersey won’t have to get out of their cars anymore to pick up online orders.

JCPenney 's renewed focus on omnichannel seems to be improving profitability for the retailer, which reported sales and revenue increases in the second quarter.

The company posted a net loss of $138 million, or 45 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Aug. 1, compared with a loss of $172 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago. Total sales increased 2.7 percent from $2.80 billion a year ago to $2.89 billion. Same-store sales were up 4.1% and better than results also reported this week from Macy’s, Kohl’s and Dillard’s.

New York -- Kroger is partnering with Liberty Mutual on a new loyalty card program for shoppers, Loyalty360 reported Thursday.

Kroger will reward loyalty program members with fuel points for purchasing insurance, according to the agreement.

Seattle -- Finally some good news in the department store sector.

Nordstrom Inc. on Thursday reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales.

The retailer reported net profit of $211 million, or $1.09 a share, for the quarter ending Aug. 1, up from $183 million, or 95 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Chicago -- Retailers still have time to capitalize on what is turning out to be a late back-to-school shopping, according to a just-released study.

New York -- It’s been a rough week for department stores.

Kohl’s Corp. joined Macy’s and Dillard’s this week in reporting disappointing earnings and weak same-store sales growth.

Kohl’s posted a profit of $130 million in the second quarter ended Aug. 1, down from $232 million in the prior-year quarter.

New York -- Move over Apple and Google — and make way for Samsung.

Samsung Electronics Co. on Thursday announced Samsung Pay, a mobile payment service that will let customers pay with their phones at nearly any credit-card terminal. The new system will launch in Korea on Aug. 20 and in the United States on Sept. 28.

Kohl’s has joined other major retailers this week reporting disappointing earnings and anemic same store sales growth.

The Wisconsin-based retailer posted a profit of $130 million in the second quarter ended Aug. 1, below the $232 million in the prior-year quarter. Earnings per share were 66 cents, compared with $1.13 in the second quarter of 2014. Same store sales grew a measly 0.1%. Overall revenue increased by just 0.6%, to $4.27 billion for the quarter.

PayPal has revised its disclosure practices for material information in a way that could serve as a blueprint for retailers in the wake of a major insider trading bust that took down 32 hackers and brokers who allegedly reaped $100 million during a five year scheme to steal press releases.

When it comes to the rapidly changing retail landscape and how retailers should respond to engage shoppers, it turns out that it's not all about the app.

A new study by Forrester Consulting commissioned by RetailMeNot Inc. shows that while today's consumers overwhelmingly prefer to access the Internet on their mobile devices, only 30% use retailer applications to purchase products. In fact, 60% of consumers have two or fewer retailer apps on their phones, and 21% have none.