Data & Analytics

Move over Apple and Google — and make way for Samsung.

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

In a week in which many of the nation's major department stores reported disappointing financial results, Nordstrom showed once again how to drive sales growth.

The Washington-based retailer reported that total sales rose 9.2% from the same quarter in 2014, while same store sales rose 4.9%. The company posted a profit of $211 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with $183 million, or 95 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue, which includes revenue from its credit cards, rose 9% to $3.7 billion. 

Seattle -- REI has named its first-ever CIO. The outdoor specialty retailer company is also on the hunt for talented techies to join its ranks.

REI promoted Julie Averill to CIO, where she will continue to lead REI’s technology organization. A 25-year technology veteran, Averill joined REI in 2014 and most recently served as VP of information technology.

San Diego, Calif. -- Sports Authority is making good on its promise to make its online site more robust and engaging.

The retailer announced it is renewing its relationship with personalization solutions provider Certona for the fifth consecutive year. By creating rich online experiences for customers, Certona has been a critical component of Sports Authority’s personalization strategy since 2010.

Boston -- Online home furnishings retailer Wayfair is losing less money than before and gaining new customers at a rapid pace.

The retailer reported a loss of $19.3 million for the second quarter, ended June 30, down from a loss of $28 million, in the year-ago period.
 
Revenue increased to $491.8 million, up 66.4% year over year. Direct retail revenue, consisting of sales generated primarily through the sites of Wayfair’s five brands, increased to $440.3 million, up 80.8% year over year.

Seattle — A new report from MSLGROUP and the Hartman Group is underscoring grocers’ need to appeal to millennial shoppers in unique ways. The report, Food Shopping in America found that one of the youngest and constantly connected consumer groups is also a tough nut to crack — simultaneously impulsive, thrifty and wary of inauthentic marketing.  
 

Pittsburgh -- Consumers love their smartphones, but retailers shouldn’t count out the “old tech” yet in terms of customer appeal. And merchants will have to put some effort into getting consumers to accept some of the new high-tech bells and whistles.

Credit card fraud is in the United States is at epidemic levels. Last year, the U.S. accounted for more fraud than the rest of the world combined. And the fraud rates are accelerating. EMV technology, which has shown to greatly reduce in-store fraud in the Europe, is finally being rolled out in the United States with an impending deadline in October 2015 when retailers will be liable for in-store fraud for cards that have chips on them.

Austin, Texas -- Smartphones are quickly becoming the first screen for consumers — even in retail stores. But while consumers overwhelmingly prefer to access the Internet on their mobile devices, only 30% use retailer applications to purchase products.

Those are two of the key takeaways of a study RetailMeNot, which commissioned Forrester Consulting to look at how smartphones and apps are changing the retail landscape and how retailers should respond to engage shoppers.