Data & Analytics

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) continues to expand its capabilities and has done so again with another key retail industry hire.

ECRM recently hired retail and consumer packaged goods data veteran Jennifer Zannelli to the newly created role of ECRM Data Sales. In this capacity, Zannelli will lead strategic sales initiatives for ECRM Data and also help develop new products and services.

Accenture is looking to help retailers move more quickly to digital with its acquisition of Javelin Group, a retail strategy consulting and digital transformation services provider.

As food delivery increases in popularity among U.S. consumers, online grocer Peapod is launching an innovative service focused on produce.

The company is going to start offering the Peapod Local Farm Box. Throughout the summer, Peapod customers in New York City, New Jersey, Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin will have the option of adding a box of produce from local farms to their virtual grocery cart.

New York -- A former Walgreens executive is heading to Lululemon Athletica. 

Lululemon has named Miguel Almeida as executive VP-digital.

Calgary – When the concept of things changing at “Internet speed” is discussed, often overlooked is the fact that the Internet itself changes at Internet speed. E-commerce websites must offer functionality and overall shopping experience on par with the latest online consumer expectations. Canadian specialty outdoor retailer Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters, which operates 13 stores in western Canada as well as a website, has had to face this issue.

Sears's new “Connected Solutions” flagship is located at The Shops at Tanforan, a shopping center in San Bruno, California. The 4,000-sq.-ft. store is designed to simplify the way people shop for their connected home.
 
Designed as rooms of a home, the store features a living room, kitchen, nursery, workout room, garage and outdoor area where consumers can experience first-hand the benefits of smart technology.   It is organized in four categories: Simply Entertaining; Simply Fit; Simply Automated; and Simply Secure.
 

Cincinnati – The Kroger Co. is responding to explosive financial performance with a two-for-one stock split, dividend increase and share buyback program. Kroger has delivered double-digit compound growth in its dividend since it was reinstated in 2006, and expects further growth.

Indianapolis – The Finish Line Inc. finished ahead of Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2016. Net income rose 29% to $13.73 million from $10.65 million in the prior year period.

A higher gross profit, as well as significantly lower impairment and store closing charges, drove the increase in net income. Net sales grew 9% to $443.39 million from $406.53 million. Same-store sales at the Finish Line banner increased 5.5%.

Bloomington, Minn. – Malls have long been physical spots for consumers to socialize, and Mall of America is trying to extend that social aspect into the digital space. The 500-plus-store, nearly five million-sq.-ft. shopping center is using the Geofeedia location-based social media monitoring platform to actively engage customers and gain better understanding of what they are discussing and doing while visiting the mall.

While Mardi Gras celebrations ended earlier this spring, there are many software vendors that still have the Mardi Gras masks on as they pretend their cloud apps are SaaS – they are “SaaSquerading”(phrase coined by blogger Brian Sommer). There is a distinct difference between cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) and it’s important for professionals to know why the difference matters.