Data & Analytics

The second quarter of fiscal 2016 is not yet over for home furnishings retailer Havertys, but shareholders may have reason to be optimistic.   Havertys reported that sales for the quarter to date are up approximately 3.6% from the same period last year and comparable store sales are up 3.2%. Total written sales for the quarter to date are up approximately 7%, and written comparable store sales rose 6.7%.   

Customers who belong to a retailer’s loyalty program spend more — significantly more — than those who do not.   That’s according to a new study by Accenture Interactive, which found that members of retailers’ loyalty programs generate between 12% and 18% more revenue for retailers than those who do not belong. The report was based on a survey of U.S. retailers across specialty, big-box, department, drug and convenience stores.   

E-commerce retailers could do better in converting shoppers at the point of sale, but are displaying encouraging signs.   According to the Checkout Conversion Index for the second quarter of 2016 from payment platform provider Pymtns.com, underperforming e-commerce retailers will lose $162.4 billion in potential revenue during 2016 due to failure to convert site visitors to sales. This is due to a variety of frictions that exist between online discovery and checkout.  

The Kroger Co. topped Wall Street expectations with more than one result in the first quarter of fiscal 2016.

And then there were 10 — technology start-ups that is. And the lineup ranges from one that develops apps for supply chain inspectors to one that creates wearable technology that helps users prevent sexual assaults. 

Cars that drive themselves are yesterday’s news. The next big thing may be shopping carts that essentially do the same.   

Internet shopping is extremely popular, but how much room for further growth is there?   According to a new study of more than 3,300 U.S. consumers age 15 and up from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the overall move to online shopping is expected to slow considerably during the next three years.  

Today’s consumers are more hurried than ever, and even traditional e-commerce apps may not move quickly enough to satisfy them.   New York-based specialty electronics retailer B&H Photo Video, which operates a single superstore as well as a global e-commerce site, is taking advantage of a new app-sharing feature from Google. Known as Android Instant Apps, it allows users to have a native app experience without actually download an Android app from the Play Store.