Data & Analytics

Casey’s beats Street with Q4 profit, sales; will open 75-113 stores
Ankeny, Iowa – Casey’s General Store beat Wall Street expectations for profit and revenue during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Net income roughly doubled to $41.34 million from $20.94 million, fueled by a drop in cost of goods sold.

Total revenue fell 14% to $1.65 billion from $1.92 billion, but still exceed analyst estimates.

During fiscal 2016, Casey’s plans to build or acquire 75 to 113 stores, replace 10 existing locations and complete 100 major remodels.
Study: Shoppers prefer convenience over grocery
State College, Pa. - Consumers are spending 5% less time in supermarkets, compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the sixth annual C-Store MegaStudy from VideoMining Corp. found that shoppers' time in convenience stores increased 6% from the previous year.

VideoMining integrates behavioral data with a range of other data sources, including transaction data and exit interviews. In the C-Store MegaStudy, for example, this integration showed a correlation between time in store and average dollar basket size, which grew by 9%.

Study: Millennials seek automatic digital coupon redemption

Boston – Millennials as a generation are known for wanting instant gratification, and that desire extends to digital coupons. According to a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Linkable Networks, CPG retailers and brands must adopt digital coupon redemption experiences that are automatic to reach millennial shoppers.
Data Dilemma: Fixing Sales Audits in the Age of Big Data

As newer and more improved technologies continue to create an overwhelming amount data, the ability to manage this data efficiently and cost effectively is no longer an option; it’s an absolute necessity. But big data is still causing major headaches for organizations that don’t have a plan in place.
Burlington boosts profit; will open 25 stores

Burlington, N.J. – Aided by reductions in areas such as interest expense, debt extinguishment and stock option modification, Burlington Stores Inc. more than doubled its net income to $25.69 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from $11.77 million the same period a year earlier. The company plans to open 25 stores during fiscal 2015.
Walgreens launches Apple Watch health app, plans Apple Pay integration

Deerfield, Ill. — Walgreens on Monday officially launched its app for Apple Watch that helps keep patients adherent to their medication regimens. The Walgreens App for Apple Watch is designed to help patients manage their medications, whether it is a simple, once-daily reminder or multiple complex drug regimens.
Christopher & Banks plagued by weather, port dispute

The West Coast port dispute and traffic declines due to weather led to a big loss for Christopher & Banks Corp. in the first quarter.
Raley's Supermarkets seeks personalization for shoppers

California-based regional grocery chain Raley’s Supermarkets is overhauling its e-commerce capabilities to offer customers a "seamless shopping experience."
Amazon.com to build 4th fulfillment center in Texas

Amazon.com is going big in Texas with the announcement of the construction of yet another fulfillment center in Dallas.

The new 500,000 square-foot facility, which is currently under construction, will be located at the northeast corner of Interstate 45 and Interstate 20 in Dallas and will bring about 500 new jobs to the area when the facility opens early in 2016.

Employees at the Dallas fulfillment center will process smaller items, such as books, electronics and consumer goods, Amazon said Tuesday.
Fighter pilots wanted in war on big data

We are in a golden age of big data and analytics in which technology enables retailers to be more lean, efficient and competitive than ever. There are companies with solutions that address everything from pricing optimization and marketing effectiveness to optimal modular assortments and cybersecurity threats.
Lululemon proves yogawear trend is still hot

Things are looking up for yogawear retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc., which reported a large increase in revenue from online sales in the first quarter.
Report: Etsy learns from Big Data for improved offers

Brooklyn, N.Y. – Etsy Inc. reportedly employs Big Data and artificial intelligence systems to better target individual customers with personalized offers. According to the New York Times, Etsy uses tools including an open source machine learning framework called Conjecture, as well as an open source Apache solution called Kafka and in-house Hadoop, to monitor real-time data for fast processing and storage.