Data & Analytics

JDA updates transportation portfolio
Scottsdale, Ariz. – JDA Software Group Inc. is releasing new capabilities in the JDA Transportation portfolio designed to help companies make smarter, more strategic shipping and delivery decisions. By balancing internal capacities and constraints with customer promises, this enhanced functionality supports higher levels of resiliency and agility
Dell: POS, encrypted malware attacks surge in 2014
Round Rock, Texas – Retailers experienced substantial increases in POS malware attacks and also an increase in malware traffic contained within encrypted Web protocols. According to the Dell Annual Threat Report, which leverages research from Dell’s Global Response Intelligence Defense (GRID) network and telemetry data from Dell SonicWall network traffic, the Dell SonicWall Threat Research Team created 13 POS malware signatures in 2014.

Valpak launches Apple Watch coupon app

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- Valpak’s new coupon app for Apple Watch will deliver watch wearers savings in a high-tech way for the traditional coupon-mailer.

The coupon app will be available for download for Apple Watch and will mark an early Apple Watch entry for coupon companies.
Report: eBay supports Google over Brussels antitrust probe

New York -- A report by Financial Times revealed that eBay’s CEO John Donahoe spoke out in support of Google as the search-engine giant defends itself in an antitrust case lodged in Brussels, Belgium.
Retailers doing good: Ann Inc. donates millions to cancer research; Whole Foods fights against poverty

New York -- High-profile retailers can make a high-impact difference when they use their clout to do good.

Case in point: Ann Inc., parent to Ann Taylor and Loft, donated more than $4.3 million to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to fund groundbreaking cancer research. The brands parlayed successes from the 2014 spring and fall campaigns and have brought the company's total corporate donation to $22.3 million in the past 10 years.
Retailers glimpse future with data visualization

Analytics leader SAS has long promised customers “the power to know” and now a major enhancement to data visualization capabilities means retailers don’t have to be a Ph.D to do things faster and more effectively with their massive volumes of data.
Ace named America's favorite home improvement store

Ace Hardware is America’s favorite home improvement store and Costco is the favorite for home furnishings, according to a new survey by Market Force Information.
Apple Watch going well, time will tell

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook said the launch of the company's new watch has been "overwhelmingly positive" just as another seemingly unstoppable surge of iPhone and App Store sales helped Apple Inc. post a 33% increase in profit for the second quarter, setting a record for its best March quarter ever.
Report: Abercrombie focusing on customers, cleaning up brand image

New Albany, Ohio – Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is overhauling both how its stores operate and how it markets its brand image. According to the Columbus Business Journal, Abercrombie will focus on the in-store customer experience with features like order-in-store technology and techniques to keep lines short.
Survey: Frequency, delight important indicators of customer loyalty

Hackensack, N.J. – Frequency of customer visits and customer delight are crucial indicators of customer loyalty. According to a new survey of 1,000 adult U.S. consumers from branding firm Strativity Group Inc., almost 40% of customers interact with their favorite company at least weekly.
Tech Bytes: Three Lessons from the Target-Lilly Pulitzer Fail

In theory, the launch of a limited-time, 250-piece Lilly Pulitzer designer collection on Sunday, April 19 should have been a major coup for Target. Instead, it was a major disaster in marketing, CRM, and operations. By now, the story of how consumer demand for Lilly Pulitzer overwhelmed Target’s website and stores has been told many times. Let’s look at three lessons retailers (including Target) can learn from this experience.

Know Your Customer
Amazon swings to Q1 loss on higher expenses; Web Services booms

Seattle – Increases in expenses including fulfillment, marketing and technology helped swing Amazon.com to a net loss of $57 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 from net income of $108 million the same quarter a year earlier. Amazon met Wall Street expectations with the loss.

Amazon fared better with net sales, which increased 15% to $22.72 billion from $19.74 billion. In North America, net sales grew 24% to $13.41 billion from $10.08 billion.