Data & Analytics

The CEO of HSN says that for the first time ever, more than half of sales at HSN came from digital channels.

But onine sales did not make up for heavy discounting, and the companyposted profit and revenue declines.The company reported that for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, net sales decreased 2% and adjusted EBITDA decreased 3%.Adjusted EPS was $1.15 compared to $1.22 in the prior year.

Consumers in the U.S. are definitely relying on digital tools to aid their shopping activities.

According to a new study of 2,000 consumers in nine countries including the U.S. from Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide,” 49% of purchases made in the U.S. are digitally influenced, and 28% are influenced by mobile.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group announced that it has been ranked among Fortune’s Most Admired Companies in the real estate industry for the fourth consecutive year.

Fortune rates companies on attributes related to corporate performance. In the 2016 program, CBRE was the top-rated real estate firm for people management and also scored notably well on quality of services, quality of management, financial soundness and innovation. Overall CBRE achieved a score of 6.69, up from 6.23 in 2015.

Retailers who are looking to provide a genuine omnichannel customer experience can take one crucial step to help themselves.

According to a new study of more than 300 global retail CEOs, including 100 U.S. CEOs, from enterprise retail technology provider JDA Software Group Inc. and PwC, operational silos are a key inhibitor to delivering an integrated, seamless experience. Only 18% of CEOs said they have eliminated operational silos and are delivering seamless omnichannel shopping experiences for their customers.

When it comes to providing a positive environment for online shoppers, one retailer stands above the rest.

In conjunction with its 18th Annual Mystery Shopping Study conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015, the e-tailing group has released its ninth annual Customer Experience Index. Nordstrom.com received a top score of 86.75. Websites are scored on a 100-point scale based on an assessment of metrics from five key pages, presence and execution of vital merchandising tactics, and exemplary customer service.

Charming Charlie wants to make sure Web customers get the same attentive service as shoppers at its 350-plus stores.

To that end, the jewelry and accessories retailer has deployed the Yottaa ContextIntelligence cloud-based application acceleration and security platform to optimize, accelerate, and secure its online retail environment. The platform is being leveraged alongside Magento Enterprise.

Office Depot continues to hope its merger with Staples secures approval from U.S. regulators, but in the meantime the performance of its retail operations is looking much better should it remain an independent company.

Office Depot’s North American retail footprint did shrink to 1,564 locations at the end of the year after the company closed a total of 181 stores, including 56 in the fourth quarter. Thinning the herd a bit helped the overall profitability of Office Depot’s largest division during the period ended Dec. 26 even though sales declined.