Data & Analytics

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation (NRF) is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee the week of Feb. 3, as lawmakers begin to look into criminal attacks in which millions of consumers’ credit and debit card numbers were stolen.

Pet360, a leading network of digital resources for pet owners, has appointed Jon Roska as VP of strategic partner development.

In this role, Roska will oversee the development and execution of strategic programs that help brands connect with pet owners in new ways. Roska founded the company's longest-standing Web property — PetFoodDirect.com — in 1997 and most recently served as Pet360's VP of merchandising.

Seattle – The price of subscribing the Amazon Prime preferred shipping program will reportedly increase. According to the Huffington Post, Tom Szkutak, CFO of Amazon, said on a Jan. 30 investors call that the company is considering raising the current $79 yearly fee for Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping, by $20 to $40 in the U.S.

Chicago – Mercury Payment Systems plans to have its day in court against Heartland Payment Systems. Mercury has indicated it will contest the federal lawsuit Heartland Payment Systems filed, charging the company with false advertising, unfair competition, intentional interference with contractual relations, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. The suit, filed in U.S.

New York -- In a study of the returns and refunds performance of the 25 largest online retailers, StellaService found that the majority of retailers evaluated aren’t meeting consumer expectations.

StellaService analysts ordered the same product from each retailer to be delivered to the three separate regions of East, West and Midwest. They then returned the product, tracking metrics such as the presence of a prepaid, adhesive return label, total time to receive a return authorization and refund speed. The average refund speed of was 10.7 days.

In a study of the returns and refunds performance of the 25 largest online retailers, StellaService found that the majority of retailers evaluated aren’t meeting consumer expectations.

StellaService analysts ordered the same product from each retailer to be delivered to the three separate regions of East, West and Midwest. They then returned the product, tracking metrics such as the presence of a prepaid, adhesive return label, total time to receive a return authorization and refund speed. The average refund speed of was 10.7 days.

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Yahoo recently identified a coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts. In a Tumblr blog post signed by Jay Rossiter, senior VP, Platforms and Personalization Products of Yahoo, the company said that upon discovery, it took immediate action to protect users, prompting them to reset passwords on impacted accounts.

Tuesday Morning is starting to see the results of its turnaround strategy, which involved the company exiting a number of non-core categories, such as women’s apparel and footwear.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2014, comparable sales in ongoing core categories increased 7% and were led by exceptional strength in furniture, up 57%; sheets and linens, up 23%; and home décor, up 20%.