Data & Analytics

Overall retailers had a good 2015 holiday from a digital commerce standpoint, but some patterns changed.

According to the Verizon Retail Index, days that previously had unusual spikes in e-commerce activity, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, now show more normal levels of online traffic and purchase activity. Part of this shift is attributed to the widespread availability of high-speed online connections from consumer mobile devices.

The Oculus Rift virtual reality (VR) headset is slowly gaining popularity with retailers as a customer engagement tool, and an industry vendor is hoping to capitalize on the trend.

Location-based mobile platform Retale is releasing Retale Virtual Reality (VR) for Oculus Rift this year. Designed to be a VR, location-based shopping companion, it will provide an immersive, 3D environment where customers can shop context-based local offers.

If a “leader” is someone who knows how to take charge, achieve goals and inspire others along the way — even in the most trying of circumstances — then the women featured in this special section are leaders in every sense of the word. They have toiled and proved their mettle — and smarts — in a field that traditionally has not been all that female-friendly: technology.

The Container Store is cutting its guidance for the year after the company says expenses led it to report a loss in the third quarter.

Mall operator General Growth Properties (GGP) is looking to get in touch with customers in a new and very personal way.

GGP has selected Mobiquity to be the provider of beacon-based advertising services for select malls in its U.S. portfolio, including Tysons Galleria (Washington D.C.), Glendale Galleria (Los Angeles), Water Tower Place (Chicago) and Ala Moana Center (Honolulu).

A drop in same-store sales led Bed Bath & Beyond to report a 21% decline in profit for the third quarter.

The retailer said same store sales in the third quarter ended Nov. 28 decreased by approximately 0.4%, compared with an increase of approximately 1.7% in last year's fiscal third quarter. Same-store sales from digital channels grew in excess of 25%.

Bed Bath & Beyond reported a profit of $177.8 million, or $1.09 a share, compared with $225.4 million, or $1.23 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 0.3% to $2.95 billion.

Costco Wholesale Corporation on Wednesday reported net sales of $12.5 billion for the month of December, which includes the five weeks ended Jan. 3, 2016, an increase of 3%.

For the 18 weeks ended Jan. 3, 2016, the company reported net sales of $41.7 billion, an increase of 2%.

Comparable sales across Costco's U.S. network were up 3% across both time frames.