Data & Analytics

INDIANAPOLIS and LOS ANGELES  — In what is being touted as the first iBeacon-wearable integration at retail, Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket have announced the deployment of a closed-loop iBeacon platform, enabling shoppers with smartphones and Apple Watch to have their favorite apps come alive in-store.

New York -- As the use in-store mobile payment becomes more pervasive, consumers require increased education on the performance and ease of use of mobile pay services, a recent survey by Verifone of U.S. consumer attitudes suggested.

New York -- Sports retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has implemented Oracle Retail solutions to support growth by streamlining merchandising and inventory operations.

The 185-store chain has targeted sales growth in-store and online and, according to Oracle, as retailers manage an increasingly more complex array of customer segments and channels, success hinges on simplifying and optimizing mission-critical operations such as pricing, inventory management and allocation.

Lincolnshire, Ill. --- Zebra Technologies Corporation released survey results that revealed nearly all retailers are ready to make the changes required to adopt the Internet of Things (IoT). The survey, conducted in October 2014 by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Zebra Technologies, also showed that a majority of retailers believe IoT will be the most important technological initiative of the decade.

Some of the key findings from the survey include:

New York -- Family-owned luxury apparel retailer Mitchells Family of Stores has partnered with ThoughtWorks Retail to reenergize the luxury shopping experience through its e-commerce and brick-and-mortar channels. The newly launched, customized responsive-design website, developed by ThoughtWorks, allows the Mitchells loyal customer base to access personal shopping profiles via M World, a platform where customers can see their own virtual closets of wardrobe purchases made both in the physical store or on the e-commerce site.

New York -- Vestis Retail Group, which operates Bob’s Stores, Eastern Mountain Sports and Sport Chalet, has selected Epicor Software Corp.’s SaaS solutions to power its expanding retail sporting goods apparel and equipment business.

Atlanta -- 400-store French apparel retailer Kiabi has selected Predictix to implement a unified suite of merchandising and supply chain optimization solutions.

Predictix, which harnesses predictive and prescriptive analytics, and the unlimited computing power of the cloud to bring insights into consumer demand, will allow Kiabi to discover a deeper, richer understanding of what drives consumer demand and reach a new level of customer intimacy.

After posting stronger than expected holiday sales, Burlington Stores Inc. has named a new chief financial officer.

Marc Katz, formerly the company’s EVP of merchandise support and information technology, is replacing Todd Weyhrich, who retired this month.

Despite a strong increase in same store sales, Genesco’s CEO says the company remains cautious about the rest of the fourth quarter.

Genesco Inc. reported that its same store sales, including both stores and direct sales, increased 10% for the quarter-to-date period ended Jan. 3, from the equivalent period last year. Same store sales increased 9% and sales for the company's e-commerce and catalog direct sales businesses increased 25% on a comparable basis for the period.

NRF president Matthew Shay told attendees of retail’s Big Show in New York City this week that the industry is well-positioned for 2015 – with a little help from friends in Washington, D.C.