Data & Analytics

Oracle Retail begins 2015 with a former top IBM exec in a key leadership role and several key acquisitions under its belt as the technology leader looks to help retailers achieve differentiated shopping experiences.

Oracle Retail named Jill Puleri as Senior Vice President and General Manager reporting to Mike Webster, Oracles Senior Vice President and General Manager, Retail and Hospitality. Puleri most recently served as Worldwide Retail Industry Leader for IBM Global Business Services.

The new year will bring more fraud than ever before, but also more tools to prevent it, according to three experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

The experts at ACFE were asked for their top fraud predictions for 2015. They weighed in on digital currencies, information security and other issues that will help shape the effort to prevent and detect fraud in the new year:

Tractor Supply Company has strengthened its partnership with the National 4-H Council by taking in $763,283 for the organization during a 10-day national in-store fundraiser.

With the $1.5 million Tractor Supply raised during spring and fall campaigns, Tractor Supply has now donated nearly $6.5 million to 4-H programs across the country in just over four years.

The nation’s newest mall in Sarasota, Fla., introduced shoppers to a new app with interesting navigation and personalization capabilities. Now the trick is driving downloads and usage.

Technology will give fraudsters an edge in 2015, but it will also provide new tools for organizations and investigators, according to three experts from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) who were asked for their top fraud predictions for 2015. The experts weighed in on digital currencies, information security and other issues that will help shape the effort to prevent and detect fraud in the new year:  

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Watch out Amazon, QVC is at your back—at least when it comes to  customer satisfaction.  

With an online storefront on the Amazon Webstore hosted e-commerce platform, New York-based direct-to-consumer specialty fashion retailer Spiegel LLC is already extending its virtual presence. Taking that extended Amazon Webstore presence a step further into the world of social commerce is the next logical step in engaging consumers in whatever channel they choose.

Female executives make their mark on the world of retail IT

It’s no secret that neither the retail industry nor the technology industry has exactly achieved parity when it comes to granting women access to top-level decision-making positions. According to a report from IIC Partners, 64% of retailers said their senior executive team was less than 25% female — despite the fact that women drive a whopping 85% of all consumer purchases.

Women are famously underrepresented in technology.

There’s been no shortage of developments in retail payments this past year. From high-profile data breaches forcing retailers to reconsider their security strategy, to the launch of Apple Pay bringing mobile to the forefront, both retailers and consumers have been paying unprecedented attention to their transactions.

With innovative players entering the fold and the U.S. payments infrastructure upgrade well under way, the industry is poised for a shift over the next several years.

The 2014 holiday season has shown how shoppers’ growing preference for e-commerce can be challenging for retailers. By offering customers free shipping and ever-faster delivery, and by handling the higher rates of return that often come with e-commerce, retailers potentially face either reduced profit margins or loss in market share if they don’t keep up with customer preferences.

As they plan for 2015, many retailers will consider how they can provide a seamless customer experience that fundamentally helps them to maintain or improve profit margins.