Data & Analytics

Chicago - Starwood Retail Partners is rewarding mall shoppers, regardless of which stores in the mall they choose to shop.

Starwood is rolling out Oh, So Simple Rewards, a program that lets consumers earn credit for their purchases at stores across the entire mall.

Seattle – The flop of Amazon’s Fire smartphone device last year continues to have repercussions.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon has laid off dozens of employees who worked on developing Fire at its Lab126 innovation center in Silicon Valley.

Books-A-Million needs a lot more best-sellers.

Bolingbrook, Ill. -- Fast-growing Ulta Beauty shows no signs of losing its momentum as the specialty retailer reported better than-expected results for the second quarter and raised its guidance.

On its quarterly earnings call, Ulta said it will launch a national television advertising campaign.

Ulta’s net profits increased 8.5% to $74.2 million, from $60.8 million in the year-ago period, helped by an improved online assortment and less overall discounting.

Ulta Beauty is continuing to deliver blockbuster financial results by attracting blockbuster numbers of shoppers to its stores. 

The beauty retailer reported a 7% increase in customer traffic for the second quarter ended Aug. 1 and average spending rose by 3%. The company also raised its outlook for the second time this year: Comps are now targeted at rising 9%, rather than the 8% the Ulta team forecast in May. 

Franklin, Tenn. – When it comes to their POS systems, specialty softgoods retailers have two clear preferences.

Moorestown, N.J. – Destination Maternity Corp. swung to a loss in a generally difficult second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Costs related to store closures and headquarters relocation helped drive the retailer to a net loss of $2.68 million from net income of $321,000 a year earlier.

Dallas – Consumers show a clear preference for one particular perk from retailer reward programs, and it isn’t cash back.

According to “The Road to Rewards,” a consumer behavior report from Excentus, more than 54% of U.S. consumers polled in July 2015 belong to loyalty programs that enable them to save on the cost of fuel.