Data & Analytics

ABC Stores automates Hawaiian warehouse with Voice Picking
Irvine, Calif. -- C-store operator ABC Stores selected DecisionPoint Systems to automate its Hawaiian warehouse operation using Wavelink's Speakeasy voice picking technology. The move reduced picking errors and increased efficiencies by 40%, prompting the retailer to look at further deployment.
Report: Retailers unprepared for rise in mobile shoppers
Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Mobile shopping is expected to reach new highs this holiday season, but retailers aren’t prepared to meet customers’ mobile needs, according to a new CFI Group study, sponsored by eBay Enterprise.

Alibaba reports $9.3 billion in sales on China’s “Singles Day” sales event

New York -- Alibaba Group Holding Limited announced that it hosted $9.3 billion in sales on China’s “Singles Day,” an annual sales event held on Nov. 11.

The E-commerce giant said that 43 of all Singles Day transactions came through mobile devices, up from 21% in 2013.
Research: Food shoppers opt for brick-and-mortar over online

Chicago -- Although consumers are changing how they shop for food and beverages, most prefer to make perishable purchases in tradition brick-and-mortar locations.
Deeper Dive: Apple Pay vs. CurrentC

CurrentC, the mobile payment service under development from a retailer consortium known as Merchant Customer Exchange, or MCX, has been getting a lot of attention in the past week. First MCX members CVS and Rite Aid disabled their NFC payment systems to block the rival ApplePay mobile payment service, and then hackers stole the emails of CurrentC users. And despite all this publicity, CurrentC is still in pilot mode.
Kurt Salmon: Retailers to speed up holiday online processing/shipping by two days

New York -- Amid a public fight for Thanksgiving weekend foot traffic, retailers are also battling behind the scenes to prepare for peak-season e-commerce orders. According to a new Kurt Salmon survey, retailers will reduce their processing and shipping time frames for multi-item orders by almost two days this holiday season.
SAP and Samsung partner on mobile devices for business, including payments solution

New York -- Samsung Electronics and SAP SE are partnering to deliver enterprise mobility solutions for a number of industries, including an integrated payments solution.
Luxottica Group goes live with JDA solution

Bracknell, England -- JDA Software Group announced that eyewear manufacturer/marketer Luxottica Group SpA has gone live with its implementation of JDA Supply Chain Planner, from the JDA Manufacturing Planning.
In era of app overload Shopfeed eyes simplicity

A new app from Shopfeed is designed to streamline the product discovery process in a world where new products are said to be mentioned 400 million times a day online.

Shopfeed launched its new app to offer the most updated trends from magazines, blogs, and celebrities, all in one place by creating lists from the best of the Web in areas such as style, home, technology and entertainment.
RetailNext names IBM exec to marketing role

Marc Dietz has joined big data analytics provider RetailNext as chief marketing officer.

Dietz joins RetailNext from IBM where he led worldwide marketing for the company's SaaS portfolio, including multiple acquisitions such as DemandTec, Coremetrics, and Silverpop. Prior to the $440 million acquisition of DemandTec by IBM, Dietz led all marketing efforts at the cloud-based analytics provider for retailers and consumer products companies. He helped grow DemandTec from an early stage through IPO in 2007, and the IBM transaction in 2012, according to RetailNext.
More retailers offer Ultra’s prepaid service

Target, Dollar General and Barnes & Noble are helping customers make an international connection with a new offering from UltraMobile.
Retail circular advertising trends, September 2014

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in September 2013 versus September 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. In the aftermath of back-to-school season, Walmart and Staples appear to be trying to clear out all remaining school and office supplies. Staples accomplished this by improving its previous offer of $5 off with purchase of $30 to $10 off and also cut backpack prices by 50%. Walmart shifted the focus from school to office, with a “Run Your Business for Less” promotion.