Data & Analytics

ECRM: Retail circular advertising trends, October 2014
ECRM compared retail circular advertising in October 2013 vs. October 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. CVS and Walgreens increased the number of circular pages seen in October 2014; up respectively by 18% and 11%. Walgreens added 13% more halloween candy promotions, where as CVS added 9% in October comparable. Walgreens used an attractive “Save on Treats” candy promotional page in each October circular, nicely consolidating candy promotions into concise seasonal sections.
Moody’s forecasts 4- to 5% sales increase in 2015
New York -- The outlook for the U.S. retail industry in 2015 is stable, according to a new report by Moody’s Investor Service, which forecasts that retail sales will grow 3- to 4% in 2014, and 4- to 5% in 2015. The report, Moody’s U.S. Retail Industry Outlook, also finds that traditional brick-and-mortar retailers will be formidable competitors to pure-play online merchants.

Alibaba racks up $2 billion in sales in first hour of annual shopping festival

New York -- Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings sold about $2 billion worth of goods on its websites within approximately the first hour of its annual shopping extravaganza. This is the sixth year Alibaba has celebrated Singles Day, or 11.11 (named after the date, 11/11), a 24-hour deep-discount festival designed to boost sales during an otherwise weak period in China's sales calendar.
ARTS announces significant updates to data model standards

Washington -- The Association for Retail Technology Standards, a division of the National Retail Federation, on Monday announced the approval of the ARTS Operational Data Model version 7.0, and the ARTS Data Warehouse Model 3.0.
RetailNext names IBM exec as chief marketing officer

San Jose, Calif. -- RetailNext Inc., a leader in applied Big Data for physical retail, named Marc Dietz as its chief marketing officer. Dietz comes to RetailNext most recently from IBM where he led worldwide marketing for the company’s SaaS portfolio, including multiple acquisitions such as DemandTec, Coremetrics, and Silverpop.
Heartland acquires XPIENT Solutions

Princeton, N.J. -- Heartland Payment Systems, the nation's fifth largest payments processor and a leading provider of merchant business solutions, has acquired leading foodservice industry enterprise-level POS software provider, XPIENT Solutions.
Plug & Play’s CEO Corner: John McIntyre, Sightly

Plug and Play brings together retailers and start-ups that offer specific technology and expertise that can relieve merchants’ pain points. Chain Store Age’s Customer Disruption newletter provides a Q&A with the CEO of one of those companies in each issue. This time, the spotlight is on John McIntyre of Sightly. What does Sightly do?
TechBytes: Three Ways SAP Bilt Enhances Customer Experience

About a year ago, I wrote a TechBytes column about a concept app called “Snap", which SAP had developed to provide consumers with interactive instructions for assembling products at home. After some fine-tuning, SAP is now officially launching a DIY home assembly app called “Bilt” for Android and iOS tablet devices.
Deloitte: Most of holiday shopping to be done in store

New York -- Despite potential seasonal barriers to store trips such as long lines, traffic and limited merchandise selection, consumers anticipate spending the majority of their holiday budget in physical stores this year, according to Deloitte's 29th annual holiday survey.
Study: Gen Y shoppers prefer retailers that offer financing options

Austin, Texas -- Gen Y consumers, whose annual spending power is estimated at $200 billion, prefer to shop at retailers that offer financing options, according to a new study. An eNation study of more than 2,000 consumers, commissioned by financial technology company NewComLink, found that 59% of shoppers between the ages of 18 and 34 say their choice of retailer is impacted by whether that retailer offers financing options.
Asda partners with online performance marketing firm HookLogic

London -- Leading British retailer Asda has partnered with ecommerce performance marketing company HookLogic to launch the company’s first venture into the European market.
Sobeys seeing red in Canada with PECO deal

Customers and store associates at Sobey’s stores in Canada are seeing red after the operator of 1,500 stores became the latest company to use PECO Pallet’s distinctively colored pallets.

PECO said it added Sobeys to its growing list of authorized distributors in Canada so that Canadian and U.S. manufacturers and produce companies can now ship their products into Sobeys supermarkets throughout Canada on PECO’s wooden pallets.