Data & Analytics

CEO Brian Cornell isn't done retooling the executive leadership team at Target Corp.: The retailer now has a new COO and CFO.

Target has promoted current CFO John Mulligan to the newly created role of executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Sept. 1. Mulligan will assume oversight of stores, supply chain and properties. Joining Target as executive vice president and chief financial officer will be Cathy Smith, a seasoned retail business leader. Both Mulligan and Smith will report to Cornell.

New York – Teen girls are known for being social, and they are staying true to form for the back-to-school season. According to a study of 1.035 teen girls by Teen Vogue and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), 75% of respondents will use their smartphone to seek out back-to-school inspirations and ideas.

Philadelphia – Although net income at Urban Outfitters Inc. slightly slipped in the second quarter of fiscal 2016 compared to the same period a year earlier, it still beat Wall Street expectations. Net income totaled $66.84 million, down 1% from $67.5 million.

I recently participated in an SAP-sponsored panel discussion on Game-Changers Radio about how consumer product companies are using real-time consumer insights and engagement. Buoyed by constant customer connectivity, consumer product firms are gaining a much clearer and timelier picture of their end customers, and also directly engaging them near or in real time.

A new study seems to support the theory that holiday shopping is often starting earlier than commonly thought, especially online.

Minneapolis – The ongoing shakeup of senior management that has been occurring at Target Corp. since CEO Brian J. Cornell took the reins in August 2014 is continuing. Target has promoted John Mulligan, who has served as CFO since 2012, to the newly created role of executive VP and COO, effective Sept. 1.

The CEO of Amazon.com is hitting back against an article in the New York Times over the weekend that accuses the retailer of having a ruthless and even abusive workplace culture.

According to CNBC, an internal memo (excerpt below) from CEO Jeff Bezos being circulated at Amazon.com calls the article inaccurate and beyond “isolated anecdotes.” Bezos also made the rounds on newspaper websites and on cable TV lambasting the Times article as "not the Amazon" he knows.

New York – As millennial moms are making back-to-school preparations that include planning school lunches, many are turning to their peers and the Internet to get ideas. According to a survey of millennial moms about their back-to-school lunch plans by online review site Influenster, word of mouth (79%) is the top influencer for school lunch shopping decisions.

That is followed by online reviews (59%), social media (57%), brand websites (43%), television (37%), news websites (16%) and newspapers (15%).