Data & Analytics

Reston, Va. -- Online shoppers in the U.S. lead the world in customer satisfaction. According to the latest UPS Pulse of the Online Shopper report released in conjunction with comScore, Inc., shoppers in the U.S. are the most satisfied with online shopping experiences at 83%, while consumers in the Asia Pacific are least satisfied at only 50%.

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook has released a new update designed to help make brand promotion through contests easier to handle. Brands can now create a contest and control it through their Facebook business page timelines.

However, personal profile timelines cannot be used to back up a brand promotion contest. Facebook has removed the requirement that promotions on Facebook may only be administered within apps. With the change, promotions may now be administered on page timelines and in apps on Facebook, but not on personal timelines.

Loblaw has announced a string of executive moves, including the appointment of Mark Butler as EVP integration, who is charged with integrating the recently acquired Shoppers Drug Mart.

In the newly created role, Butler will take on responsibility for planning the integration of Shoppers Drug Mart, while ensuring it remains an independent division. And subject to completion of the transaction following review by the Competition Bureau, Butler will lead the team charged with delivering synergies. He has 37 years with Loblaw, and most recently was EVP conventional division.

Harker Heights, Texas — Sam’s Club will open its new Harker Heights, Texas location on Sept. 26 at 8 a.m. The grand opening will feature presentations by the mayor of Harker Heights and the president of the chamber of commerce president. Retired NFL player Ed “Too Tall” Jones will make an appearance from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The new 136,000-sq.-ft. warehouse will bring 175 jobs to the community and feature a fresh bakery, a tire and battery center, a café and a fueling station.

nGage Labs, a leading provider of in-store shopper engagement solutions for retailers, has appointed Kelly Gibson as the company’s director of retail engagement solutions.

Franklin, Tenn. – The dollar value of transactions performed at self-service kiosks in North America surpassed $822 billion in 2012 and should reach more than $1 trillion by the end of 2014. Self-service kiosks are currently used in more than 100,000 checkout lanes at North American retailers.

By Joe Easley, Sr. Director, Business Development & Product Strategy, Kobie Marketing

As retailers continue their quest for deepening customer engagement, they’ll often turn to a loyalty program. Yet high membership numbers are deceiving because engagement levels are actually stagnant. This poses the question, are loyalty programs right for every brand? How do brands choose the right strategy for customer engagement and the overall integration of the loyalty program within the brand?

Irvine, Calif. – Tilly’s, Inc. has partnered with Thanx Media to host and manage its Oracle Endeca implementation. Tilly’s worked closely with Thanx to select and implement the best solution to meet its goals of improved search engine optimization (SEO), site search, and product merchandising within site search results.