Data & Analytics

Seattle – Last month Facebook overtook Wal-Mart in valuation, and now another digital giant has reportedly achieved the same feat. According to the Associated Press, after intense after-hours trading, which followed Amazon’s rare report of a second quarter fiscal 2015 profit, Amazon now has market capitalization of about $264 billion.

Seattle – Everyone from mass merchandisers to dollar stores has been getting into the grocery business in recent years, and the vertical may soon have a new and very large participant.

Oak Brook, Ill. – Retail Properties of America Inc. (RPAI) has named Heath R. Fear as its new CFO and treasurer, effective Aug. 17. Fear will play a key role in the continued execution of the company’s portfolio and balance sheet strategy, in addition to oversight of all of financial activities, including capital markets, accounting, investor relations, internal audit, internal reporting and treasury.

Boston – The increasingly crowded digital payment field will soon have a new player. According to Bloomberg, the retailer-backed Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) is preparing to launch a trial of its CurrentC digital payment solution in stores.

A Food City supermarket in Bristol, Va., has given new meaning to that old merchandising adage, “stack it high and let it fly,” by creating the world’s largest pineapple display.

A unique arrangement between Starbucks and ride-sharing service Lyft should serve as a blueprint for the rest of the retail industry when it comes to developing unconventional partnerships that lead to new growth possibilities.

Seattle - Starbucks Corp. is looking to increase its corporate ownership stake. The retailer has authorized the repurchase of an additional 50 million shares of the company's common stock under its ongoing share repurchase program.

This authorization has no expiration date and is in addition to the 11 million shares that remained available for repurchase as of June 28, 2015 under an existing authorization.

Beijing, China - Tmall.com, an online shopping platform run by Alibaba Group, is launching same-day grocery delivery services to residents of Beijing. Beijing residents who order from Tmall’s supermarket before 11 a.m. will be eligible for the delivery service, called Tmall Supermarket.

Tmall is partnering with Cainiao, the logistics affiliate of Alibaba Group, to deliver the service, In the future, Tmall Supermarket and Cainiao plan to roll-out same-day delivery services to Shanghai and other Chinese cities.