Data & Analytics

Plug and Play, a business accelerator that specializes in tech startups, is holding its quarterly pitch competition event on its campus in Sunnyvale, California, on Thursday, September 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT. The Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. Chain Store Age will be in attendance — watch for a recap in the next edition of Customer Disruption!

New York -- Amazon and the U.K.-based mobile payments company, Bango, have teamed up with Germany’s Telefónica Deutschland to deliver carrier billing services on Telefónica’s network in Germany.  The service will allow people who buy paid apps and make in-app purchases through Amazon’s appstore to charge that directly to their phone bills.

The service will be deployed gradually through next year on certain Amazon mobile applications running on Telefónica devices in Germany.

Norwalk, Conn. -- LogicSource, a leading sourcing and procurement services firm, announced a multi-year partnership with Pep Boys. LogicSource will provide on-site resources and access to shared service subject matter experts, optimizing Pep Boys’ strategic sourcing and procurement processes and reducing Pep Boys’ costs and time to market.

The process improvements and costs savings will support Pep Boys’ “Road Ahead” expansion strategy.

Overstock's Android app — which includes Google Wallet checkout, allowing shoppers to check out quickly with the press of a button, and alerts shoppers to daily flash sales — has earned the top ranking in the Google Play Store's Editors' Choice.

As more retail promotions migrate online, RetailMeNot has introduced two new products poised to disrupt the traditional print circular.

The new offerings are branded as RetailMeNot Circulars and RetailMeNot Showcase and are part of the company’s portfolio of solutions designed to help retailers and brands increase sales and grow awareness.

New research from an organization called the Luxury Institute found that half the executives in a recent survey are spending at least 30% of their marketing budget on digital methods with an even larger percentage concerned it isn’t enough.

The nation’s largest wholesaler of retail returns, GENCO Marketplace, and marketing automation provider SnapRetail, have combined to bring new capabilities to those looking to efficiently and profitably liquidate merchandise.

The companies joined forces to offer new, easy-to-use online marketing tools to retailers and resellers within the $2.5 billion GENCO Marketplace who will receive special software pricing, access to free educational resources and one-on-one consultations from SnapRetail.

Denver -- Junction Solutions announced today that Pet Supplies Plus, a leading retailer of pet food, pet products and pet supplies, has selected Junction Solutions to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail to help the company standardize business processes, support its growth goals, as well as expand the business into a multichannel operation.

To achieve these goals, Pet Supplies Plus selected Junction Solutions to replace its legacy systems with Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail.  

Plug and Play’s quarterly pitch competition event, Plug and Play Fall Expo 2014, is coming to Plug and Play’s campus in Sunnyvale, California. Fall Expo 2014 will feature 40-plus startup pitches, panel discussions and corporate networking. It will be held Thursday, Sept. 18, from 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. PDT.

Chain Store Age will be in attendance and we hope to see you there!

Apple Pay has some unique competitive advantages that should make it a major factor in the world of mobile commerce. Consumers pay by simply swiping their finger. Any credit card associated with a user’s existing iTunes account is automatically included, and adding a new card is as easy as snapping a photo with the phone’s camera. With more than 200 million existing iTunes accounts and a large base of iPhone devotees, consumer adoption of Apple Pay should grow quickly.