Data & Analytics

New York – Department stores are increasingly using an omnichannel approach to meet the needs of consumers. According to the Digital IQ Index from digital intelligence provider L2, half of department stores offer shoppers a “click and collect” option, 68% allow in-store returns of online purchases, and 25% provide real-time store inventory.

Other notable findings include:

• Seventy-seven percent of department store brands offer a mobile app;

New York - India, China, and Malaysia are the top-ranked offshoring destinations. According to the 2014 Global Services Location Index (GSLI) from A.T. Kearney, India, China, and Malaysia remain the top three offshoring destinations, and Asia continues to dominate, with six of its countries among the top 10.

Dallas -- Epsilon, an Alliance Data company, has signed a multi-year agreement with Sephora to provide targeted email marketing services focused on driving sales and creating a more personalized experience for customers across Sephora's omnichannel marketing platforms.  

Under the terms of the deal, Epsilon will provide a full suite of permission-based email marketing services including account and campaign management, strategy and email delivery.

Austin, Texas -- Revionics announced that Niemann Foods, a chain of grocery, pet food, hardware, pharmacies and gas stations in the Midwest, has selected Revionics as its price optimization provider.

Revionics will be providing Niemann Foods with their SaaS-based price optimization solution, which includes robust price management, science-based optimization, forecasting, simulation and effectiveness measurement.

Austin, Texas -- Revionics announced that Niemann Foods, a chain of grocery, pet food, hardware, pharmacies and gas stations in the Midwest, has selected Revionics as its price optimization provider.

Revionics will be providing Niemann Foods with their SaaS-based price optimization solution, which includes robust price management, science-based optimization, forecasting, simulation and effectiveness measurement.

New York -- Omnichannel retailer Benchmark Brands has chosen intelligence provider, Upstream Commerce, to maximize Benchmark's price and assortment optimization.

"We chose Upstream Commerce for their experience with large high fashion and apparel retail companies in the US," said Christine Mueller, VP, Benchmark, which specializes in footwear and related products for baby boomers and seniors. "Upstream Commerce fits our goals of providing the best omnichannel shopping experience to our customers while driving profitable growth.

By Howard W. Herndon, BlackLine Payments Advisors

While much of the attention at this week’s Apple press conference was on the iPhone 6 and the company’s new smartwatch, we believe — along with many industry analysts — that the most important news of the splashy event was Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile payments system.

Top Dick’s Sporting Goods executives Joe Schmidt and John Duken have announced plans to leave the retailer before the end of the fiscal year.

Schmidt has served as Dick’s president and COO since 2009. He joined the company in 1990 and has served in key leadership roles with the retailer during his 24 year tenure. Schmidt will remain with the company until the end of the fiscal year, but could leave sooner once a successor is named.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation give away so much money it is hard to keep track of it all and this was certainly evident during the holiday season.

On Thursday, the company announced another round of grants totaling $200,000 to 10 nonprofits groups as part of its “12 Days of Giving” Facebook campaign. Those grants mark the culmination of an innovating corporate giving campaign that integrated social media and resulted in a total of $1.5 million being awarded to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Every holiday season is filled with uncertainty, and this year is no different, except when it comes to e-commerce, where the only unknown is the size of the sales increase.