Data & Analytics

Walmart is joining forces with a new supplier database provider to support the retailer’s manufacturing initiative, which aims to find U.S. suppliers to manufacture products.

The move is part of Walmart's commitment to invest $250 billion in products that will support and create American jobs by 2023. Based on data from Boston Consulting Group, it is estimated that one million new U.S. jobs will be created through this initiative.

Washington, D.C. – Kids may be unhappy about back-to-school season, but importers are surely thrilled.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 7.3% in July 2015 month from the same time last year as retailers stock up for the busy back-to-school season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

Sam's Club is looking to expose more of its shoppers to 3D printing technology by expanding its partnership with MakerBot.

The retailer announced it has expanded its availability of MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printers to all 651 Sam’s Club locations nationwide. Select clubs will also feature a new in-club display that prominently showcases a physical MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer, so customers can learn about the technology first hand.

Athens, Ga. -- Say hello to Snagshout, a new website that offers shoppers a discount in exchange for a review.

The site, which launched on Wednesday, offers deep discounts on a wide range of retail products for purchase, use and review. It connects shoppers looking for deals with merchants looking to gain traction with new items on Amazon.  

Boise, Idaho – Albertsons Companies Inc., which became the second-largest grocery retailer in the United States after purchasing Safeway in January, is planning to return to public ownership with a major stock offering that has implications for trading partners and competitors.

Chicago – As grocery shoppers’ lives keep getting busier, Ahold’s online grocery delivery service Peapod keeps trying to make shopping easier.

Peapod has completely redesigned its mobile and tablet app, with larger, high-resolution photos and a host of new features designed to streamline and simplify online shopping.

Photo via Boston Business Journal

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is taking its urban-format to the East Coast.

The retailer will open a CityTarget location in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood on July 22. Boston Business Journal offers a sneak peek at the three-level, 160,000-sq.-ft. store.

Click here.

 

The menswear market is hot. Men’s apparel sales in the United States rose 2% in 2014 to $61.3 billion, up from $60.8 billion in 2013.

And Men’s Wearhouse — one of North America’s largest menswear specialty retailers with 1,758 stores — has been taking note.