Data & Analytics

Tokyo -- Alibaba wants to put a robot, specifically one named Pepper, in your home — or store.

The Chinese e-commerce giant and Foxconn Technology Group announced they are each investing $117.8 million in Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank’s robotics unit, SoftBank Robotics Holding Corp. Softbank will own 60% of the joint venture, with Alibaba and Foxconn each holding ownership stakes of 20%.

Kroger turned in a stunning first quarter same store sales performance while expanding omnichannel and convenience capabilities designed to extend a comp streak now well into the 11^th year.

Same store sales rose 5.7% excluding fuel in the first quarter ended May 23. Net income attributable to Kroger rose to $619 million, or $1.25 per share, in the first quarter, from $501 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier.

The role of IT has shifted dramatically in retail in the past 10-15 years, from a simple automation tool to an enabler of competitive advantage and business transformation. At the same time, the role of the CFO in IT has shifted quite a bit as well, and some top finance executives may feel a little uncertain about their place in the new retail IT landscape.

Brian Kilcourse and Paula Rosenblum, managing partners at RSR Research who have both previously served as retail CIOs, have some advice for today’s retail CFO.

Boston -- Brian Tilzer, senior VP and chief digital officer of CVS Health, sat down with Chain Store Age at the opening of the CVS Digital Innovation Lab in Boston to discuss the strategy behind the lab and CVS’ larger goals for transforming health care through digital technology.

No great surprise that Walmart sits atop the Fortune 500 list of the world’s largest companies with its annual revenues of $485.6 billion.

Naturally, that raises familiar questions about future growth which were addressed by president and CEO Doug McMillon.

According to Fortune, Walmart is a crossroads as it transitions from the big-box era that propelled it to the world's largest company, to one in which customers are fussier about what they eat and can easily comparison shop thanks to the internet.

Alibaba wants to put a robot, specifically one named Pepper, in your home — or store.

Boston -- Imagine a world where access to any health information or services you needed was available at any time through your digital device. We are not there yet, but CVS Health is doing its best to create that world with its new Digital Innovation Lab located in Boston.

New York -- Women have a real investment hiding in their closets, according to a survey by Alliance Data’s Card Services business, which manages store-brand credit card programs for retailers.

One-fourth of survey respondents indicated the total value of the items in their closet to be from $1,000 to $2,499, and 17% valued the contents between $5,000 and $9,999.