Data & Analytics

Macy’s tempered its full year sales forecast after solid second quarter results and growing optimism around omnichannel initiatives weren’t enough to offset a slow start to the year.

Macy’s said sales increased 3.3% to $6.267 billion and same store sales increased 4% during the second quarter ended August 2. Excluding sales in departments licensed to third parties same store sales increase 3.4%. Profits increased to $292 million, or 80 cents a share, from $281 million, or 72 cents a share.

Target Canada is looking to improve business performance with a new set of initiatives that the company has unveiled on the heels of some leadership changes last spring, as well as a comprehensive review of its Canadian operations.

Among the initiatives, Target unveiled a new price-match policy and unveiled a long-term partnership with celebrity designer Sarah Richardson, set to launch next year. Richardson’s new line of home décor will debut exclusively at Target Canada beginning in fall 2015.

Bebida Beverage Company (BeBevCo), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of relaxation and energy products, is rolling out its flagship beverage, KOMA Unwind Liquid Relaxation, at select 7-Eleven stores in the Quad Cities.

E-commerce giant Ratuken’s U.S. fulfillment service, Ratuken Super Logistics, has begun to accept Internet currency Bitcoin as payment.

The company will accept payment from its customers immediately for fulfillment services and software delivery through the company BitPay.

Former Ahold and CVS executive Paula Price is the newest member of the Dollar General board of directors.

She joins the board of the 11,500 store retailer at a pivotal time. Dollar General is in the midst of a search for a top executive to succeed Rick Dreiling who has indicated he will step down next year and two of the company’s arch rivals, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, have announced plans to merge.

San Jose, California – U.S. shopping trends showed some improvement in July 2014, although not all metrics experienced positive change, compared to the same month a year earlier. According to the RetailNext Insights Report of more than 13 million shopping trips in July 2014, sales per shopper increased 3.5% from July 2013.

Boise, Idaho - More than half of back-to-school shoppers will not purchase computers this year. According to the Crucial.com Back-to-School Shopping Report, which includes responses from 1,000 adults in the U.S., found that 57% of respondents do not plan to purchase laptops, desktops, tablets, or mobile devices for school this year, as a vast majority of consumers are increasingly concerned with becoming more frugal.

San Francisco – The Grand Cities Mall in Grand Forks, North Dakota leads all U.S. shopping malls in both the presence of shoppers who live and the presence of shoppers who work within three miles.

Austin, Texas -- Market Basket Grocery Stores, a privately-owned grocer with 34 full-service supermarkets in the East Texas and Louisiana region, has renewed and expanded their agreement for Revionics Life Cycle Pricing Optimization. They expanded the agreement to also include Revionics Advanced Analytics services, such as the Key Value Item (KVI) Analysis, which will enable them to leverage science to better align their KVIs with shopper behavior and the competitive landscape.

Atlanta - Retail spending growth was at an 11-month high in July as summer vacation travel led strong spending during the month, according to data reported by payment technology and services provider First Data Corporation. The First Data SpendTrend analysis looked at the period July 1 through 31, 2014, compared to July 2 through Aug. 1, 2013.