Data & Analytics

Nicholas Isasi, Executive Vice President, DM Transportation

As the economy continues to slowly recover, retailers, more than ever, are looking to maximize revenues while controlling costs. Increasingly, many company CFOs and logistics managers are examining an often-overlooked expense that is costing them, in many cases, tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year: inbound transportation costs.

By Jerome Malavoy, CEO and Founder, Trace One

The shopping habits of today’s consumers have changed; retailers must be able to provide the product information they want through one or more of the marketing channels they may frequent — and all of those communications must be consistent with the physical in-store experience. That means new merchandising tactics are being embraced by industry leaders who are turning to digital signage to enhance the shopper experience and achieve competitive differentiation.

The Timex brand is synonymous with watches so it’s no surprise that the company has entered the wearable teachnology space with a new smartwatch, called the Timex Ironman One GPS+, which offers consumers stand-alone wireless connectivity without a phone.

The brand is marketing the smartwatch as the ideal device to use in those instances when carrying a phone is not ideal. Some of the Timex Ironman One GPS+ smartwatch’s features include the following:

Payment solutions provider Global Payments has signed a referral agreement with BitPay, a payment service provider (PSP) specializing in bitcoin digital currency, which will allow Global Payments to incorporate the cryptocurrency into its product suite and offer bitcoin payment acceptance to its worldwide merchants.

Toys“R”Us has appointed Chetan Bhandari as the company’s SVP, corporate finance and treasurer. He will report to EVP and CFO Mike Short.

Discount grocer Aldi, Costco and Walmart were recognized as the nation’s low price grocery leaders in a recent study conducted by Market Force Information.

It was the fourth consecutive year Aldi has received the low price distinction in the survey conducted by Market Force, a leading customer intelligence solutions firm. When asked to rank the top grocers offering low prices, the 6,200 consumers who participated in the study ranked Aldi first, Costco second and Walmart third. Aldi president Jason Hart was quick to take a victory lap.

Walgreens has exercised its option to complete the second step of its strategic transaction with Alliance Boots ahead of the original option period, which was between February and August 2015. The transaction, subject to shareholder and various regulatory approvals, would fully combine the two companies to form the first global pharmacy-led, health and well-being enterprise.
 

North Bergen, N.J. – Vitamin Shoppe Inc. reported net income of $16.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, down 8% from $18.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Expenses related to Vitamin Shoppe’s March 2013 purchase of Super Supplements chain helped reduce the retailer’s net income.

San Francisco – Shopper traffic declined 6% in July 2014 compared to the same month in 2013, due to real wage pressure, favorable summer weather, and a shift towards big-ticket item purchases, according to monthly benchmarks from in-store analytics provider Euclid.