Data & Analytics

Chicago -- Retailers looking for opportunities in emerging markets should look East, particularly to China, which ranks as the top country in A.T. Kearney’s annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). China, which returns to number one in the GRDI rankings for the first time since 2010, is expected to surpass the United States as the world's largest retail market by 2018.

Books continue to be a tough sell at Books-A-Million, which reported a decline in revenue and same store sales in the first quarter.

Revenue at Books-A-Million fell 1.9% in the first quarter ended May 2, compared to the prior year quarter. Total sales fell to $101.8 million, while the net loss was cut to $5.3 million from $5.6 million. Same store sales dropped 0.9%.

Mountain View, Calif. -- Consumers who use digital coupons both shop more and spend more than the average shopper. According to the  "Digital Coupon Redeemer: Shopper Trends" report, heavy digital coupon users shop 47%  more often than the average shopper, spending $6,081 annually on groceries and household goods alone – a 114% more than the national average.

Denton, Texas - Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. is releasing new information about a data breach that occurred at varying times between March and April 17, 2015, its second in less than a year. Criminals are believed to have used malware deployed on some Sally Beauty POS systems, which may have put payment card information of customers at risk.

Big Lots continued to see positive results from the steps it has taken to improve its business in the first quarter, with the retailer posting increases in profit and sales.

Same store sales rose by 1.6% in the first quarter ended May 2, reflecting better performance in its remaining stores, and income from continuing operations jumped by 13% to $32.3 million, producing earnings of $0.60 per share, beating estimates by a penny.

San Francisco - Westfield San Francisco Centre has enlisted RetailNext Inc., a provider of retail analytics for brick-and-mortar stores, to provide in-store retail analytics technologies and services for Bespoke, its new retail-technology hub. Bespoke is made up of tech demonstration, coworking and event spaces.

On Thursday, Google introduced Android Pay, which will power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices. Here are some comments from Pat Dermody, president of Retale, a location-based mobile platform connecting shoppers with their favorite local retailers, on the new feature:

Nashville, Tenn. – Genesco Inc. reported profit beneath Wall Street expectations in the first quarter of fiscal 2016, with planned inventory reductions and e-commerce-related expenses hindering growth. The retailer reported net earnings of $9.88 million, a 29% decrease from $13.97 million the same period the previous year.

Net sales rose 5% to $661 million from $629 million. Same-store sales grew 4%. Genesco said that West Coast port-related delivery delays impeded same-store sales growth.