Data & Analytics

Cincinnati - The Kroger Co. has published its eighth annual sustainability report, setting its first-ever water conservation goal and providing a progress update on moving retail locations toward "zero waste" and sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil. Since 2000, Kroger has reduced energy consumption by nearly 35%. It has 557 Energy Star certified store locations and another 517 that are eligible.

Highlights of the report include:

New York -- Women’s apparel retailer Bebe has selected digital experience management platform provider Qubit to provide a wide reaching and bespoke A/B testing, website optimization and personalization program designed to increase conversion rates.

While Bebe retains a strong physical store presence in prime locations globally, the retailer is now looking to establish itself as an ecommerce market leader by honing its online and mobile strategy — a plan that will kick off with the launch of a new responsive mobile site in the coming weeks.

Dallas - 7-Eleven is celebrating its 87th birthday with eight days of free offers, beginning July 11. To receive each day's free offer, a customer must first download and register on the 7-Eleven app.

A customer opens the 7-Eleven app at the store and shows the member barcode to the sales associate at checkout. The barcode appears below the coupons. Once the associate scans the barcode at the register, the customer will receive the item as they check out.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) has hired Paul G. Martino as VP and senior policy counsel, and promoted Beth Provenzano to VP for federal government relations. Martino and Provenzano will work with the NRF Government Relations Department and focus on emerging public policy priorities, including data security, payments, mobile and e-commerce, privacy and patent reform.

Pleasanton, Calif. - Safeway has released its sixth annual sustainability report, informed by the Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines. The online report, titled "Heart of Safeway," includes 2013 performance highlights such as hiring 1,833 military veterans and scoring 100% in the Human Rights Campaign Buyer's Guide and Corporate Equality Index

Other highlights include:

Richmond, England - Sirma Solutions JSC is releasing Loyax, a white label loyalty platform. Loyax provides businesses with reporting and analytics designed to enable companies to understand their customers and offer personalized rewards based on customer buying behavior.

By Mark McCurley, IDT911 Consulting

Lands’ End plans to leverage San Francisco-based Secret Sauce Partners’ Fit Predictor service to improve the online shopping experience.

Fit Predictor finds a customer's best fit in seconds using existing data, without the need for physical measurements. For new customers without a Landsend.com shopping history, the service can predict the best fit based on the customer's sizing with other brands. The service is currently being utilized with Lands' End dresses, skirts, pants and jeans, as well as knit and woven tops among select customers.

Bebe is looking to carve out a place for itself in the e-commerce market and to that end is honing its online and mobile strategy.

The retailer has selected Digital Experience Management (DXM) platform provider Qubit to provide a wide reaching and bespoke A/B testing, website optimization and personalization program designed to increase conversion rates. It also plans to launch a new responsive mobile site in the near future.

Sellpoints, a pre-marketing platform that touts itself for help brands generate sales online, has acquired the 360° technology patent for videos and photos. 360° technology is used in e-commerce to give in-depth product tours and educate consumers about product benefits online.

According to Sellpoints, the previous patent owner sued multiple big brands to prevent them from using this technology on their websites. Sellpoints reportedly worked for five months to obtain the patent and open up its use to the e-commerce industry.