Data & Analytics

From the 156-year-old Macy’s to the online startup Zady, Fast Company’s annual ranking of “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Retail” shows how diverse the retail landscape had become — and the changing nature of retail innovation.

Here’s a quick recap (I’ve added some comments following Fast Company’s qualifiers):

1. WARBY PARKER: For being the Warby Parker of Warby Parkers.

By Eric Larson, Chief Revenue Officer, HelloWorld

The retail industry has experienced a massive shift in recent years, with mobile and social technology bringing both change and opportunity in how consumers research, browse and buy. With today’s new level of price transparency, and the competition always just a tap away, retailers are feeling the pressure.

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples announced the opening of its Development Center in downtown Seattle. One of two Staples’ west coast offices, the new center is made-up of e-commerce and engineering teams responsible for driving major initiatives to enhance areas including search, SEO and personalization.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid’s same-store sales rose 3.5% in May, boosted by a healthy increase in Rx sales.

The chain’s front-end same store sales increased 0.5%. Pharmacy same-store sales increased 5.0%. Total drugstore sales for the five-week period increased 2.5% to $2.48 billion, compared with $2.42 billion for the same period last year.

Prescription sales accounted for 68.0% of drug store sales, and third party prescription sales represented 97.4% of pharmacy sales.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in May 2013 versus May 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. Walmart experienced a 90.1% increase in ads per circular, largely due to a reduction in the number of circulars from 10 in May 2013 to six in May 2014. Despite this decrease, overall page count remained fairly stable. These fewer, lengthier circulars were the result of an increased willingness to promote a number of categories within one circular. Eight of last May’s 10 circulars consisted of four pages or fewer.

RadioShack has launched RadioShack Labs to support inventors and startups and boost new product innovation, offering a roadmap that takes them from concept to production to distribution.

The company teamed up with PCH, a respected leader in product innovation, to launch the labs. As part of the relationship, RadioShack intends to offer select PCH Access companies special retail terms, and create a direct path to up to 2,000 RadioShack stores and preferred positioning on radioshack.com.

Walmart plans to roll out Savings Catcher nationwide later this summer. The receipt comparison tool is designed to eliminate the need for customers to visit multiple stores to find low prices, the company said at one of its annual shareholders events.
 
Built on proprietary technology, Savings Catcher looks at other retailers’ ads and gives customers an eGift card for the difference if a competitor’s offering is lower than the price they paid at Walmart.

Staples plans to open a development center in downtown Seattle, near the Pioneer Square/International District — its second in the West Coast — staffed with e-commerce and engineering teams, which will be responsible for enhancing search, SEO and personalization.

Persistent winter weather took a bite out of Stein Mart’s net income in the first quarter, but the retailer rallied once the weather improved. It closed the quarter with total and comparable-store sales increases, and the upward trend has continued through May.

The company reported total sales for the four-week period ended May 31 of $109.6 million, a 2.2% increase over total sales of $107.3 million for the four-week period ended June 1 last year. Comparable store sales for the month increased 0.4% from comparable store sales for the same month last year.

Although comparable-store sales at Fred’s declined slightly in May, the company said sales strengthened in the last week of the month thanks to the first ad in its new marketing and branding program, designed to increase traffic and heighten customer awareness of category diversity.

The company’s total sales for the month stayed flat at $151.9 million, compared with $152.3 million in May last year. Comparable-store sales for the month declined 0.4% compared with a 0.5% decrease in the same period last year.