Data & Analytics

eBay Enterprise, an eBay company, plans to increase adoption of omnichannel commerce technologies globally after securing 451 clients and 862 extension and renewals in the first half of 2014.

Leading brands that turned to eBay Enterprise to power their retail growth include Alex and Ani, BOXPARK, Destination XL, Karmaloop, MailPix and StubHub.

Current clients have also added new services to enhance the consumer experience.

In a major boost to member benefits, Sam’s Club announced a credit card cash back program that gives members the opportunity to earn 5% cash back on fuel, 3% cash back on dining and travel and 1% cash back on all other purchases, up to $5,000 annually.

Five Below plans to open eight locations in and around Houston Friday, June 6, marking the specialty value retailer’s first foray into that city. The company already has 15 stores in the Dallas and Austin markets.

The store openings are part of the company’s aggressive growth strategy. Last year, the Philadelphia-based retailer opened 60 new stores, and it plans to match that number this year. With the Houston openings, there will be 338 Five Below stores in 20 states throughout the country.

Seattle -- In collaboration with Disney, Starbucks Corp. has opened its first company-operated store at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, a nearly 4,000-sq.-ft. location at Downtown Disney West Side. This past March, Disney opened its first company-operated café at Downtown Disney, Anaheim, California. 

Jacksonville, Fla. -- tw telecom, a provider of Business Ethernet and networking solutions announced it was selected by Stein Mart to provide Internet protocol virtual private network (IP VPN) service nationwide. The technology will allow Stein Mart to directly connect and securely pass data to its more than 270 stores and data centers nationwide.

By Anand Medepalli, VP of Solution Strategy, JDA Software Group Inc.

There will be more changes in retail the next 10 years than what has been seen in the last 50 years. Maybe that’s why omnichannel retailing is a hot topic. Omnichannel retailing centers on providing a seamless shopping experience regardless of channel to deliver a unified and customized shopping experience.

Sweetwater, Fla. -- Ikea announced it had completed the installation of South Florida’s largest solar array, which will be plugged-in officially atop the future Miami-Dade Ikea store opening this summer in Sweetwater, Florida. Combined with rooftop arrays in Orlando, Tampa, and Sunrise, this fourth solar project will keep Ikea as the state’s largest non-utility solar owner.

Atlanta -- EarthLink Holdings Corp., a managed network and cloud services provider, announced that Anna’s Linens have selected the company to provide a comprehensive managed network solution and SIP Trunking for voice over IP for its more than three hundred stores and 3,200 employees.

To accommodate their rapid growth, increasingly centralized IT model, and need to run more applications, Anna's IT leaders worked in collaboration with EarthLink partner Grauman Communications to transition to an EarthLink MPLS network and SIP Trunking.

Goodlettsville, Tenn. -- Dollar General Corp.’s first-quarter profit and sales missed Wall Street estimates as the retailer cited an “unfavorable’ winter, increased competition and economic challenges. The company said Tuesday its profit rose to $222.4 million, from $220.1 million year ago. The retailer also reiterated its plans to open 700 stores in fiscal 2014, and remodel, to varying degrees, another 900 existing locations.

Net sales rose to $4.52 billion, from $4.23 billion. Same-store sales rose 1.5% in the quarter.

Undeterred by bad weather and competitive pressures that took a toll on its first quarter performance, Dollar General is pressing ahead with plans for 700 new stores, recently opened its 12th distribution center and believes its full year profit forecast is attainable.