Data & Analytics

Betamax. Zune. Google Plus. These are just a few consumer technology applications that hit the market with a lot of hype and all failed to catch on for the same basic reason. It seems clear that the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader tablet can now be considered part of this list, although Barnes & Noble has not yet accepted it.

Smith Micro Software has unveiled its new AniMates mobile messaging app that lets users personalize voice messages with talking characters, scenic backgrounds and voice effects.

Built using Smith Micro's animation software, AniMates offers a wide range of content from digital artists, allowing users to express themselves through multiple personas.

Nine West has integrated LivePerson’s LiveEngage digital engagement solution into the Demandware Commerce platform for its website.

According to LivePerson, the LiveEngage platform helps Nine West meet evolving consumer demands for a more seamless digital shopping journey, and has simultaneously improved the brand's customer reported satisfaction, increased incremental revenue and reduced support costs.

Nine West reported the following results four months after implementing LiveEngage:

TreeHouse Foods plans to acquire Flagstone Foods, a leading provider of private-label healthy snacks, one of the fastest growing on-trend categories in the food industry.

TreeHouse has agreed to pay Gryphon Investors and other shareholders $860 million in cash for the business, subject to an adjustment for working capital.

Twitter has released a full suite of targeting, creative and measurement tools to enable advertisers to promote their mobile apps through the new Mobile App Promotion (MAP) product. For marketers, this means a native ad unit users can use to install apps directly from the Twitter timeline.

Richard Sharp, 67, the long-time CEO of Circuit City who founded used car retailer CarMax has died of Alzheimer’s disease at his home near Richmond, Virginia.

Sharp joined Circuit City in 1982 and served as CEO of the company from 1986 to 2000. Under his leadership, Circuit City enjoyed meteoric growth with sales that increased from $175 million in 1986 to more than $10 billion by 2000. Eight years after he had left the company, Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and the following year was liquidated.

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Indianapolis -- The Finish Line’s first-quarter profit more than doubled as the retailer expanded its presence online and in Macy's stores nationwide. Its results topped Wall Street estimates.
 
The retailer reported a profit of $12.4 million, compared to $5.1 million in the year-ago period. Revenue was up 16% to $406.5 million. Same-store sales increased 5%.
 

St. Louis -- Schnuck Markets announced that Robert Hardester has been appointed the company's new CIO. Hardester succeeds Mark Zimmerman, who recently announced that he would be leaving the company.

Hardester most recently served as a VP corporate systems at Express Scripts, where he was responsible for application development. He previously held the position of CIO at Furniture Brands International and at General Electric.

Columbia, Md. - Micros Systems Inc. and global payments provider Elavon have integrated their respective gateway and security products to deliver encryption and tokenization for the food and beverage industry, facilitating a secure environment throughout the payment transaction cycle. Integration has been provided for the Micros Payment Gateway and Elavon's Fusebox gateway solution.

Benefits of the integration include streamlined PCI compliance, as well as consolidation of multiple interfaces and certifications for electronic payment processing.