Data & Analytics

Allen, Texas -- Forte Payment Systems is launching Forte Checkout, an intuitive platform for online payment acceptance that supports electronic check in addition to credit and debit card payment methods. Forte Checkout integrates seamlessly and securely to applications that need payment handling capabilities.

Consumer reviews provider Viewpoints is poised to acquire PowerReviews from Bazaarevoice after a court agreed with the Department of Justice that Bazarrevoice’s acquisition of PowerReviews two years earlier was anticompetitive.
 

Newegg is building on its e-commerce presence in the United States with a pilot program that makes a limited selection of its products available to customers in the United Kingdom and Australia. The company said the move is “an important first step” in its international expansion plans.

Despite difficult weather conditions during the peak holiday season, Dollarama enjoyed an increase in sales, net earnings and earnings per share for the fourth quarter ended Feb. 2.

"Fourth quarter and full-year financial results came out strong despite the adverse impact of severe weather conditions on store traffic, particularly in December, during our peak sales period. While not as severe, weather conditions did remain challenging for the remainder of the winter season," stated Larry Rossy, chairman and CEO of Dollarama.

Average spending per person is forecast to decline this Easter despite pent up demand from a long cold winter, according to new consumer research from the National Retail Federation.

First it was signage and then came the freezer case and parking lots. Now Walmart and GE are moving forward with their biggest lighting initiative to date.

The companies announced plans to use GE LED lights in ceiling fixtures in hundreds of stores throughout the U.S., Asia, Latin Amerian and the United Kingdom. The new fixtures use 40% less energy than traditional overhead lighting systems and move Walmart forward on its goal of reducing energy required to power its buildings globally by 20% by 2020. It is Walmart’s largest purchase of GE LED lighting to date.

Sales and profits were as bad as Bed Bath & Beyond initially feared due to extensive weather related store closures during the company's fourth quarter ended March 1.

The company said sales during its 13 week fourth quarter declined 5.8% to $3.2 billion while same store sales advanced 1.7%. Profits during the 13 week period declined to $333 million, or $1.60 a share, compared to the 14 week period the prior year when profits totaled $374 million, or $1.68 per share.

New York -- Wesfield Garden State Plaza, in Paramus, N.J., is merging the digital experience with the physical one. The shopping center has installed a series of 7-ft. tall, ultra-high definition touch-screen displays, called “digital storefronts,” in its just-opened Fashion District wing. The new wing adds 55,000 sq. ft. over two floors and 22 new stores and restaurants to the mall

Santa Barbara, Calif. – Shopper activity rebounded in March 2014 from the prior month, but traffic and engagement lagged compared to March 2013. In-store retail analytics provider Euclid, released its monthly retail benchmarks report to analyze shopper activity and behavior during the month of March, measuring data from tens of millions of domestic shopping sessions.

New York -- Meijer is testing an automated system that speeds up the checkout process at its store in Jenison, Mich. The system, from NCR, automatically scans merchandise. It became available customers on April 3, according to MichiganLive.

As shoppers place merchandise on a conveyor belt, the items are scanned, and then sent to one of three collection areas, where customers bag them.