Data & Analytics

I Love Velvet, a leading provider of end-to-end, secure, mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solutions, is now a member of the Samsung Solutions Exchange. The Samsung Solutions Exchange addresses the needs of line of business owners by creating holistic mobile solutions on a robust portfolio of enterprise-grade Samsung Mobile devices.

Coupled with Samsung Mobile devices, the I Love Velvet mobile point-of-sale solution offers three major components: Velvet mPOS hardware, Velvet store and Velvet cloud.

Major changes in retailers’ use of digital coupons and free standing insert promotions were evident in 2013 and especially pronounced at Walmart, Target and Kroger, according to an extensive analysis conducted by the Marx division of Kantar Media.

Retailers’ overall advertising expenditures were relatively in 2013 when compared to the prior year; however, there were large spikes in digital coupon events and free standing insert (FSI) coupon promotion pages.
 

As the retail industry begins to offer shoppers the omnichannel experience they demand, brick-and-mortar stores have never been more important.

This is especially true as it relates to power centers, broadly defined as open-air shopping centers that feature multiple national anchors such as discount department stores, off-price stores, warehouse clubs and other retailers that tend to offer a wide selection in a particular merchandise category at value prices.

New York -- Walmart has introduced an online feature, called “Savings Catcher,” that allows shoppers to compare prices on the chain’s food and household products against those of its competitors, according to the Associated Press. General merchandise  categories and electronics are not included, and neither are purchases of store brands or those made online.

Walmart began offering the new service in late February, the report said, in seven markets, including Dallas, San Diego and Atlanta.

Arcadia, Wis. – When vertical furniture retailer Ashley Furniture found its homegrown retail management system no longer supported its rapid global growth, the company decided to investigate both regional and Tier 1 enterprise retail management systems. Determining it needed a multi-language, multi-currency solution that could support the unique financial requirements of each country where it did business, Ashley Furniture selected Microsoft Dynamics.

Indianapolis -- Simon Property Group is launching a new business, Simon Venture Group, that will invest in retail innovation, focusing on technology opportunities that enhance the shopping experience.

"We believe we have only scratched the surface on applying technology to the retail environment in innovative, interesting ways," said Mikael Thygesen, chief marketing officer of Simon Property Group.

Ottawa, Canada – E-commerce solution provider Canada Post and and e-commerce integrator Thinkwrap Commerce have launched new collaboration designed to simplify and accelerate incorporation of Canada Post's shipping data into Oracle Commerce. By making it easier for retailers to incorporate Canada Post's data with Oracle Commerce, the collaboration between Thinkwrap and Canada Post is designed to help retailers strengthen their e-commerce customer experience by providing shoppers with choice and convenience.

New York -- Nordstrom Inc. is delaying the opening of its Nordstrom Rack chain in Canada until 2017, in order to focus its attention on the launch of its full-line department stores there, The Globe and Mail reported.

Nordstrom had initially planned to start opening Rack stores in Canada next year. But the company has decided to focus on  the openings of its six Canadian department stores (the first, in Calgary, is due to open this fall).

Indianapolis — Simon Property Group has launched a new dedicated Simon Venture Group, a business that will invest in retail innovation, with a focus on opportunities that enhance the shopping experience.

Mikael Thygesen, chief marketing officer of Simon Property Group said: "We believe we have only scratched the surface on applying technology to the retail environment in innovative, interesting ways."

Alpharetta, Ga. - Almost half (45%) of brands see measuring ROI as a challenge in using Twitter as a marketing tool, followed by building an audience (42%) and engagement (37%). In addition, a new survey of brand marketers from Social Media Marketing University (SMMU) shows that 40% of brands agree that Twitter is an effective marketing tool and 25% strongly agree, but 31% are undecided, 1% agree and 3% strongly agree.