Data & Analytics

There have been many bold predictions about retail trends, but not as many predictions about trends when it comes to the future of retail payments in the digital age. Well, for PayPal, it seems as though the future is now.

Washington, D.C. -- President Barack Obama on Monday proposed strengthening laws against identity theft, described as a growing problem that costs billions of dollars. Part of Obama’s proffered solution is requiring notification when consumer information is hacked.

After posting stronger than expected holiday sales, Burlington Stores Inc. has named a new chief financial officer.

Marc Katz, formerly the company’s EVP of merchandise support and information technology, is replacing Todd Weyhrich, who retired this month.

New York -- Family-owned luxury apparel retailer Mitchells Family of Stores has partnered with ThoughtWorks Retail to reenergize the luxury shopping experience through its e-commerce and brick-and-mortar channels. The newly launched, customized responsive-design website, developed by ThoughtWorks, allows the Mitchells loyal customer base to access personal shopping profiles via M World, a platform where customers can see their own virtual closets of wardrobe purchases made both in the physical store or on the e-commerce site.

New York -- As the use in-store mobile payment becomes more pervasive, consumers require increased education on the performance and ease of use of mobile pay services, a recent survey by Verifone of U.S. consumer attitudes suggested.

New York -- At the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention & EXPO on Monday, Microsoft Corp. and CKE Restaurants Inc. (parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.) showcased a self-order kiosk solution running on Windows 8 devices that enables Hardee’s customers to customize and place their own orders.

New York -- Tiffany's holiday sales dipped 1% and the luxury jewelry retailer cut its full-year profit outlook. CEO Michael Kowalski said that sales in the Americas fell slightly during November and December, while sales in Japan remained soft. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region and in Europe climbed.

Retailers loking to take retail innovation to the next level may want to look at GameStop and its new omnichannel partnership with Microsoft.

The video game retailer announced Monday at NRF’s Big Show that it will use Microsoft's Azure cloud-powered network "enhance the in-store engagement of its customers in interactive, informative, and entertaining ways."

GameStop will be one of the first retailers to use Azure to stream video game and promotional content direct to customer and store associate mobile devices.