Data & Analytics

Ottawa, Canada -- Well-executed dynamic pricing strategies, such as those deployed by Amazon and Overstock, led to higher sales during the 2013 holiday season as opposed to all-season discounting and other strategies. In its “Retail’s 2013 Holiday Winners and Losers” report, pricing intelligence vendor 360pi rated retailers’ overall financial performance for the 2013 fourth quarter on a scale from +5 (above expectations/excellent) to -5 (below expectations/very poor) based on third-party financial analysts’ overall assessments.

New York -- Verizon Enterprise Solutions has added new features to its cloud-based Mobile Workforce Manager solution and signed a resale agreement with enterprise mobility management provider MobileIron. Verizon's Mobile Workforce Manager, previously known as Enterprise-Mobility-as-a-Service, has been enhanced with new features that securely separate users' business and personal lives across devices and improve functionality for managing mobile applications, offering an overall simplified user experience.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Super Market Inc.’s net earnings in the fourth quarter rose 7.4% to $422 million, compared to $392.8 million in the year-ago period.

Sales in the quarter, ended Dec. 28, 2013, rose 5.3% to $7.4 billion, from $7 billion last year.

“I’m pleased our operating performance resulted in another increase in our stock price,” said Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw. “Our associates— the owners of Publix — deserve the credit for this achievement.”

By Mark Ledbetter, Global VP Retail Strategy, SAP

The changing nature of retail combined with an ever-greater reliance on data is forcing retailers to adjust their workforce and employee skill sets accordingly. From a customer experience standpoint, most retailers are transitioning to a brick-and-click model that aims to ensure customers have a seamless shopping experience regardless of which channel they use.

Speaking with Ron Goldstone, senior VP at Southfield, Mich.-based Farbman Group really got my juices flowing about the Midwest retail real estate marketplace — Michigan in particular. The state’s retail real estate market is an interesting candidate for closer study, simply because the Detroit dynamic, even in its extremes, gives us a valuable perspective on the national landscape:

A survey of 87 retailers conducted by Pacific Gas & Electric found many are unhappy with their lighting and are considering LED lighting to save energy. But, at the same time, they lack sufficient information to evaluate products.

There is no place in today’s hyper-competitive retail marketplace for a poorly maintained store — providing a clean, comfortable and safe shopping environment is a priority for chains across the board. As retailers increasingly focus on their core competencies, they are letting experts take care of functions and services that fall outside those areas, including facilities maintenance.

New York -- As technology transforms multichannel retail into hyper-channel, “always-on” retailing, chains must emotionally connect with consumers as never before, according to Joseph Bona. Bona, president of branded environments for New York City-based brand agency/retail design firm CBX, is one of the featured speakers at Chain Store Age’s upcoming 50th annual SPECS conference,  March 9 -12, Grapevine, Texas.

From mat management to the use of proper cleaning products, prevention is, of course, key to slip and fall management in retail stores. But there are two additional key areas that should be addressed — management communication and accountability. Indeed, sharing information and holding department managers accountable for results can reap numerous benefits for a company.

Hold department managers accountable for safety to promote better loss control

From mat management to the use of proper cleaning products, prevention is, of course, key to slip and fall management in retail stores. But there are two additional key areas that should be addressed — management communication and accountability. Indeed, sharing information and holding department managers accountable for results can reap numerous benefits for a company.