Data & Analytics

Virtual Piggy, the provider of safe youth payments technology Oink, has teamed up with WorldPay US to increase its strategic 2014 merchant acquisition plans within the teen market.

The WorldPay payment processing platform is used for in-person credit and debit transactions, online and mobile payments. According to Oink, its relationship with WorldPay will bring the safe youth payments technology to the WorldPay merchant network and facilitate integrations into teen-focused retail websites and shops.

PassBee Media is rolling out a new iBeacon location-based marketing solution. The application is aimed at allowing retailers to target indoor or in-store consumers for increasing foot traffic, engagement, and sales.

PassBee’s iBeacon solution delivers in-store push notifications designed to create a more personalized experience and increase same-customer and same-store sales. For example; a customer checking out a particular outfit, could be served up customized suggestions for accessories to compliment it elsewhere in the store.

Digital coupon use is at an all-time high with more than 2 million Meijer shoppers now subscribed to the free mPerks program, and Meijer has made significant investments to make digital savings easier for its customers.  

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer now has free Wi-Fi capability in all its stores, making it easier for customers to access their mPerks accounts and the Meijer mobile app, freeing up their smartphone data plans for other uses.

Johnson & Johnson cited the strength of key brands in its U.S. over-the-counter business as one of the driving factors that led to what chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky called “outstanding” results for the fourth quarter.

The company reported sales of $18.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 4.5% as compared to the prior-year quarter. Operational results increased 6.3%. Domestic sales increased 7.4%, while international sales increased 2.4%, reflecting operational growth of 5.6%.

New York -- Mexico's Grupo Gigante expects to raise up to 4.954 billion pesos ($374.14 million) in its initial public offering of Office Depot de Mexico shares, Reuters reported.

The company plans to sell up to 291 million shares, local filings revealed.

The listing is provisionally set to price on Feb. 5, the report said.

In June, Grupo Gigante, acquired the 50% stake in the office supplies chain that it did not already own.
 

Walnut Creek, Calif. – Retailers are most likely to use data for planning, but a majority of retailers do not have a long-term enterprise business intelligence (BI) strategy in place that meets their needs. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Retail Analytics Moves to the Frontline,” 57% of retailers think planning and executing more effectively is a top use of data, followed by managing customer relationships (47%) and reporting results of business activities (44%).

Hearts On Fire is showing off its new store design at the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pa. The location is part of Hearts On Fire's global expansion plan, and is designed to transform the way consumers relate to and buy fine diamond jewelry in malls nationwide.

By Netta Kelvis, head of marketing, Custora

[Editor’s Note: Custora has released its Holiday 2013 E-Commerce Recap, which is based on the company’s real-time dashboard aggregating data from over 100 U.S. retailers. Here's a blog post by Custora’s head on marketing summarizing the recap's highlights.]  

By Rosie Poultney, 89 Degrees

As businesses try to figure out how to best use all the extra information flooding in from the omni-channel world, segmentation is a hotter topic than ever. Looking back at our conversations with clients in 2013 on the best segmentation approaches to help build their businesses, some key themes stand out. Here are those five key points, each of which will continue to be important in 2014 and for many years to come:

1. One is Never Enough

Seattle – Amazon.com has reportedly obtained a patent for “anticipatory shipping,” or a logistics technique using customer behavior and history to prepare items for shipping before they are actually ordered. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon received the patent in December 2013.