Data & Analytics

Amazon 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.

Seattle -- Starbucks Coffee Co. announced that it has rolled out an updated version of its mobile app for iOS which provides “added layers” of protection. The company said it encourage customers to download the update as an additional safeguard measure.

The news comes after reports surfaced that the chain’s mobile app was not secure and leaves users vulnerable. In a letter posted on Starbucks’ website, company CIO Curt Garne  noted the app update was being done out of caution.

New York -- The National Retail Federation is calling for the use of chip-and-PIN technology in credit and debit cards that. Experts say the technology, standard around the world, is more secure than the magnetic stripe cards that are still widely used throughout the United States.The technology has not been widely adopted in the United States, partly due to its higher cost  

New York – ShopKeep POS is introducing ShopKeep Mobile, a handheld point of sale device that will use Griffin Olli hardware with the ShopKeep POS app. Designed for the iPod touch, ShopKeep Mobile features an encrypted credit card swiper and high-speed laser barcode scanner to ring up sales right from the showroom floor.

By Greg Arnette, CTO, Sonian

In the age of digital transactions, modern retailers have more data at their fingertips than ever before, right in their point-of-sale (POS) systems. In many cases, however, businesses are using POS data solely to process sales and update inventory levels. Instead, businesses could be leveraging the purchase data to learn much more about their customers and make actionable decisions that drive bottom-line results.

Listen Closely

New York – Neiman Marcus reportedly first experienced a data security breach in July 2013 and did not fully resolve the issue until Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. According to the New York Times, in a private call with credit card companies held Monday, Jan. 13, the time stamp on the first breach indicates it took place in mid-July.

New York – The retail industry may be facing a major threat by hackers targeting sensitive consumer data held by numerous chains. According to Bloomberg, a report from security company iSight Partners says multiple groups of hackers have been targeting retailers since June 2013 using a piece of software known as Kaptoxa.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) has asked an appeals court to uphold a judge’s ruling that the Federal Reserve set its cap on debit card swipe fees far higher than intended by Congress and that the cap needs to be recalculated at a lower level.

Armonk, N.Y. – IBM plans to commit more than $1.2 billion to significantly expand its global cloud footprint. This investment includes a network of data centers designed to bring clients greater flexibility, transparency and control of how they manage their data, run their businesses and deploy their IT operations in the cloud.