Data & Analytics

Boise, Idaho - WinCo Foods, LLC will open its first discount supermarkets in the state of Texas on Feb. 6, in the cities of Fort Worth and McKinney. The stores are each approximately 95,000 sq. ft. in size and include WinCo's newest decor package creating an efficient, clean feel that highlights product and coordinates with the hundreds of WinCo Foods private label products the company has recently introduced.

Asheville, N.C. – Ingles Markets, Inc. reported net income of $9.5 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, down 18% from $11.6 million during the same period a year earlier. Net sales rose 1.1% for the quarter, to $945.1 million from $935 million.

Grocery same-store sales decreased 0.8%. In addition, operating expenses rose, which may have contributed to the decline in net income. Robert P. Ingle II, CEO of Ingles, also cited holiday price-cutting measures.

New York -- Even as online shopping continues to grow, more U.S. shoppers are planning to make purchases from physical stores in 2014, according to a survey by Accenture. In the “seamless retailing” study, 21% of U.S. shoppers said they plan to increase their in-store purchasing, up from just 9% in last year’s study.

As we look back on the first-ever outdoor cold weather Super Bowl, there are several lessons digital retailers can take away from how the NFL, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks all prepared for what many said was an impossible or foolish undertaking. Some of the same steps these entities took to ensure a successful experience playing the Super Bowl is subfreezing conditions apply to retailers ensuring a successful digital experience for their customers, regardless of naysayers.

Flexibility Keeps Things Running

Our industry has talked so much about omnichannel that it seems only the “aha” gets our attention anymore. Here’s the problem: Our talk is well ahead of our ability to execute. And execution is what matters.

Omnichannel isn’t sexy. It’s not about “Wow.” It’s about making it easier for people accustomed to an anything-anytime-anywhere world to do business with us. That’s primarily a question of organization, commitment and execution, for manufacturers as well as retailers.

Many fingers pointed at Target after the retailer suffered a massive data breach during the holidays, but preventing the next cyber attack is beyond the scope of any single company, according to testimony retail representatives shared with lawmakers on Monday.

A proliferation in the ways shoppers engage with retailers and consume content across platforms has transformed traditional marketing and spawned new approaches to measuring advertising effectiveness.

This week digital measurement leader comScore said it had joined with the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to expand a cross-platform measurement service that provides a continuous view and measurement of media suage across TV, radio, desktop, smartphone and mobile.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in January 2013 versus January 2014 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. The home improvement retailers appear to have reversed course somewhat. In previous months, Home Depot focused on smaller, denser circulars while Lowe’s typically featured many pages with few ads on each. While this is still generally true, Home Depot saw a moderate 25% increase in circular page count and Lowe’s doubled its number of ads per page and per circular.

Facebook just reported record levels of user engagement along with fourth quarter sales and profits that blew away forecasts, but a new study offers a more measured view of the social media network’s longer term prospects.

The director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future Jeffrey Coles and the research firm Bovitz conducted a survey last fall in which one third of respondents said they will be using Facebook less in five years.

Seattle – The price of subscribing the Amazon Prime preferred shipping program will reportedly increase. According to the Huffington Post, Tom Szkutak, CFO of Amazon, said on a Jan. 30 investors call that the company is considering raising the current $79 yearly fee for Amazon Prime, which includes free two-day shipping, by $20 to $40 in the U.S.