Data & Analytics

Although Starbucks’ profit in the first quarter rose a better-than-expected 25% to $540.7 million from $432 million in the year-ago period, same-store sales missed Wall Street expectations.

Same-store sales rose 5%, beneath Wall Street expectations of 5.9%. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 29, 2013 rose 12% to $4.24 billion from $3.79 billion.

Same-store sales in the Americas region also rose 5%, while analysts had expected a 6.4% increase.

The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) said that Michigan's retail industry had a poor holiday shopping season thanks to damaging winter storms and “outdated government policies that favor out-of-state online companies.”

Retailers posted only a 0.1% average increase over last holiday season, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of MRA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Dallas -- Approximately 1.1 million debit and credit cards used at Neiman Marcus stores may have been compromised in a security breach last year, according to an update posted on the retailer’s website. To date, Visa, MasterCard and Discover have notified the company that approximately 2,400 unique customer payment cards used at Neiman Marcus and Last Call stores were subsequently used fraudulently.

Madison, Wis. – Target Corp.’s data security breach has already cost all credit unions between $25 million to $30 million. Those numbers are expected to rise in coming weeks as more of the cooperative financial institutions report their costs and as fraud losses are incurred down the road, according to preliminary results of a survey of credit unions by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s Corporation reported small increases in consolidated net income and revenues for both the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2013, compared to the same periods a year earlier. During the fourth quarter, McDonald’s net income rose fractionally to $1.397 billion from $1.396 billion and revenues grew 2% to $7.09 billion from $6.95 billion.

Washington, D.C. - Integrating store and online operations is a key focus for retailers as e-commerce capable solutions increasingly supplant traditional POS and mobile technologies. According to a new study conducted by the NRF, Demandware and the University of Arizona that polled more than 200 U.S. and European retail business technology executives, more than one-third (35.8%) of retailers surveyed are considering a single platform to manage interactions and transactions across all channels.

San Francisco -- Shoppers will continue to be cautious in their spending in 2014, and they expect to make more money, save more money and afford the things they need. According to a forecast from digital coupon and discount site AnyCodes.com, this is because of a combination of three factors: consumer confidence in the future is climbing, they are focused on investing in themselves and paying off debt, and they are much confident about their job prospects.

Kirkland, Wash. – VisibleBrands has raised approximately $2.3 million through a Series B financing to support a regional expansion of its patented in-store digital couponing platform. In preparation for the company’s regional expansion, VisibleBrands promoted Tim Belvin to CEO, succeeding founding CEO Tim Morton.

Remember the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile? Well, the brand is offering a chance for people to “lease” the hot dog on wheels for eight hours via Twitter.

Participants must use hashtag #Tweet2Lease, and one winner will be chosen to get chauffeured around town for eight hours on the Wienermobile by the vehicle's drivers, known as Hotdoggers.

Target’s data security breach has already cost all credit unions between $25 million to $30 million. Those numbers are expected to climb in coming weeks as more of the cooperative financial institutions report their costs and as fraud losses are incurred down the road, according to preliminary results of a survey of credit unions by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).