Data & Analytics

Washington, D.C. -- Over 80% (84.2%) of retailers say their standard shipping deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery will expire prior to Friday, Dec. 20, according to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Free standard shipping offers will follow suit, as nearly three-quarters (74.2%) of retailers who already have or will offer a free standard shipping promotion say their promotion will expire on or before Dec. 20. (Shop.org is a division of the National Retail Federation.)

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS is basing its enterprise growth strategy on succeeding in the evolving pharmacy benefit management marketplace, capitalizing on the specialty pharmacy opportunity, driving retail growth through personalization, unlocking adherence through pharmacy excellence and expanding MinuteClinics.

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Staples Europe has launched new websites in both Germany and Netherlands. The sites offer a refreshed look and feel and many new features, such as personalized shopping with product recommendations based on customer preferences.

New features also include an updated search engine and filtering tools, easy reordering for frequently used products, quick checkout with a mini-cart that makes it easy to insert coupons, save addresses, and review orders, and a new store locator and ship-to-store functionality.

Cambridge, Mass. – Akamai is introducing enhancements to its Akamai Intelligent Platform web experience solution including EdgeStart, which uses Akamai’s globally-distributed network along with accelerated rendering in the browser to help deliver portions of web pages to users immediately and decrease load time. New protocol optimizations are intended to help overcome highly congested networks.

By John Cronin, Tiger Group, [email protected]

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has added Ajani Stewart to its sustainability team within the RILA legal department.

Stewart will be leading the development of RILA’s Center for Retail Compliance (CRC). RILA recently received funding to develop the CRC, a Web-based resource for retailers and stakeholders in the industry to access solutions and information for maintaining and achieving environmental compliance. Stewart is responsible for the development of the center.

Alco is developing a strategy to improve profitability and deliver shareholder value, following a growing net loss during the third quarter of fiscal 2014, compared to the same period in the prior year.

Net loss totaled $16.4 million, compared to $1.4 million. Results in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 included a non-cash charge of $9.8 million related to a valuation allowance on the company's cumulative deferred tax asset, and $1.1 million of non-recurring expenses attributable to merger activity.

The flurry of activity continued at Office Depot as the company which resulted from the merger of Office Depot and OfficeMax laid groundwork for growth in 2014 by identifying some key leaders.

A little more than one month after Roland Smith was named chairman and CEO of Office Depot and one week after choosing Boca Raton, Fla., as the merged company’s headquarters, Smith announced a slate of senior executive positions that touch every aspect of the company along with several roles that are yet to be filled.

Target’s online traffic continues to grow at double-digit rates, with mobile sales growing more than 100% for the holiday period.

L'Orèal USA has introduced a new app for owners of a device that allows them to use tablet-like apps on television through an Internet connection.

The cosmetics maker announced the launch of OnBeauty, which it created under a partnership with Roku and Brightline. Roku created the app for users of connected TV, or CTV, and L'Orèal said OnBeauty would be the go-to beauty hub for CTV users. The app will feature a majority of L'Orèal USA's brands.