Data & Analytics

By Rich Thompson, managing director of supply chain & logistics solutions for the Americas at Jones Lang LaSalle

Armonk, N.Y. -- Overall fourth quarter online sales were up 10.3% year-over-year. The IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark indicates that soaring mobile traffic and sales were one of several key drivers.

Mobile traffic accounted for nearly 35% of all online traffic, up 40% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Mobile sales also remained strong, reaching 16.6% of all online sales, up more than 46% from the same period last year.

New York -- U.S. consumer confidence, which decreased in November 2013, rebounded the following month, according to The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which now stands at 78.1 (1985=100), up from 72 in November.

Washington, D.C. -- Driven by improving same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) hit a five-month high in November 2013. The RPI, a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry, stood at 101.2 in November, up 0.3% from October and the strongest level since June.

Omnichannel technology drives store experience evolution

The store experience isn’t what it used to be. Rapidly developing omnichannel technologies, such as mobile and social, are redefining the very definition of a “store” and what customers can accomplish within. 

In addition, retailers can glean more information about consumers using leading-edge technology. For example, indoor location analytics vendor iInside lets retailers track and analyze store traffic using customer mobile devices to provide a host of data on store operations and processes. 

OnlyLeggings.com is borrowing a page from the playbook of Costco and Amazon to create a membership-based program to appeal to those who regularly purchase leg wear.

The new year is off to a solid start with an upturn in consumer confidence. After two months of decline in the wake of the partial government shutdown, the Conference Board has found that consumer confidence has bounced back to its highest level since September.

December's index came in at 78.1, up from an upwardly revised figure of 72.0 in November and 72.4 in October.

Digital coupons may get all the publicity, but SmartSource isn’t buying the hype as evidenced by what it said was a record-setting coupon drop on Sunday, January 5.

Parent company News America Marketing said the Sunday, January 5 edition of its SmartSource publication was the largest in its history with up to three inserts required in some markets to deliver up to 136 pages of coupons.

Food safety and compliance issues earned Walmart some unwanted attention this week after it was learned that snacks made with donkey meat in China were also found to contain fox meat.

Bicycle supplier Huffy Corporation is turning to Experian Data Quality, a part of Experian Marketing Services and a leading provider of contact data management software and services, to ensure accurate and timely package deliveries and improve service levels to its customers.