Data & Analytics

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Shop Your Way, the loyalty program and social shopping community offered to Sears and Kmart customers, is launching a new health and wellness online resource called Shop Your Way Health.  

Jeffersonville, Ind. --  A majority of consumers (88%) say free shipping makes them more likely to shop online, while 30% shop online to find the best deal possible and 20% to avoid holiday crowds, according to a new survey from omnichannel customer engagement technology vendor Accent.   Other notable findings include:  

Alpharetta, Ga. -- Columbia Sportswear Company opened its first-ever store dedicated to its performance fishing gear (PFG) at the Avalon Mall in Alpharetta, Ga. Columbia’s PFG collection is inspired by the performance, style and comfort needs of professional and recreational anglers of all ages.   The 3,176-sq.-ft. store has a clean design, boutique feel and digital integration that includes an interactive knot-tying station.  

Meijer has prepared a lot of holiday deals for the Black Friday weekend and is now offering a sneak peek to allow its customers plan ahead of time.

Minneapolis -- Target Corp. has named Jacqueline Hourigan Rice as senior VP, chief risk and compliance officer. Rice is a 17-year veteran of General Motors, where she most recently served as chief compliance officer.  

Robert Bacchi, Choice Logistics’ SVP of information systems has been named the company’s EVP and chief information officer. Bacchi will continue to report to Michael Katz, CEO of Choice.

IBM is forecasting a record holiday season heavily influenced by digital sales.  IBM research based on digital analytics predicts a total online sales increase of more than 15% over a 5-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.  

The biggest increase in online sales is expected on Cyber Monday with a predicted 15.8% increase over the last year, followed closely by Thanksgiving with an increase of 15.6%

By Jason Ausburn and Karl Fruecht   You’ve acquired a new storefront. While doing your final walk-through, you notice an unlocked door that opens to a side alley. You can’t use the alley for storage. It doesn’t give your customers an additional entrance. It’s just an additional access point.   How are you going to secure it?