Data & Analytics

New York -- Ninety percent of mobile phone users and 80% of tablet users are still “purchase holdouts” and have not made a purchase on these respective devices in the past three months, according to a Forrester survey of more than 4,000 respondents.    Some 53% of holdouts cite that they avoid "checking out" on mobile devices simply because they are either used to buying, or find it easier to buy, on a PC. 

Toronto -- PayPal Canada is launching PassPort, a website designed to help small businesses sell internationally. On the PassPort website, entrepreneurs can find export market specific guidance on seasonal sales peaks including holidays and events; cultural customs, taboos and trends; shipping and distribution logistics; currency exchange and fees; and customs procedures and taxes.  

New York -- The cat is finally out of the bag. Former J.C. Penney CEO and Apple retail head Ron Johnson confirmed that he is launching a new company—but it’s not a tech-gadget delivery service as was widely rumored. Instead,  the new initiative, set to launch in 2015,  is designed to help online hoppers make the right product choices.  

Teaneck, N.J. –- Consumers have embraced the use of mobile devices for shopping, but are less than fully satisfied with the current mobile retail experience. According to a new survey of more than 5,000 shoppers in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and China from IT services and consulting firm Cognizant, 91% of shoppers have a mobile device, 78% have researched products on a mobile device before purchasing in the last year, and 42% of shoppers reported regularly researching products on a mobile device.  

New York -- Retail e-commerce in the US grew 16.5% in 2013 to reach $264.3 billion, and will increase another 15.7% in 2014 to reach $305.7 billion, or 6.5% of all U.S. retail sales, according to Emarketer.      In other findings, mobile retail sales in the U.S. totaled $42.28 billion in 2013, 16% of all U.S. retail ecommerce sales, and will increase another 37.3% to reach $58.07 billion in 2014, accounting for 19% of the total US ecommerce market.   

Watsonville, Calif. –- A tax valuation allowance related to its Canadian operations helped reduce net income at West Marine Inc. to $4.9 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 24% from $6.5 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Net revenues were $196.5 million, a 2% jump from $193.4 million, and same-store sales rose 0.6%.  

London, U.K. - Almost half (47%) of consumers will order gifts online this Christmas with less than a week until Dec. 25. According to the latest ECustomerServiceIndex results from EDigitalResearch and IMRG, when asked what date they would be comfortable placing a holiday online order, the majority of consumers (53%) said Wednesday Dec. 17 or before.