Data & Analytics

Armonk, N.Y. – IBM is introducing new partners developing apps based on its Watson artificial intelligence platform and world headquarters for its Watson Group, as well as new cognitive services that will be available on IBM Bluemix, IBM's cloud-based platform for mobile and Web app development.

Moki, a leading mobile software platform, has appointed Chander Chawla VP of marketing and product strategy. With Chawla on board, Moki said it plans to open an office in Palo Alto, California, to better serve its growing customer base.

Chawla, who has been in the mobile industry for 15 years, has been credited with leading the growth of public Wi-Fi and wearable devices at T-Mobile and National Semiconductor.

While merchants have spent the past nine months developing plans to drive holiday sales, another group of retail executives has been preparing to deal with the dark side of Christmas.

Overstock plans to break ground on its new corporate campus, which is called the "Peace Coliseum" and is scheduled to open summer 2016.

Overstock officials have said that from the ground level, the building will look like a corporate glass-and-concrete version of the Roman Coliseum, but from the air, the three-story building will appear as a peace sign.

The groundbreaking coincides with Overstock's 15th anniversary.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to see a final surge and set a new monthly record in October as the holiday season approaches, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released late this week by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Family Dollar’s fourth-quarter results were affected by decreased customer traffic, prompting chairman and CEO Howard R. Levine to point out that the company is still in the early stages of its turnaround plan.

Atlanta -- United Parcel Service Inc. said it will expand UPS My Choice and the UPS Access Point network, two of the company’s services that work together to provide online shoppers and global retailers with new personalized solutions to manage residential package deliveries.

UPS My Choice, the customizable online and mobile service where consumers choose delivery preferences and more, will now be available to consumers in 15 additional countries throughout North America and Europe. The service was introduced in the U.S. in 2011.

GoDaddy, a leading technology provider dedicated to small businesses, is ready to roll out its first online store to the public, after successful beta testing.

The company enlisted Spree Commerce, an open source e-commerce platform, in February to launch the online store in beta. More than 5,000 merchants have opened stores and sold millions of dollars of products and services, all over the world, according to the company.

The GoDaddy Online Store serves small businesses without the technical resources necessary to deploy an e-commerce storefront.