Data & Analytics

Brown Shoe Company-owned brand Sam Edelman is stepping into the digital arena. The footwear, accessory and soon-to-be apparel brand has launched a dedicated e-commerce site which will allow consumers to purchase online directly from the retailer for the first time.

Post Foods' Honey Bunches of Oats has enlisted pop duo Domino Saints for its latest ad campaign geared toward Hispanic markets. The pop duo from San Juan, Puerto Rico, collaborated in the exclusive "Smile While You Shake It" music video.

Inspired by samba beats, the song and signature dance incorporate the cereal box and breakfast utensils as percussion instruments. National bilingual media, social media and website (bunchofbeats.com) encourage consumers to upload their own versions of the dance, share them digitally, and be eligible to win prizes.

A 32.4% increase in online sales was one of few bright spots in regional sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet’s second quarter.

During the period ended September 29, the Los Angeles-based chain said sales declined 5.2% to $86.7 due to a 2.5% same store sales decline, the closure of three underperforming stores and weakness in its team sales division due to changes in personnel. The negative factors were offset by strength in the online business and the opening of one new store. Sport Chalet ended the quarter with 52 stores.

Reston, Va. – U.S. desktop-based e-commerce sales grew year-over-year to $47.5 billion during the third quarter of 2013, marking the 16th consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. In addition, newly released comScore data shows that e-commerce spending on smartphones and tablets added $5.8 billion for the quarter, up 26% from year ago, for a total digital commerce spending total of $53.2 billion in the third quarter.

Atlanta – The Home Depot is taking steps to make amends for a racist tweet it sent from its official account on Nov. 7. The tweet, a promotion aligned with ESPN college football coverage, showed a photo of two African-Americans playing the drums along with a person wearing a gorilla mask and the caption: “Which drummer is not like the others?”

Washington, D.C. – The National Retail Federation calculated retail industry job gains at 37,600 in October 2013, and 295,000 year-over-year, a 2.4% increase from 2012. Job gains were seen in every retail sector with the exception of clothing and clothing stores, which witnessed a contraction of 12,500 positions in September.

In its annual holiday sales and employment forecast, NRF predicted that retailers would see a 3.9% increase in sales and hire an additional 720,000 to 780,000 employees this holiday season.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holding Corporation is launching a number of enhancements to the in-store, online and mobile customer experience offered at its Sears and Kmart banners for the holidays.

Employees and Shop Your Way loyalty members are loading photos, announcing secret sales and sharing their favorite products from local Kmart and Sears stores on the local store pages of ShopYourWay.com. Store pages also allow customers to download e-coupons and obtain local deals.

San Francisco – Gap Inc. reported increased net and same-store sales during the third quarter of fiscal 2013 in a partial financial release. Gap’s third quarter net sales grew 3% and same-store sales grew 1% compared to the prior year.

In addition, Gap’s same-store sales grew 4% in October 2013. The retailer will release full third quarter earnings results on Nov. 21, 2013.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s reported a slight 0.2% increase in U.S. same-store sales for October 2013. Same-store sales rose 0.5% globally, which also includes a 0.8% increase in Europe and a 2.8% decline in Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

Leiden, Netherlands – Ikea is deploying a standardized, comprehensive and internationally deployed POS software platform from Wincor-Nixdorf. During the next two years, Ikea will install nearly 12,000 POS terminals at 300 stores in 25 countries using Wincor Nixdorf’s TP Application Suite and TP.net software.