Data & Analytics

Pritzker Group Venture Capital, formerly New World Ventures, has invested $45 million in Chicago-based SMS Assist, a leading mobile and cloud-based facilities maintenance technology company.  
 

eBay has introduced a set of new features that make browsing and buying on the site a more personalized experience. The company is also accelerating its efforts in local commerce and plans to extend its eBay Now delivery service to 25 markets by the end of 2014, including Chicago.

Despite many forecasts of a gloomy holiday season for retailers, Deloitte is predicting an increase in consumer spending.

One-third (33%) of U.S. families are making less money as a result of job loss, moving to a part-time job and/or working at a lower-paying job, which may have an impact on holiday shopping.

In addition, according to three recent consumer surveys from America’s Research Group (ARG), 40% of parents are trying to save as much money as they can for their children's college education, 38% of families did not take a vacation this year of four days or longer, and 44% of parents will do most of their back-to-school apparel shopping in December when the deals are better.

Online retailer Rue La La will be leveraging Artisan Mobile’s Artisan Optimize platform to enhance its mobile technology.

"We are excited to be working with Artisan Optimize to directly impact the results of our mobile app," said Gerry McGoldrick, VP, Marketing, Rue La La. "Through their technology we are learning what drives conversions and, more importantly, we are able to make changes quickly and easily to keep consumers engaged."

Despite having more data and insights into consumer desires and preferences, companies in the U.S. have failed to meaningfully improve customer satisfaction or reverse rising switching rates among their customers. As a result, there is a potential $1.3 trillion of revenue at play in the U.S. market represented by the ‘switching economy,’ according to new research released by Accenture.

I have now been in my role as senior editor of Chain Store Age, specializing in retail IT coverage, for six months. Beyond being surprised at how quickly the past 180 days have gone by and grateful at how welcoming the industry has been to me, I also can’t help but be amazed at how much retail IT has changed since I was last actively involved in covering this field in 2006.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue, in partnership with Stylewhile, has launched a new iPad App that allows users to fit clothing to their specific body type before purchase. Not only can users virtually 'try on' clothes, but they can also use the App to select various items from retailers to create and style complete looks with the touch of a button.

New York -- RadioShack has secured a financial boost from GE Capital, securing a loan of about $835 million, according to Marketwatch.com.

The loan, backed by inventory and other existing assets, will help the chain refinance the company's outstanding bank debt and free up cash for its ongoing revamp, the report said.

Oak Brook, Ill. – McDonald’s Corporation reported positive financial results during the third quarter of fiscal 2013. The retailer’s net income grew 5% from the third quarter of the previous fiscal year, rising to $1.52 billion from $1.45 billion.