Data & Analytics

Franklin, Tenn. - Worldwide POS hardware shipments showed a sharp increase in the first half of 2014. According to IHL Group's POS Vendor Data Service, which tracks POS shipments by vendors and retail segments worldwide, in the first six months of the year, Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) and North America showed by far the greatest growth in POS shipments.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have amended their merger agreement to include a commitment by Dollar Tree to divest as many stores as necessary or advisable to obtain antitrust clearance for the previously announced cash and stock transaction.

All other terms and conditions of the merger agreement remain the same as announced on July 28, 2014. The two companies also said that their expectations for a closing date for the transaction have accelerated to as early as the end of November 2014.

New York - Tiffany & Co. has named Jill Beraud as an executive VP, effective Oct. 13. Beraud will have responsibility for global retail operations including all sales channels in every region, as well as oversight of strategic store development and real estate.

Beraud, 54, joins Tiffany from salon product manufacturer Living Proof where she has been CEO since 2011. Prior to that, her experience includes senior-level executive and marketing roles at PepsiCo Inc., L Brands, Inc. and The Procter & Gamble Co., among others.

Instagram has become a mainstream social media tool for retailers. However, while most retailers limit their Instagram usage to maintaining an official page or encouraging customers to post photos with Instagram hashtags as part of promotional campaigns, some retailers are more forward-thinking in their Instagram approach.

Here are three retailers showing real insight in how they are leveraging Instagram to its fullest potential:

Berwyn, Pa. - 4R Systems, Inc, a provider of inventory and supply chain services, and Impact Analytics & Services, a solutions and services provider to convenience store retailers, have launched a strategic partnership. The alliance was created to deliver more powerful supply chain analytics to convenience retailers, and beyond analytics, to increase profit from inventory across all items in all stores.

San Jose and Menlo Park, Calif. – EBay and Facebook both reportedly experienced technical issues on Sept. 3. According to Fox Business, some EBay users were unable to gain entry to their accounts, while others reported their accounts had disappeared and their sales were no longer listed on the site.

Costco said it plans to open nine new warehouse stores before the end of calendar year 2014, following a boost in net sales for August and the fourth quarter.

During the month of August, net sales were $8.8 billion, an increase of 10% from $8 billion during the similar period last year. Same-store sales in the United States increased 7%.

For the 16-week fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $34.8 billion, an increase of 9% from $31.8 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales in the United States increased 6%.