Data & Analytics

Los Angeles – Halloween shoppers age 18-34 are seeking online promo and coupon codes. According to the new Trend Report on the shopping behavior of young adults for the upcoming Halloween holiday from BluePromoCode.com, 49% of young adult Halloween shoppers use promo codes when purchasing costumes online and 57% stated their decision to purchase a costume was effected by the availability of a retailer’s coupon code.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings will integrate the Netpulse One digital platform into its FitStudio by Sears online fitness offering.

FitStudio by Sears is an online community providing resources such as exercise programs, video workouts, and expert advice. NetpulseOne will enable FitStudio to deliver an enhanced customer experience by providing the ability to connect to fitness equipment, mobile apps and personal fitness devices as well allowing FitStudio members to set goals and participate in challenges and events.

New York -- Apple is the most valuable brand in the world, replacing Coca-Cola, which held the top position for 13 years, according to an annual study by brand consultancy Interbrand.
 
Apple’s brand value jumped 28% to $98.3 billion, followed by Google, with a brand value of $93.3 billion. Coca-Cola, which has held the top spot since Interbrand issued its first Best Global Brands report in 2000, fell to third place, at $79.2 billion. (The top 25 brands are ranked below.)
     

By Jim Hogan, [email protected]

Amazon is getting ready for the holiday shopping rush and creating more than 70,000 full-time seasonal jobs across its U.S. fulfillment centers to meet an increase in customer demand — a 40% increase over last year’s seasonal hires. 

In 2012, Amazon converted thousands of seasonal employees into regular, full-time roles after the holidays, and expects to do the same this year. On average, seasonal employees earn 94% of Amazon fulfillment center employee starting wages and are eligible for health care benefits.

Walmart opened a dedicated online fulfillment center in Fort Worth this week and said its largest facility ever will open next spring in Bethlehem, Pa.

Walgreens filled a record 821 million prescriptions which helped boost the company’s retail pharmacy market share for the fiscal year to 19.1%. 

Walgreens posted a sales gain of 0.8% for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, reaching a record $72.2 billion. Early morning trading boosted Walgreens' share price from a close of $53.80 on Monday to $56.06, an increase of 4.2%.

According to Shop.org, more than half (55%) of all retail-related Internet time in June 2013 originated on smartphones and tablet devices combined, compared with just 45% originating from desktop devices. 

Shop.org teamed up with comScore and the Partnering Group to generate the report, released at Shop.org's Annual Summit, which found that smartphone Internet usage in June 2013 totaled 44% of retail Internet minutes, up from 17% in June 2010. Tablet internet usage accounted for 11% of total minutes on retail sites.

Neiman Marcus Group will begin to offer free standard shipping and returns for all domestic purchases made online through neimanmarcus.com and bergdorfgoodman.com as well as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman stores. The announcement comes just in time for the holiday season. 

"The customer has always been at the center of the Neiman Marcus business model. Permanent free shipping and returns have been a top request and we are happy to be able to make this change just in time for the holiday shopping season." said Wanda Gierhart, chief marketing officer.

ECRM compared retail circular advertising in September 2012 versus September 2013 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains. Home Depot continued to cut circular pages, down 80% year-over-year to only four for September. Despite this, it has continued to dramatically increase the density of its circular, with a 180% increase in ad blocks per page. On the other hand, Lowe’s saw only minor year-over-year changes, with 25% increases in ad blocks per page and per circular.