Data & Analytics

Amsterdam, Netherlands – Staples Europe has launched a new Staples.es website aimed at helping small businesses locate and purchase products.

The site has a new look and feel and offers many new features to improve the overall shopping experience including personalized shopping with product recommendations based on customer preferences, an updated search engine and filtering tools, streamlined reordering for frequently used products, and quick checkout with a mini-cart that designed to ease inserting coupons, saving addresses and reviewing orders.

Redwood Shores, Calif. – Cross-channel experiences are vital to customer experience. Recent customer experience studies of retail executives — by Oracle Corp. and Tata Consultancy Services — show that to 50% and 47% of respondents, respectively, cross-channel experiences are vital to providing overall customer experience.

Walnut Creek, Calif. – While the percentage of retailers who think they know about their customers is rising, fewer retailers think they are proficient in using that knowledge for marketing purposes. According to a new study from RSR Research, “Retail Marketing 2013: Organizational Drift,” 36% of retail marketers said their customer loyalty program is a foundational element of their marketing strategy in 2013, compared to 32% last year.

Chico, Calif. – Online home improvement retailer Build.com is using Adobe Marketing Cloud as the cornerstone of its digital marketing strategies, diving deeper into visitor data to better understand what they are looking for, how they navigate online, where they are coming from, and what drives purchase decisions.

Cincinnati – David B. Dillon will step down as CEO of The Kroger Co. effective Jan. 1, 2014. Dillon, 62, is a 37-year Kroger veteran who has been serving as CEO since 2003; he will remain chairman of the board.

New York -- Macy’s announced that it is an exclusive launch partner for Apple’s new iAd-supported streaming radio service, iTunes Radio. In line with the retailer’s omnichannel strategy, Macy’s said the new service will allow it to reach a broad cross-section of consumers with compelling digital, visual and audio engagement experiences on their iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, Mac or PC.

Costa Mesa, Calif. – Almost half of holiday marketing campaigns will start before Halloween, according to a survey of 200 marketers by Experian Marketing Services.

In addition, the study shows that the first 15 days of November are the most popular time to launch a holiday-themed campaign.

Other results include:

New York – Men are highly engaged shoppers, with 63% of men actively looking for in-store sales and 53% regularly using coupons, according to WSL’s “How America Shops: Men & Shopping Report.” The study also shows that 67% of Millennial men use mobile phones to shop, compared to 52% of Gen X men and 29% of Baby Boomer men.

Fort Worth, Texas – Pier 1 Imports, Inc. substantially missed expectations with a 32% decline in net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2014 compared to the same period last year. Net income totaled $17.8 million in the most recent fiscal quarter, down from $26.2 million.

Total sales were $395.6 million, a 7.6% increase from $367.6 million a year earlier. Comparable store sales increased 3.5% during the second quarter.

Dodgeville, Wis. -- Lands' End has launched an easier and more efficient online shopping experience for international customers. Customers can now view local pricing the same way they would if they were ordering from a local site.

U.S. prices on landsend.com can be converted into more than 60 local currencies.

In addition, all fees (duty, tax and shipping) will be displayed and included in the order total at checkout.