Data & Analytics

Seattle – Amazon.com has entered into direct competition with digital payment providers Square and PayPal by releasing Amazon Local Register, a secure card reader and mobile app that allows retailers to accept credit and debit cards from a smartphone or tablet. Users create an account, purchase a $10 card reader, and download a free mobile app.

Amazon launched a mobile point-of-sale solution called Amazon Local Register that gives merchants a low-cost payment acceptance method while providing it with new insights into offline commerce.

Montreal – Canadian grocery retailer Metro Inc. reported medium results for its third quarter fiscal 2014. Net earnings for third quarter 2014 were $144.5 million, an increase of 0.1% from net earnings of $144.4 million for the same quarter of 2013.

New York – Although Macy’s Inc. reported a 4% increase in net income to $292 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, from $281 million in the same period a year earlier, the company still missed Wall Street expectations. Leftover merchandise from a sluggish first quarter helped keep Macy’s profit growth down.

Etna, Ohio -- Ascena Retail Group Inc. has opened its new 880,000-sq.-ft. shared services office complex and national distribution center in Pataskala, Ohio.
 

Former Ahold and CVS executive Paula Price is the newest member of the Dollar General board of directors.

She joins the board of the 11,500 store retailer at a pivotal time. Dollar General is in the midst of a search for a top executive to succeed Rick Dreiling who has indicated he will step down next year and two of the company’s arch rivals, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, have announced plans to merge.

Target Canada is looking to improve business performance with a new set of initiatives that the company has unveiled on the heels of some leadership changes last spring, as well as a comprehensive review of its Canadian operations.

Among the initiatives, Target unveiled a new price-match policy and unveiled a long-term partnership with celebrity designer Sarah Richardson, set to launch next year. Richardson’s new line of home décor will debut exclusively at Target Canada beginning in fall 2015.

With heavy investment in its Paint Studio and a corresponding media blitz to promote it, wholesale sales at Ace Hardware Corp. jumped double digits in the second quarter.