Data & Analytics

Retail sales associates just became obsolete. We don’t need them anymore. Like travel agents, technology has made them an endangered occupation. I witnessed this paradigm shift in a small hotel ballroom in Portland, Ore., where Storycode, an app development thought leader, demonstrated a sales enablement iPad app built for Nike.

Hampstead, Md. -- JoS. A. Bank Clothiers reported that net income for the second quarter dropped 38% to $14.2 million, compared with $23.2 million in the same period last year, amid weaker sales.

Total sales fell 10.7% to $232.5 million. Same-store sales plummeted 15.9%; direct marketing sales decreased 1.9%.

The Woodlands, Texas - Conn’s, Inc. reported net income of $19.2 million, up $7.6 million, or 65.1%, from the prior-year period during the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Consolidated revenues totaled $270.7 million, an increase of 30.5% from last year.

Same-store sales grew 18.4%. Sales increased significantly in product categories including home appliance, laundry, refrigeration, cooking, furniture, mattresses, TVs, tablets and computers.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens reported that same-store sales for the month of August rose 4.8%, beating Wall Street expectations of a 2.9% gain.

Results included a 6.4% gain from the pharmacy and a 2.2% rise from the front-end.

Total revenue for August rose 6% to $6.17 billion.

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid Corp. saw same-store sales edge up 1.1% in August, hurt by a 1.7% front-end same-store sales drop. Pharmacy comps rose 2.5%.

For the quarter, total sales edged up 0.7% to $6.25 billion, and same-store sales rose 1%.

New York -- Although back-to-school sales were unexpectedly sluggish, retail sales for the month of August benefited from a late boost in store traffic.

Of the retailers still reporting monthly sales – most so far are reporting slight increases in August same-store sales. Retail Metrics forecast an overall August gain of 3.2% year-over-year; retail sales advanced 3.3% during the same period last year.

Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a same-store sales rise of 4% in August, surpassing a forecast 3.8% gain.

Old Bridge, N.J. — Thanks to absorptions of numerous empty big-box space on Route 22, the vacancy rate in retail properties along northern New Jersey’s six major shopping corridors inched own to 8.1% from a high of 8.2% a year ago, according to the latest survey by R.J. Brunelli & Co.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Regional consumer electronics retailer Conn’s plans to more than double its footprint in Phoenix following second quarter results, which showed an 18.4% increase in same-store sales.

HAMPSTEAD, Md. — Although JoS. A. Bank saw decreases across the board for its second quarter, president and CEO R. Neal Black focused on the momentum the company seems to have picked up during August.

August seems to have delivered a mixed bag to various retailers, but Costco seems to have fared well with reported net sales of $7.95 billion for the four weeks ended Sept. 1, an increase of 7% from $7.44 billion during the prior-year period.

Comparable-store sales in the U.S., adjusted to exclude changes in gasoline prices, increased 5% for August and for the fourth quarter and increased 6% for the 52-week period.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $31.8 billion, an increase of 1% from $31.5 billion in the prior-year quarter.