Data & Analytics

Parsippany, N.J. - Facebook and RB, a provider of health and hygiene products, have entered into a multi-year, nine-figure global partnership. The two companies have committed to integrating members of their global sales, marketing and creative teams to connect RB brands like Lysol, Mucinex, MegaRed and Air Wick with consumers on Facebook.

While some retailers and brands are now conducting actual e-commerce from their Facebook pages, the “buy” button holds the potential to substantially increase Facebook’s potential as a platform for executing omnichannel transactions. Smart retailers will offer, and even encourage, buy online-pick-up-in-store functionality through the buy button. Many consumers prefer the immediacy of picking up an item in a nearby store to waiting for a delivery, and retailers benefit from the resulting increase in store traffic and secondary purchases.

New York -- Michael Kors Holdings Ltd’s first-quarter net income surged 50% amid strong sales overseas. The luxury retailer earned a better-than-expected $187.7 million for the three months ended June 28, up from $125 million from a year ago.

Net sales jumped 44% to $887 million. Total revenue — which includes licensing revenue — climbed 43% to $919.2 million. Global same-store sales for the quarter rose 24.2%.

San Diego – ProFlowers is offering the “Love is a Journey” campaign, on Twitter and Instagram in August. Qualified entrants can post photos of what romance means to them via Twitter and Instagram using #LoveIsAJourney and #ProFlowersSweeps for a chance to win a Princess Cruises vacation.

Entrants can see their photos at Loveisajourney.proflowers.com. ProFlowers will also run a Paris-themed pop-up shop in the Times Square pedestrian plaza on Broadway between 42nd and 43rd Streets on Aug. 5.

Listening to Walmart describe enhancements to its online shopping experience — improved navigation, increased localization, simplified checkout — it sounds like the retailer is talking about its physical stores.

Whether online or in stores, the touch points the shopper experiences on their path to purchase have much in common. No surprise then that the range of enhancements Walmart said it made to its site this week are focused on the same things all retailers focus on to create a positive physical experience.

Asheville, N.C. – Ingles Markets Inc. swung to a profit of $13.83 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from a net loss of $14.42 million in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year. The elimination of debt refinancing costs from the previous fiscal year helped push Ingles Markets into the black.

Net sales rose 5% to $978.26 million from $934.01 million. Same-store sales increased 2.1%, benefiting from an Easter shift to the third quarter of fiscal 2014 from the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Target Corp. is running a Q&A with its new chairman and CEO, Brian Cornell, on its in-house, behind-the-scenes blog, A Bullseye View. The interview was conducted by the Bullseye View team.

You are the first CEO who has been hired from outside of Target. What are the benefits of coming in from the outside? What will be some of the challenges?