Data & Analytics

New York – As a result of slumping net and same-store sales, Aeropostale is forecasting a net loss per share of between 42 cents and 44 cents during the second fiscal quarter of this year, which is 19 cents higher than the previously issued guidance. The revised estimate is based on a 6% decrease in net sales to $454 million, from $485.3 million in the year ago period.

Woonsocket, R.I. – CVS is launching a new online Drug Information Center on CVS.com. This new resource was developed to help consumers take control of their health by providing them with best-in-class drug information and a variety of innovative resources.

Woonsocket, R.I. - Accordant Health Services, a subsidiary of CVS Caremark, has launched an updated website and member portal, which provides new features and services for program members and is designed to help support and improve member engagement and participation for clients.

Accordant.com now provides eligible members with online access to educational materials, videos, communication tools and community resources that encompass 17 conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and sickle cell disease.

New York – Despite a slowdown in U.S. retail and consumer merger & acquisition (M&A) activity in second quarter 2013, consumer sentiment and retail sales trends remain positive, along with strong corporate balance sheets and availability of private equity "dry powder," which should help trigger M&A activity during the second half of 2013, according to PwC's U.S. retail and consumer deals insights second quarter 2013 report.

Brussels, Belgium – Delhaize Group reported increases in net profit, same-store sales and revenues during the second quarter of fiscal 2013.  Net profit totaled $139.2 million, up 20% from the same quarter in the prior year. Same-store sales grew 1.1% in the U.S. and 0.8% in Belgium, while revenues came to roughly $7.1 billion, a year-over-year increase of 7.1%.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – The Wet Seal Inc. reported net sales of $137.2 million during the second quarter of fiscal 2013, a 1.5% improvement from the second quarter of the previous year. However, this figure fell a bit short of the $138.5 million analysts were expecting.

Naperville, Ill. – OfficeMax is speeding up the process of customer segmentation with Monetate LivePredict, an automated segment discovery product designed to automatically identify valuable customer segments and their attributes. Using LivePreict, OfficeMax intends to identify, at the brand and campaign levels, highest and lowest-performing segments.

Menlo Park, Calif. – Facebook will reportedly soon begin testing a new feature called “Trending Topics” with some U.S. mobile users. As reported by All Things D, Trending Topics will display a banner highlighting a specific topic. If the user clicks the banner, they will see related comments and posts from friends and other Facebook users they don’t know.

San Francisco - Customer satisfaction is on the rise globally after more than a year in decline, with the average global customer satisfaction rating reaching 81% in the second quarter of this year. According to the new quarterly Zendesk Benchmark report, this about a 4% increase from an average rating of 78% in the previous quarter and the highest average rating since the first quarter of last year.

New York -- A group of 11 large U.S. retailers that report same-store sales results each month had a generally strong showing in July. However, Thomson Reuters analysis indicates significant discounting helped drive an overall 4.4% increase, more than double the 1.4% same-store sales rise recorded in July of last year.