Data & Analytics

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart is working with Autoinsurance.com to offer customers in Arkanas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas an auto insurance comparison service. AutoInsurance.com provides customers with multiple quotes from national insurance carriers including Progressive, Esurance, Safeco, The General and others within minutes.

Wal-Mart plans to offer the service nationwide in the coming months. The launch of this service stems from a successful pilot that took place in Pennsylvania during 2013.

Longtime Hallmark executive Michael Goodwin was named chief information officer at the nation’s largest pet specialty retailer.

Goodwin will become SVP and CIO at PetSmart effective June 2, after previously serving as SVP and CIO of technology and business enablement at Hallmark, a $4 billion company with more than 2,600 stores and an extensive online presence. PetSmart operates 1,333 stores.

El Segundo, Calif. – Big 5 Sporting Goods experienced a 72% drop in net income during the first quarter of fiscal 2014, to $2.1 million from $7.5 million in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Expenses associated with the retailer’s new e-commerce platform affected its net income.

360pi, a leader in retail price and product intelligence, has unveiled the latest generation of its 360comparables solution targeted to address the unique challenges and opportunities presented by private label brands.

Chicago -- Mobile (including tablet), marketing and personalization were the top three issues that retailers will devote the most time to in 2014, according to the e-tailing group’s 13th Annual Merchant Survey. Omni-channel and platform rounded out the top five concerns.

Phoenix -- PetSmart has named Michael Goodwin to the position of senior VP and CIO, effective June 2.

Goodwin brings more than 20 years of information technology experience to PetSmart, most recently serving as senior VP and CIO of technology and business enablement at Hallmark, a $4 billion global enterprise with more than 2,600 stores and an extensive online presence.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. -- Kohl’s Department Stores has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for the company’s continued leadership in protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency initiatives. The retailer currently has more than 860 Energy Star-certified locations, more than 70% of its stores nationwide and more than any other U.S. retailer to date.

Mountain View, Calif. - Airtight Networks, which provides in-store WiFi analytics such as how long customers stay and shop, how often they come in and marketing campaign effectiveness, is partnering with Frontera Consulting to package social media and retail intelligence capabilities with the Airtight platform. The new solution offers WiFi-based brand lifecycle management.