Data & Analytics

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. said that Troy Alstead, CFO and chief administrative officer, has been promoted to CFO and group president, Global Business Services.

Alstead’s promotion is a recognition of the increasing responsibility and complexity of his role overseeing Starbucks global financial, technology and supply chain operations and ensuring that the company’s overall business infrastructure is optimized to support the company’s global growth.

Teaneck, N.J. – Physical stores remain critically important to omnichannel commerce. Results of the fourth annual Cognizant Customer Experience Study show that for consumable products, 75% of shoppers still prefer to make an in-store purchase.

New York -- Foot Locker, Inc. is introducing Six02.com, the e-retail extension of its Six:02 stores aimed at women. In addition to offering a full assortment of women’s athletic apparel and products, the site features the Get Fit Guide, a custom online tool to lead customers through the product offerings to find the perfect fit, style, and product based on preferred workout activity and body shape.

By Kelly Kennedy, Senior VP of Enterprise Sales, Infogroup Targeting Solutions

Dallas -- PeopleAnswers and New York & Company announced a software licensing agreement for the specialty apparel chain with more than 500 stores nationwide to use the PeopleAnswers HR-focused business solution to recommend employee candidates who can guide their customers to make smart fashion purchase decisions.

Chicago -- Retail sales are forecast to rise 2.4% during the holiday season of November and December while total retail traffic will decrease 1.4% as compared to the year-ago period, according to ShopperTrak, a leading provider of shopper analytics. The company also notes that retailers have less time to capture peak holiday spending: There are only 25 days lie between Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Christmas this year, compared to 31 days in 2012. And unlike last year, consumers have only four (not five) full weekends to shop.

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea plans to incorporate the largest geothermal heating and cooling system in the state of Kansas (and neighboring Missouri) in its upcoming store in Merriam, Kan. The 359,000-sq.-ft. store is now under construction.

The related drilling and underground work should be complete by winter, with the system operational when the building opens in fall 2014. The Ikea Merriam will be the second U.S. Ikea location with geothermal technology. (In 2011, Ikea opened a store Centennial, Col., that uses geothermal technology.)

By Anna Convey, OpenSpan