Data & Analytics

Purchase, N.Y. — MasterCard Advisors, a division of MasterCard, and analytics firm Mu Sigma announced a new partnership to develop analytic products toward solving business challenges such as acquiring customers and increasing customer loyalty.

As part of the partnership, MasterCard has acquired an equity stake in Mu Sigma. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

By Rob Schmults, [email protected]

A first of its kind social shopper event is coming to Walmart’s home town in May courtesy of new media company Collective Bias.

The event, called SoFabCon, will be held May 3-5 and is the first annual gathering of the proprietary Collective Bias community of shopping influencers known as Social Fabric. Event organizers expect 200 members of the Social Fabric blogger community to participate with a collective sphere of influence that touches 40 million people.

Traffic trends at Walmart and other major retailers declined in December even though e-commerce sales set new records in the fourth quarter and throughout 2012.

Philadelphia -- A post-holiday e-commerce report released Friday by technology company Monetate said that, on Christmas Day 2012, 16% of all e-commerce traffic came from smartphones and 15.6% came from tablets, a marked upswing from a year earlier when just 6.4% came from smartphones and 8% from tablets.

New York -- A report released Thursday by the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries and the International Council of Shopping Centers said that the U.S. shopping center industry’s net operating income for the fourth quarter continued to show a strong gain nationally, rising 4.3% year-over-year.  

Total operating income of all U.S. shopping centers on a square foot basis rose 3.6% over the year-ago period.

For all of 2012, the U.S. shopping-center industry posted a 3.6% rise in NOI.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. reported Friday that global same-store sales decreased 1.9% in January, hurt by weakened performance outside the U.S.

By segment, comps in the U.S. rose 0.9%, but decreased 2.1% in Europe and dropped 9.5% in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
 
Systemwide sales for the month increased 0.3%, or 0.7% in constant currencies.

Fort Worth, Texas -- In an unexpected move, RadioShack said late Thursday that Walgreen Co. divisional president Joseph Magnacca will take the helm of the beleaguered consumer electronics chain as its new CEO.

RADNOR, Pa. — Search giant Google has agreed to buy Channel Intelligence for $125 million, allowing to expand its role in the retail space. 

A division of ICG Group, Channel Intelligence claims to count Target, Best Buy and other large retailers and brands that rely on its marketing services to drive sales. 

NEW YORK — Despite nearly half of shoppers using social media every day, less than one-fifth shop through them, according to a new study by PwC.