Data & Analytics

New York -- Epicor Software Corp. said Monday that The Jones Group Inc. is rolling out its Epicor Retail Store offering which is fully mobile-enabled for deployment and use on Apple iPad, iPod and Windows mobile devices, and brings information directly to sales associates’ fingertips.

By Jill Puler, [email protected]

For retailers, brands and marketers, the millennials have created quite the conundrum. This segment makes up a large part of the consuming world — around 95 million consumers in the U.S. alone. And with $1.7 billion in spending muscle to flex, their influence is only going to increase as the years roll by. By 2030, they will outnumber the vaunted baby boomers by more than 20 million.

New York -- A report released Monday at Retail’s BIG Show in New York City by Shop.org and Forrester Research found that as shoppers become increasingly connected, online retailers in 2013 will get back to basics, focusing on strategies and tactics to improve the customer experience and increase web conversion and loyalty across all devices.

New York -- Aldata, part of Symphony EYC, announced Monday its second U.S. holiday shopping survey revealed that U.S. shoppers want to use their mobile phones to make shopping easier, more personalized, and to have more control over inventory, but that purchasing groceries with a mobile is still in its infancy.

Conducted by Vision Critical on behalf of Symphony EYC, the survey found that 54% of shoppers said that no lines and no waiting were the greatest benefits to shopping online for groceries.

New York -- MID Retail Inc. announced Monday that discount fashion retailer Loehmann’s has selected its Advanced Merchandise Planning and Advanced Allocation software to forecast store-level demand, accurately generate buying plans, and intelligently manage the flow of merchandise to retail stores.

RACINE, Wis. — SC Johnson, a leader in sustainability, has received the Renewable Energy Customer-Generator of the Year award from Renew Wisconsin.

Renew Wisconsin is an independent nonprofit organization that leads and represents businesses, organizations and individuals who want cleaner, renewable energy in the state. It recognized SC Johnon for its achievements in using renewable energy in its global manufacturing operations.

CITY OF INDUSTRY, Calif. — Intel, Samsung and Microsoft were among the six recipients recognized with a 2013 Eggie Award for Partners of the Year.

Presented by Newegg, a leading consumer electronics e-retailer, the Eggies are awarded to vendor partners and customers who have made outstanding contributions and supported Newegg’s growth efforts.

Strength in the computing, mobile phone and appliance categories enabled Best Buy to report flat same store sales during the holidays and temporarily silence the voice of those who had prematurely written the company’s obituary.

ASHLAND CITY, Tenn. — Lowe’s is teaming up with American Water Heaters to offer homeowners the ability to remotely control their water heaters from their smart phones or tablets.

Iris is Lowe's exclusive smart home solution allows homeowners to monitor and control virtually everything in the home, including Energy Smart electric water heaters, which will feature Iris-compatible control modules. Homeowners can use the controls to set water temperatures and select operating modes, including the "Vacation" mode.

PHILADELPHIA — Urban Outfitters Inc. said its same-stores sales for the holiday season rose 9%, including its direct-to-consumer business. Excluding that unit, same-store sales fell 1%.

Total company net sales for November and December increased 15% to $666 million.

Among Urban Outfitters’ brands, comparable sales increased 33% at Free People, 10% at Urban Outfitters and 5% at Anthropologie. Direct-to-consumer net sales increased by 38% for the period and wholesale segment net sales increased 21%.