Data & Analytics

Sacramento, Calif. – Wal-Mart supercenters in California benefit communities by supporting additional job creation, small business growth and more robust sales tax revenues. According to a new economic impact report conducted by economist Lon Hatamiya of the Hatamiya Group, on average, California communities with Wal-Mart supercenters fared far better on taxable retail sales than those communities without Wal-Mart supercenters.
 

Minneapolis – Target reportedly said a data breach at an unidentified vendor led to hackers obtaining phony credentials that allowed them to gain access to Target’s systems and steal the information for 40 million credit and debit cards, as well as the personal data of about 70 million consumers. According to the Associated Press, Target did not offer any specific details on who the vendor was or how hackers obtained the credentials.

Cary, N.C. – The Pantry, Inc. reported a net loss of $5.1 million in its first quarter of fiscal 2014, up from a net loss of $3.1 million the first quarter of the prior fiscal year. Revenues fell 5% to $1.8 billion from $1.9 billion, although same-store sales rose 3.5%.

Deerfield Park, Ill. – Walgreens is expanding its relationship with Inovalon, Inc. to implement its patient assessment tool and technology platform to support improvements in care, quality and risk score accuracy programs across more than 400 Healthcare Clinics at select Walgreens locations.

Philadelphia – Destination Maternity reported improved net income but lower net sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2014 as compared to the same period a year earlier. Net income totaled $4.25 million, up 11% from $3.84 million the same period a year earlier.

Las Vegas – The new MicroStrategy Analytics app for iPad allows users to get an optimized mobile view of their organizations’ analytical insights, while the MicroStrategy Analytics app enables users to connect to their analytics applications, and securely browse through project folders of grids, graphs, visual insights, visualizations and dashboards.

New York – Almost eight-in-10 (77%) of consumers report that having a poor or unsatisfying experience while trying to use a website on their tablet will affect their willingness to purchase from that brand. Other tablet research from omni-channel commerce technology provider Useablenet shows that 70% of consumers say that the quality of photography and design of a tablet site influences their decision on whether to purchase

Overstock said that it’s still adjusting to changes Google made to its search engine algorithms, which reduced the online retailer’s ranking in some search results during some periods. As a result, the company has had to emphasize other marketing channels, such as sponsored search.

Although sponsored search has generated revenue growth for the company, Overstock said that the move also incurs higher associated marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue than it had to pay prior to Google making its changes.