Data & Analytics

By Netta Kelvis, head of marketing, Custora

[Editor’s Note: Custora has released its Holiday 2013 E-Commerce Recap, which is based on the company’s real-time dashboard aggregating data from over 100 U.S. retailers. Here's a blog post by Custora’s head on marketing summarizing the recap's highlights.]  

Armonk, N.Y. – IBM plans to commit more than $1.2 billion to significantly expand its global cloud footprint. This investment includes a network of data centers designed to bring clients greater flexibility, transparency and control of how they manage their data, run their businesses and deploy their IT operations in the cloud.

New York – Neiman Marcus reportedly first experienced a data security breach in July 2013 and did not fully resolve the issue until Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014. According to the New York Times, in a private call with credit card companies held Monday, Jan. 13, the time stamp on the first breach indicates it took place in mid-July.

As the holiday dust clears and we settle into a new year, it’s only fitting that retailers take a moment to reflect on successes of 2013 and identify opportunities for 2014. How can we be more efficient this year? Can we waste less while producing more? Where can we make simple adjustments that add up to big bottom line savings?

Pleasant Ridge, Mich. - Digital engagement firm ePrize today announced a new name, “HelloWorld.” HelloWorld is also releasing a SaaS-based rich engagement platform including the following solutions that can be deployed across microsites, SMS, social, mobile sites, apps and in-store.

● Mobile marketing: SMS, in-app push notifications, custom mobile app experiences, mobile clubs, alerts, mobile coupons and location-based services.

New York – The retail industry may be facing a major threat by hackers targeting sensitive consumer data held by numerous chains. According to Bloomberg, a report from security company iSight Partners says multiple groups of hackers have been targeting retailers since June 2013 using a piece of software known as Kaptoxa.

New York – ShopKeep POS is introducing ShopKeep Mobile, a handheld point of sale device that will use Griffin Olli hardware with the ShopKeep POS app. Designed for the iPod touch, ShopKeep Mobile features an encrypted credit card swiper and high-speed laser barcode scanner to ring up sales right from the showroom floor.