Data & Analytics

New York -- Price Chopper’s store in Warwick, N.Y., has received LEED gold certification for its environmental efficiency.

Almost 25% of the building materials used on the supermarket were made from recycled materials.

The store also has a 32% energy cost savings because of better hot water efficiency and reduced exterior lighting, according to the company.

New York -- By the summer 2012, Best Buy Canada will start rolling out mobile point-of-sale (POS) in select Future Shop and Best Buy pilot store locations.

By Stephen J. Pargeter, [email protected]

A new application at a Gap store in Manhattan takes the hassle—along with the unsightly cords and wiring—out of digital signage.

The retailer has deployed tabletop digital signage displays that run on rechargeable batteries, eliminating the need for any external power. The freestanding portable displays, from BrightSign, measure 10.5” x 19.9” x 9.9,” and feature a built-in 12.1” high-resolution screen and media player. They are self-contained and enclosed in a sleek steel display tower.

Atlanta -- The Home Depot on Wednesday expanded its share buyback plan for the year by $500 million and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.

The retailer said it now expects to buy back $4 billion of its shares and that the increase in its share repurchase plan would not have a material impact to earnings per share for 2012.

Bellevue, Wash. -- Coinstar, best known for its Redbox movie rental and its namesake coin-counting kiosks, and Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Coffee Co., have entered into an agreement to roll out Coinstar's new Rubi coffee kiosk in groceries, drug stores and mass merchants. The kiosks will feature a variety of Seattle's Best Coffee beverages.

The rollout will begin this summer, with approximately 500 kiosks expected by the end of the year and thousands of machines in place during the next several years.

Pittsburgh -- American Eagle Outfitters and Shopkick, the largest location-based shopping app that rewards shoppers simply for walking into stores, announced the national rollout of Shopkick to all American Eagle Outfitters and Aerie stores across the country. Customers will earn "kicks" (points) just for walking in, as well as receive a number of other exciting, exclusive offers throughout the stores.

NEW YORK — Retail executives have more cash, are adding employees and enjoying stronger revenue, but they remain quite guarded longer term, not seeing a complete economic recovery until 2014 or later, according to the 2012 Retail Outlook Survey by audit, tax, and advisory firm KPMG LLP.

In the recent survey, 77% of retail executives indicate that their companies have significant cash on the balance sheet – up from 72% in KPMG's 2011 survey – and 56% say their companies' cash positions have increased from last year.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens on Tuesday posted May sales of nearly $6 billion, a decrease of 1.6% as compared with the same month in fiscal year 2011.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Surging profits and a 6.7% first quarter same-store sales increase prompted Dollar General to raise its full-year profit forecast by three cents.

Dollar General shows no signs of slowing down this year after posting first-quarter results that saw the company’s total sales increase 13% to nearly $3.5 billion and net income increase 36% to $213 million. The 6.7% comp increase was driven by an increase in customer traffic and average transaction size, according to the company.