Data & Analytics

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it will reduce prices on groceries by $1 billion in 2012, in hopes to draw customers in and encourage them to cross-shop in other areas of the store.

Wal-Mart had $145 billion in grocery sales last year in the United States, making it the largest player in terms of domestic grocery sales. It says the price reductions in food and consumables are an investment and won’t impact margins especially if shoppers respond as planned with additional traffic and loyalty.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Rising gas prices and a cautious consumer environment continues to benefit the dollar store, with Family Dollar being the latest example. The company reported that net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2012, ended Feb. 25, increased 10.7% to $136.4 million compared with net income of $123.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2011. Net income per diluted share for the quarter increased 17.3% to $1.15 compared with 98 cents for the second quarter of fiscal 2011.

AMSTERDAM — Staples has named Willem Vos as director of e-commerce for Staples Europe. Vos will report to Peter Howard, SVP, head of Staples online and marketing for Staples Europe.

NEW YORK — The Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board fall slightly in March to 70.2 from 71.6 in February. 

"Consumer Confidence pulled back slightly in March, after rising sharply in February,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The moderate decline was due solely to a less favorable short-term outlook, while consumers’ assessment of current conditions, on the other hand, continued to improve.”

SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion continues to implement its new strategy of offering greater value on store brands and being competitive on national brands, while providing a convenient shopping experience. The company announced that it has launched the strategy in 268 stores in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. These markets are the first stores in 2012 to unveil the new strategy, the company said.

NEW YORK — Customer experience is highly correlated to loyalty in both the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a new report by Temkin Group.

According to "The ROI of Customer Experience" study, a $1 billion U.S. company can generate between $141 million and $382 million over three years if it makes a modest improvement in the customer experience it delivers.

Hiring is set to get underway soon for new CityTarget stores slated to open this summer in Seattle, Chicago and Los Angles, according to published reports.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores chief merchandising officer Duncan MacNaughton said during a CIBC conference on Wednesday that Wal-Mart’s domestic sales momentum has continued over the last two months.

The world’s largest retailer registered a same-store sales rise of 1.3% in U.S. stores in the third quarter and a 1.5% increase in the fourth quarter.

Results reversed a nine-quarter streak of same-store sales declines.

According to MacNaughton, the momentum continued in February and March, as well.

Los Angeles -- Starbucks Coffee Co. has been rated number one in a study of the most socially engaged companies by PhaseOne, a leading analytical-based research firm that helps companies to improve the quality, content and success rate of their marketing communication materials.

Conducted between July 2011 and January 2012, PhaseOne's social media engagement study looked at 75 top brands across six vertical markets and analyzed the social media engagement of more than 20 top brands.

New York -- Customer experience is highly correlated to loyalty in both the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a new report by Temkin Group.

According to "The ROI of Customer Experience" study, a $1 billion U.S. company can generate between $141 million and $382 million over three years if it makes a modest improvement in the customer experience it delivers.