Data & Analytics

Armonk, N.Y. -- An IBM "Institute of Business Value" study revealed that self checkout is the preferred way to shop for most consumers today, and more than half said they want to use a mobile device to scan while shopping, and to do final checkout at a self-checkout station. More than 40% want to scan samples and retrieve shopping items for pickup, or have the items delivered directly to their homes.

The trend of improving delinquency rates within Target’s credit card portfolio just keeps getting better, and in May the percentage of customers past due on their accounts sank to another new low.

Target’s more selective granting of credit and shoppers more judicious use of their cards sent the number of accounts 60 and 90 day past due down to 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively. Those figures are represented continued improvement from comparable April numbers of 2.7% and 1.9% that also set a new low and were a marked improvement from earlier in the year.

Same-store sales at Costco’s U.S. stores increased 5% during the four week period ended May 27.

Toys“R”Us chairman and CEO Jerry Storch and Nordstrom Direct president Jamie Nordstrom are among the featured speakers at the Shop.org annual summit.

The annual event organized by Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation, will be held September 10 to 12 and the Colorado Convention Center and is billed as the premier gathering for retail e-commerce, digital and multichannel retailers.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports reported that sales for its first quarter ended May 26 increased 7.9% to $361 million from $335 million in the year-ago quarter. Comparable-store sales for the quarter were up 7.2%.

For the first quarter, the company is expecting  earnings per share are expected to be approximately 16 cents versus last year’s first quarter earnings of 12 cents per share.

Washington, D.C. -- Consumers are using Pinterest to engage with retailers more than Facebook or Twitter, according to a survey released Thursday by Shop.org, comScore and The Partnering Group.

Additionally, the “2012 Social and Mobile Commerce Study” discovered that one third of smartphone owners who shop online share their location with a retailer.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- Kronos Inc. said Thursday that its Retail Labor Index for May, which characterizes the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, rose to 4.1%. (This index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0% means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred).

The May reading of the Retail Labor Index reflected a moderate decline in hiring outpaced by a sharp drop in applications.


Dallas -- Patagonia said Thursday it has renewed its partnership with Epsilon, a subsidiary of Alliance Data Systems Corp., so that Epsilon will continue to provide comprehensive database marketing services designed to give Patagonia a better understanding of customers and improve cross-channel marketing campaign results.

New York -- Amazon.com Inc. will begin collecting 7% sales tax from New Jersey residents starting in July 2013. The online giant announced the agreenment on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J.  It also announced it will build two distribution centers in New Jersey.

Each warehouse will measure about one million square feet. The centers will create a projected 1,500 full-time jobs and would enable the state of New Jersey to collect an estimated $30 to $40 million in tax revenue.

New York -- J. Crew Group recorded a boost in first-quarter net income on strong sales. Profits nearly doubled to $30.7 million in the quarter ended April 28, from $16.2 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue grew 23% to $503.5 million, with same-store sales increasing 16%. Store sales were up 26% to $354 million, while direct sales grew 19% to $143.4 million.