Data & Analytics

Shoppers in the United States plan on spending an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

New York -- Shoppers in the United States intend to spend an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date.

Merchant Warehouse, a leading provider of payment technologies and merchant account services, has entered into a partnership with Revel Systems, a point-of-sale software developer. 

According to both companies, Revel Systems' integration with Merchant Warehouse's Genius Customer Engagement Platform enables merchants to gain greater business intelligence capabilities to more effectively streamline, analyze and grow their businesses.

Chicago -- Dollar stores are not just for lower- and middle-income shoppers. In fact, half (50%) of respondents from the highest-income households ($150k+) say that they are shopping at dollar stores the same amount this year compared to last year, with 10%  say they are doing so more than last year, according to new research from Mintel. Only 32% of respondents from the highest-income households claim not to shop at dollar stores.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization’s CEO Summit is winding down in Bali, Indonesia and Walmart Asia CEO Scott Price used the event as a platform to share progress the company has made on a variety of fronts.

Price, who serves as chairman of the National Center for APEC, was among a roster of high level business executive and global political leaders to attend the event which ran from October 1-8. Notably absent was U.S. President Barack Obama who had canceled his visit at the last minute due to the U.S. government shutdown.

New York -- While online retail sales continue to rise, regional malls continue to generate profits, according to an SNL Financial LC analysis.

The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2013 grew by 4.9% over the prior quarter to $64.8 billion, an 18.4% gain over the preceding 12 months. Still, e-commerce accounts for less than 6% of retail sales, according to SNL (www.snl.com).

Atif Rafiq was named to the newly created position of chief digital officer at McDonald’s after previously serving as general manager of Kindle Direct Publishing at Amazon.

In his new role, Rafiq will lead McDonald's global digital strategy focusing on future growth in e-commerce, modernizing the restaurant experience and engaging with consumers across the digital landscape. Rafiq will report to chief brand officer Steve Easterbrook.

Boston – Women are more likely to have shopped online in the past year than men (57% compared to 52%), but men are more likely to have made a purchase via smartphone (22% compared to 18%) or tablet (20% compared to 17%), according to a new study from SeeWhy Conversion Academy.  

The report, “The Roles of Gender, Geography and Age in Mobile Commerce,” reveals that among 18-to-24-year-olds, women are actually more likely than men to shop via smartphone (21.6% compared to 21.3%) and tablet (20% compared to 14%).