Data & Analytics

Chain Store Age recently had the chance to discuss the increasing prevalence of information technology outsourcing (ITO) in the retail industry with Vijay Iyer, senior VP and global head at international technology and services provider HCL America Inc. Iyer explained how outsourcing various IT functions can help retailers better control technology cost and performance.

Is ITO becoming prevalent among retailers?

New York - Companies seeking to get closer to their customers simply need to remember and acknowledge their birthdays. A new online survey conducted by analytics and marketing technology provider Fulcrum finds that nearly three-out-of-four (74%) consumers who received birthday messages from a company they do business with thought more positively of the company afterward.

Retailers were effective at getting a record number of Americans to visit stores and Web sites over the weekend, but persuading them to spend money was a different story, according to data released by the National Retail Federation Sunday afternoon.

December 2013 is projected to be the fifth coldest in more than 22 years and the coldest in three years for the U.S. as a whole. Temperatures will be much colder for the eastern half of the U.S. with below-normal cold expected in the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Northeast. The start of the month is expected to be cold and stormy while the week after Christmas looks milder and drier in the East. A stormy pattern during the first three weeks of the month promises to also be snowy with above average snowfall across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, South Central states and the Northwest.

Even before its final round of deals kicked in at Walmart on Friday morning the retailer announced that sales had exceeded last year’s record-breaking results with 10 million transactions completed between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

Irving, Texas -- Zale Corp. narrowed its first-quarter loss slightly and reported its 12th consecutive quarterly sales increase.

Zale reported a net loss of $27. 3 million in the quarter ended Oct. 31, compared to $28.3 million, a year ago. The prior year included a gain of $1.9 million from a settlement.

First-quarter sales increased 1.4% to $363 million, in line with expectations.

Same-store sales rose 4.4%. Zales Jewelers and Zales Outlet stores posted a same-store sales increase of 7.5%.

Stamford, Conn. -- Among Americans who purchased a product that required shipping this year, 80% consider shipping options, including free shipping, to be an important factor in their overall shopping experience, according to a recent survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes Inc. The survey found free shipping is by far more important to Americans surveyed over fast shipping (77% versus 19%).  

New York -- Holiday sales growth is looking up for the nation’s retailers, with much of the lift coming from pent-up demand, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The company’s holiday forecast is the 4.5% to 5.5% range, which is higher than the National Retail Federation’s forecast of 3.9% and the International Council of Shopping Centers’ forecast of 2.0%.