Data & Analytics

Many retailers are no doubt entering Thanksgiving week with trepidation at the prospect of keeping all systems go during what has become a six-day frenzy of “Black Friday” activity that now runs from the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to the Monday after. But retailers actually have quite a bit to be thankful for in the world of IT. Let’s raise an imaginary glass of homemade cider and give thanks for a few helpful technology developments:

Cloud Technology

Foster City, Calif. – Although many retailers will be open for business Thanksgiving, they may wind up angering more consumers than they please. According to a new survey conducted by Prosper Insights for Visa, 62% of more than 4,600 adult U.S. consumers said they would not shop on and are opposed to shopping on Thanksgiving.

Los Angeles -- Black Friday shoppers are looking to extend the Black Friday experience as much as possible. According to new survey results from PriceGrabber, 24% of Black Friday shoppers plan to start shopping on the evening of Thanksgiving. When asked if they plan to take advantage of extended hours during the weekend, 57% said they plan to do so.

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney will no longer be included on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.  

Dow Jones Indices, which manages the S&P 500 as well as many other financial indices, said on Nov. 22 that Allegion, an Ireland-based provider of mechanical and electronic security products, will replace Penney on the S&P 500. Penney will join the S&P MidCap 400. The change will become effective after the stock market closes on Nov. 29.

More than half of consumers plan to shop on Black Friday this year, although the number has decreased since last year. According to the Deloitte Pre-Thanksgiving Survey, 53% of 1,000 consumers polled will shop on Black Friday, compared to 63% in 2012.

Younger consumers are more likely to shop Black Friday, with 68% of weekend shoppers age 18-29 planning to shop that day and 44% of Black Friday shoppers in this age group planning to hit the stores between midnight and 5 a.m., compared to 30% of those 30 and older.

Irvine, Calif. -- In early 2013, global touch-screen electronic POS manufacturer J2 Retail Systems was acquired by The Aures Group. Having maintained separate operations in the U.S. market for the past nine months, the two companies, J2 Retail Systems, Inc. and Aures Technologies, Inc., have today announced their merger. They will now trade as J2 Retail Systems, Inc.

CVS has named Helena Foulkes as president of CVS/pharmacy, effective Jan. 1. She succeeds Mark Cosby, who is stepping down on Dec. 31.

Cosby has led the company’s retail business since October 2011, including its more than 7,600 retail stores, 19 distribution centers and retail merchandising, supply chain, marketing, real estate, front store and pharmacy operations.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores said Mike Duke will retire as president and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2014, and will be replaced by veteran company executive Doug McMillon. McMillon, 47, president and CEO of Walmart International, was also named to Wal-Mart’s board, effective immediately.