Data & Analytics

Walmart's social media shopping platform, Shopycat is using the services of ifeelgoods, a company that provides marketing and technology solutions for digital goods incentives, to provide Facebook credits as reward for key customer actions. 

Through its partnership with @WalmartLabs, Walmart's social media arm, ifeelgoods is providing technology to encourage customers to use Walmart's new ShopyCat social gift finder, ifeelgoods reported.

There’s nothing wrong with most of the consumer electronics items that get returned to stores, according to new research by Accenture. A study by the firm found that defects only account for about 5% of the returns and the rest of the time buyers’ remorse (27%) or a perceived flaw (68%) results in the item being returned.

WASHINGTON — AAA forecasts 91.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2011-2012 year-end holiday travel season, a 1.4% increase over the 90.7 million people who traveled one year ago, the travel organization announced earlier this week. This year’s expected year-end holiday travel volume is the second-highest in the past decade and represents 30% of the total U.S. population.

Montreal -- A survey released Friday by e-commerce visitor feedback analytics firm iPerceptions found that, despite online retail sales being up, online retailers are missing out on revenue opportunities.

Third quarter 2011 Retail Ecommerce industry report showed that, while U.S. retail sales estimates show online retail spending rose 13% year-over-year to $36.3 billion for the quarter, task completion fell significantly for visitors at nearly every stage of the retail purchase cycle.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart said Friday that, on the fifth day of its "12 Days of Giving" Facebook campaign, it is awarding $130,000 to 13 nonprofits that are helping restore communities after natural disasters. Communities in Alabama, Connecticut, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming will receive contributions from Walmart Foundation, the retailer’s philanthropic arm.

Over 12 consecutive days, Walmart will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations.

By Jeff Kim, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation is putting its faith in the holidays by upgrading its spending forecast for the season.

After initially anticipating sales growth of 2.8%, the NRF said it now expects holiday sales to rise 3.8% to $469.1 billion. The projection may be lower than the 5.2% increase the retail industry saw last year, but the group said a number of factors, such as strong year-over-year sales and the fact that not all consumers have completed their holiday shopping lists, could provide the industry with a great gift after all.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports continued its streak of strong same-store sales for the third quarter, reporting that same-store for the quarter ended Nov. 26 sales increased 7% versus last year’s increase of 10.2%. Net income for the quarter was $23 million, or 21 cents per share, which included an income tax provision of $12.4 million.

SAN FRANCISCO — JoS. A. Bank's mobile checkout on Black Friday saw an increase of over 3,000%, compared with its previous daily average.

The m.josbank.com site, powered by 5th Finger's RedShop, has been in operation since early 2011 and offers on-the-go shoppers a detailed product catalog, reviews, educational tools and offers. "JoS. A. Bank considers mobile a critical part of its multichannel strategy, and another way to provide customers with a friendly, quick, and convenient shopping experience,” said Pete Zophy, divisional VP of Ecommerce.

Dallas — Davaco has acquired Ecoxera, an Austin, Texas-based retail sustainability consulting firm. Justin Doak, who is the founder of Ecoxera, will continue to serve as president.