Data & Analytics

San Francisco -- Survey results released by online customer experience management software provider Tealeaf and mobile feedback solution-provider OpinionLab found that the majority of e-business and customer experience professionals feel that the mobile experience is as important as that of a fixed website.

WASHINGTON — Amazon and other online-only retailers have been dealt a major blow, as legislation introduced last week seeks to require such retailers to collect sales tax.

The Main Street Fairness Act would allow states that have adopted the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement to require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax whether they have a physical presence in their state or not. The bill would cover all “remote sellers,” which include online retailers, catalog merchants and “1-800” offers on radio and television.

NEW YORK  — The end of Borders as we know it may be drawing near. According to court papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, Borders Group is planning to auction off its intellectual property, including the Borders brand name and the Borders.com website, in a move that will enable the brand to live on after liquidation in a limited fashion.

The Sept. 14 auction, which will sell off the logo, trademarks, website, customer lists and other intellectual property, is expected to draw millions of dollars worth of offers.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Investors will wish even harder that Publix would go public, now that the company has reported strong quarterly results and a jump in its private stock price.

Publix, which is not publicly-traded company, said that its stock price rose from $21.65 per share to $22.05 per share, effective Aug. 1. The stock is only available to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.

NEW YORK — Discount stores will continue to dominate as the destination for the majority of consumers’ back-to-school dollars this year, with office supply stores also remaining strong, according to a survey by Accenture on parents’ back-to-school shopping plans. The majority of parents (59%) will spend between $100 and $500 on back-to-school shopping this year, with 21% of consumers saying they plan to spend more than $500 this year. That’s down from 28% in 2010, indicating a decline in spending on the big ticket items for school.

Costco isn’t a retailer that comes to mind for most people when it comes to back-to-school shopping, so it was peculiar to see the company’s name atop a list of the best one-stop shopping destinations.

Nothing against Costco, they sell some awesome stuff, but the company can’t be confused with such true one-stop shopping destinations as Target, Walmart or even office supply stores. Costco topped the list due to a flawed survey conducted by STELLAService, a company that provides customer service ratings for online retailers. 

New York City -- Publix Super Markets said its second-quarter net income rose 9.7%, to $382.4 million.

Total sales increased 5.8%, to $6.6 billion. Same-store sales rose 4.2%.
 

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- The reviews are coming in, and Domino’s Pizza is streaming them atop a billboard in one of the country’s busiest intersections: Manhattan’s Times Square.

New York City -- The Kroger Co. has selected Oracle’s Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Process to establish a platform for continually improving the customer experience. The supermarket operator will use the solution to integrate and streamline all aspects of product development, including managing specifications, suppliers, formulations, packaging and labeling, compliance, and quality.

New York City -- Aeropostale has launched a fully integrated Facebook Store, powered by Usablenet's technology platform, that combines shopping and social media and extends full e-commerce functionality to the Aeropostale Facebook community.

In addition to being able to purchase from Aeropostale's entire online inventory, the integrated Facebook e-commerce store allows users to easily 'Like' and share items and purchases with their Facebook network - leveraging the viral nature of Facebook's news feed.