Data & Analytics

NEW YORK — Colgate-Palmolive saw a boost in second-quarter net sales as its global market share in toothpaste and manual toothbrushes hit record highs year-to-date.

Net sales for the quarter totaled $4.35 billion, up 2% compared with the year-ago period. 

Net income, which included charges related to its restructuring program, totaled $561 million, or 60 cents per diluted share, for the quarter. This compares with net income of $627 million, or 65 cents per diluted share, in the year-ago period.

The top U.S. retailers’ web sites are barely keeping up with customers, according to a report by Radware, a provider of application delivery and application security solutions for virtual and cloud data centers. Now in its fifth edition, the “State of the Union: Ecommerce Page Speed & Web Performance, Summer 2013” study reveals that websites for the top 500 U.S. retailers continue to slow down, a 13.7% drop since spring 2012.

Leading payments processor Vantiv cited strength in its e-commerce business as a key driver of a second quarter performance that saw revenues increase 11% to $519.4 million and profits on an adjusted basis increase 21.6% to $82.7 million, or 40 cents a share. Vantiv said its e-commerce business grew by 38% during the second quarter.

Tractor Supply solidified its positioned as the nation’s leading operator of farm and ranch stores during the second quarter with the opening of 26 stores and a better than expected 7.2% same store sales increase which prompted an increase in full year guidance.

New York -- Five individuals have been charged with running a sophisticated, worldwide hacking organization that the U.S. Department of Justice called the largest hacking and data breach scheme ever prosecuted in the United States. The victims in the scheme included such retailers as J.C. Penney, 7-Eleven Inc., Carrefour and Hannaford Brothers Co. 

While the mobile phone serves as a lens to a personalized store experience, moving forward, wearable technologies like Google Glass will take in-store personalization to the next level, Steve Arthur, head of retail industry for Google, told attendees at  the Retailer Roundtable event, sponsored by digital gifting platform provider CashStar. Arthur cautioned that retailers must realize they must deliver consumers the experience they need, rather than what they want, and be prepared for a post-PC world. 

WTI expects that retail August 2013 will be the coolest in four years for the nation as a whole. Temperatures will trend cooler than last year in parts of the Northeast and in the western half of the nation, while temperatures will trend warmer in the Southeast and Ohio Valley. The Plains states and Rocky Mountains will see increased precipitation this year, while the Southwest and Southeast will trend drier than last year. August is expected to be another active month for tropical systems, especially during the latter part of the month.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — O’Reilly Automotive achieved a record quarterly gross margin of 50.8% for the second quarter ended June 30, primarily driven by improvements in acquisition costs, product mix and pricing management, according to president and CEO Greg Henslee.

The automotive aftermarket industry retailer saw sales for the quarter rise to $1.71 billion, a 10% increase from $1.56 billion for the same period one year ago. Gross profit for the second quarter was $872 million, a 12% increase from $780 million for the same period one year ago.