Data & Analytics

By Jason Hamilton, [email protected]

On the job hunt, experience matters.

Or, does it? Maybe not as much as many job seekers and hourly employers might think.

San Diego -- Research released Thursday by Transaction Wireless and Aberdeen Group, which examined the benefits of mobile and digital gifting and emerging trends in mobile and social frontiers, found a shift toward digital gifting.

In fact, online gift cards have risen to prominence in the past few years and are now used by nearly a third (28%) of retailers. More than half – 61% – plan to use mobile gift cards, and 43% of customers prefer to use the mobile medium for gift cards.

Whirlpool North America, a division of Whirlpool Corp., reported second-quarter sales of $2.5 billion, a 4% increase over its sales in the second quarter of 2011. Overall, North America unit shipments decreased approximately 2%, the company said, with its unit shipments of major appliances to the United States increasing approximately 1%.

Fort Worth, Texas -- RadioShack Corp. reported Wednesday its worst quarter since 1996, posting a loss of $21 million in the second quarter compared with a profit of $24.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Sales inched up 1.2% to $953.2 million in the quarter, missing Wall Street’s forecasted $970.4 million in revenue, and same-store sales were flat.

SAN DIEGO — UPS has named Tim Davis president of The UPS Store franchise network.

NEW YORK — Iconix Brand Group reported that total revenue for the second quarter of 2012 was approximately $93.6 million, a 5% increase as compared with approximately $89.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Weak housing data notwithstanding, plenty of people spent money fixing up their homes this spring judging by the results of select retailers with exposure to the home improvement market.

Fashion retailer The Limited just got smarter about its purchasing and pricing decisions.

First Insight, a provider of predictive analytics, announced that it had reached an agreement with The Limited to provide predictive analytics for selecting and pricing new products. The company did not elaborate further on the extent of its relationship with The Limited.