Data & Analytics

BENSALEM, Pa. — Charming Shoppes is making it easier than ever for women to design and share their favorite looks. On the heels of the successful launch of their new fit and style technology, Fashion Genius, Lane Bryant and its sister brands Catherines, Fashion Bug and Sonsi have further enabled the customer's shopping experience by enabling women to build personalized outfits based on their Fashion Genius fit and style profile, share their outfit creations across their preferred social network and vote for their favorite customer created looks.

Mooresville, N.C. -- Lowe’s Cos. reported Monday that profit for the quarter ended Feb. 3 rose 13% to $322 million, compared with $285 million a year earlier. Results topped Wall Street expectations and demonstrated an upward consumer swing in home-improvement projects.

Quarterly sales increased 11% to $11.6 billion from $10.5 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of $11.35 billion in revenue. Same-store sales rose 3.4%.

By Ken Burkeen, [email protected]

New York City -- The Home Depot is expanding its use of PayPal, the online payment service of eBay, from the 51 stores in the pilot program to all of the home improvement retailer’s stores, Dow Jones Newswire reported.

Don Kingsborough, PayPal VP for retail and prepaid products, said PayPal should be available at all of Home Depot's approximate 2,000 U.S. locations by the end of next month, according to the report.

NEW YORK — Former Walmart.com CEO, Raul Vazquez has joined the advisory board of OrderGroove, a subscription commerce program that helps brands identify and interact with their most valuable customers.

New York City -- Bloomingdale’s said Monday it has launched a new customer loyalty program called Loyallist in all U.S. retail locations and online. 

New York City -- Royal Ahold NV has agreed to acquire bol.com, the Netherlands’ largest online retailer, for about $470 million in cash.

Wayne, N.J. – Babies “R” Us launched the Very Important Baby (V.I.B.) program, designed to allow parents an opportunity to earn a 10% bonus savings on baby essentials.

The complimentary V.I.B. card is much like a debit card and can be used toward purchases of any brand of diapers, wipes, formula and baby food at “R” Us stores nationwide. Every time money is loaded onto the card, Babies “R” Us will add 10% – up to $200 annually.