Data & Analytics

Armonk, N.Y. -- The U.S. online retail sector delivered double-digit growth in December 2010 compared with the same period last year, according to analytics-based findings by IBM. Online sales were up 12%, with consumers pushing the average order value up from $171.06 to $190.42 for an increase of 11.3%.

New York City -- Global Bay Mobile Technologies, a provider of next-generation mobile retail software, announced that City Sports and Things Remembered are the first retailers to deploy the Global Bay iPad Kiosk solution, a module that leverages the Apple iPad into an in-store kiosk.

Dallas -- Zale Corp.’s same-store sales rose 8.5% during the November-December selling period. This figure is a key indicator of a retailer's health because it gauges results at existing stores instead of newly opened ones.

Zale is refocusing its merchandise on diamonds and stepping up training of its workers, said CEO Theo Killion in a Bloomberg report. The company increased the number of salespeople certified by the Diamond Council of America to 2,000, from 800 last year, and plans to add more, he said.

Concord, Calif. -- Beverages & More has launched a next-generation technology initiative based around NRF/ARTS (Association for Retail Technology Standards) standards coupled with cloud computing and high-performance technology and service providers that include NCR Corp., Verifone, Retail Anywhere, Trevarian, and Anametrix. The initiative (called “ItsMo!” internally) allows for rapid design, adoption and deployment of new technologies.

PLANO, Texas - JCPenney announced that, for the third consecutive year, it was ranked number one among department store retailers in the Customers' Choice survey released by the NRF Foundation and American Express.

New York City -- Crabtree & Evelyn has retained 89 Degrees to assist the retailer in developing a wide range of digital and direct marketing programs.

New York City -- Twenty-three Kmart stores in Illinois and three other markets are testing financial centers where shoppers can cash checks, pay bills, place money orders and transfer money, according to Chicago Breaking Business.

A Kmart spokeperson declined to comment on whether a bigger roll out is planned, or what the retailer has learned so far from its test, the report said.

Seven of the Kmart stores are in Illinois, 10 are in Los Angeles, five are in Puerto Rico and one is in Wisconsin.

Atlanta -- Infor, a provider of business application software, announced that American Apparel has selected and implemented the company’s WFM Workbrain solution to manage the retailer’s global workforce.