News

By John Gessau, ACI Worldwide   Wow. What a month in the world of mobile payments.   So much has been said and written since Apple Pay was announced on Sept. 9th, up to its official launch on Monday, Oct. 20. If I had dollar for every time Apple Pay was mentioned in the press and in blogs, well…   But Apple Pay isn’t the only thing that has happened since Sept. 9th. There has been a lot going on around the globe:

Atlanta –- Aaron’s Inc.reported that its third quarter income fell 55% to $9.3 million, from $21.1 million the same quarter the prior year, amid expenses related to store closings, corporate realignment, executive retirements, the resolution of a regulatory investigation and the purchase of Progressive Finance Holdings.    Revenues increased 32% to $707.6 million compared to $537.2 million, aided by the addition of Progressive revenue.  

Toronto -- PayPal Canada is launching PassPort, a website designed to help small businesses sell internationally. On the PassPort website, entrepreneurs can find export market specific guidance on seasonal sales peaks including holidays and events; cultural customs, taboos and trends; shipping and distribution logistics; currency exchange and fees; and customs procedures and taxes.  

By Bill Bishop, Brick Meets Click   Online food shopping has grown slowly until now, but it’s about to pick up speed. In fact, momentum is so strong, Brick Meets Click now projects online grocery will exceed 10% of total grocery sales in many larger markets by 2020. For some areas in the US, online grocery spending has already reached 6% or higher.  

Learn about emerging brands on the cusp of break-out success and formerly solid brands in need of a reset in this exclusive report, More Climbers & Fallers.

Wall Street has tolerated Amazon’s excesses for a long time, but a much larger than expected third quarter loss and tepid fourth quarter outlook was more than the company’s most ardent supporters could stomach.

Crowd-sourced services provider Gigwalk has blending location-based mobile technology with new analytics capabilities to create Gigwalk Enterprise.

The company contends the new offering will help organization maximize the effectiveness of their workforce from anywhere in real time. Gigwalk said its enterprise offering will allow brands to mobilize internal teams to collect and activate data to mend issues in retail execution, as well as improve collaboration with retailers and supply chain partners to drive in-store sales.

Disney, Nestle Purina, Kraft, Procter & Gamble were top award winners in the 2014 Design of the Times Awards presented at the annual Shopper Marketing Conference & Expo.

The Path to Purchase Institute event recognizes brands, retailers and their partners in packaging and merchandising execution for the most inspiring and creative in-store campaigns and tactics of the previous year. In addition to the coveted Best of the Times award other award levels include Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze.

First it was pet care and now Procter & Gamble is exiting the battery business by shedding the Duracell brand as part of a strategy to focus and strengthen its core portfolio.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the release of first quarter results that saw sales increase 2% to $20.8 billion and earnings per share increase 2% to $1.07 or 9% when adjusted for foreign exchange effects.

E-commerce solutions provider Digital River said it agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by Siris Capital Group in a deal valued at $840 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Siris will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Digital River for $26 a share, a 50% premium over the company’s closing price on Oct. 23.