News

Payments startup Adyen valued at $1.5B
Fast-growing payments startup Adyen has secured $250 million from investors who have valued the Amsterdam-based startup at $1.5 billion.

Adyen serves as a middleman for Facebook, Spotify, Airbnb and other merchants, enabling them to accept Visa, MasterCard and soon bitcoin in nearly 200 currencies worldwide.

The eight-year-old company allows merchants to accept payments on the Web, mobile and more recently at individual points of sale.
Macy’s – Gift cards, clothes top holiday purchases
New York – The top holiday purchase items this year range from the less personal to the very personal. According to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Macy’s among nearly 1,700 U.S. adults 18 and older who are holiday shoppers, gift cards (61%) and clothing (52%) top the list when it comes to the types of gifts that holiday shoppers plan to buy this season. Other popular holiday items include:

Etsy gets social with new e-commerce platform

Buying and selling on Etsy.com is going to get a lot more social thanks to a new partnership between the Internet retailer and a social commerce platform called Shoppost.

Shoppost, owned by Zantler, is now officially available to Etsy users and gives sellers the ability to sell their products in-stream on such top social networks as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr.
Fujitsu launches tablet POS solutions

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Fujitsu has launched its next-generation tablets - Fujitsu Stylistic Q555 and the Fujitsu Stylistic Q335. The Stylistic Q555 is a two-in-one, 10-inch semi-rugged tablet with enterprise-grade security and network integration, while the Stylistic Q335 is an eight-inch Windows tablet designed for enhanced portability. Features of the Stylistic Q555 include:
Tech Guest Viewpoint - Can I Trust You to Talk to My Customers?

By Jeff Seabloom, Alsbridge At one time, IT service providers could demonstrate their retail industry expertise by showing a PowerPoint slide of customer logos. That’s no longer sufficient.
Commentary: Record-Breaking Sales During Cyber Week Holiday Reveal Key Insights for Retailers

By Bruce Ernst, Monetate Consumers weren’t the only ones who were busy browsing gifts during Cyber Week 2014. In fact, the kickoff to this year’s holiday shopping season saw many retailers staying up late to unwrap key customer insights based on the valuable data being generated by online shoppers.
Pa. court orders Walmart to pay $151M

Walmart said the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered it to pay about $151 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by employees who claim their meal and rest breaks were cut.

Walmart said the ruling, which it may appeal, would reduce its fourth-quarter earnings from continuing operations by about 6 cents per share.

The suit, filed in March 2002, represented about 187,000 Wal-Mart employees who worked in Pennsylvania between 1998 and 2006.
VeriFone finds ally in fight against data breaches

VeriFone and First Data are teaming up to help U.S. merchants reduce their exposure to data breaches and expedite merchant acceptance of EMV-enabled credit and debit cards.

Large-scale theft of consumer payment data from merchants’ integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems is among the biggest challenges facing the payments industry.
PetSmart agrees to $8.7 billion buyout

Phoenix – PetSmart Inc. has agreed to be purchased for about $8.7 billion by a consortium of buyers led by private equity firm B.C. Partners and also including pension fund manager La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and private equity firm StepStone. The total figure represents an acquisition price of $83 per share, a 39% premium over PetSmart’s closing price on July 2, 2014.
Survey – More than half of holiday shoppers finish last-minute

Austin, Texas - More than half (56%) of Christmas shoppers surveyed typically have gifts left to purchase by the time "Panic Saturday,” the last Saturday to shop for holiday gifts before Christmas (also referred to as "Super Saturday"), rolls around. According to a new consumer survey from digital offers site RetailMeNot, nearly one in 5 (18%) Christmas shoppers surveyed admit that they've actually waited until the Saturday before Christmas to begin shopping for presents.