News

IDC Retail Insights: Top 10 retail predictions for 2015
Framingham, Mass. -- By 2017, three times as many retailers as now will explicitly underpin their customer and operations strategies on 3rd platform technologies. That’s one of IDC Retail Insights’ top 10 worldwide retail predictions for 2015. IDC revealed the predictions during a Web conference, IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail Agenda 2015 Predictions.
Office Depot beats estimates; raises full-year outlook
Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot on Tuesday reported better-than-expected results for third quarter and raised its outlook for the year. The retailer posted a profit of $29 million for the third quarter compared with $133 million in the year-ago quarter. The previous-year quarter included a gain on the sale of the Office Depot de Mexico joint venture. Sales grew 55% to $4.07 billion, fueled by the addition of OfficeMax.

Digital voyeurs gain Worthy insights

The pre-owned luxury goods auction platform Worthy.com has added new functionality to its live auction experience for sellers.

For the first time ever, sellers auctioning their luxury watches and jewelry online can watch their auction as it unfolds, while having access to the high-definition photos and professional description of the item being auctioned, according to Worthy.
RetailROI Offers At-Risk Kids Necessities and Hope

Industry uses strengths to aid children in need

Modern retail is a global effort to provide consumers with the goods and services they need.
Alibaba net income drops in Q3

Hangzhou, China –- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported net income of $494 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014, down 39% from $803 million in the same quarter the prior year. Items including share-based compensation expense and the amortization of intangible assets helped drive down net income.
RetailROI Rallies Retail Industry to Combat Ebola

Responding to the Ebola virus that has ravaged West Africa, RetailROI has launched a major campaign to help fight the disease in Liberia. Working with its partner charities operating in Liberia, including More Than Me and Love In Action, the #RetailFightsEbola campaign is rallying retailers, manufacturers and individuals to provide much-needed medical and hygienic supplies to Liberia.
RetailROI’s goals are two-fold:
Survey: Consumers find disconnects in online, physical retailing

Atlanta -- Although 83% of consumers say most of their shopping takes place in-store, they still report a variety of disconnects between the in-store and online retail experience. According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from electronic shelf label (ESL) technology vendor DisplayData, 44% of U.S. consumers think retailers offer different prices online and offline.
From Paris with love

Glamour girl and a fashion mogul Paris Hilton has created a new fragrance to add to her $2 million fragrance portfolio. A new scent With Love, Paris Hilton is dedicated to Hilton’s fans around the world.

From the scent to its gracefully designed bottle, With Love, Paris Hilton explores Hilton’s more sophisticated side, according to Harry Fremont, the perfumer of Firmenich fragrance house who created this new addition to Hilton’s fragrance collection.
Study: Wearable Technology Will Upend Retail

Wearable technology is ripe for growth — especially among millennials, according to PwC’s “Consumer Intelligence Series – The Wearable Future” report. Twenty percent of American adults already own a wearable device, and the adoption rate — on par with tablets in 2012 — is quickly expected to rise.
Survey: Retailer use of social media for product development grows 550%

Boston -- The current use of social media data by retailers for merchandise planning is limited, with only 39% using it for product development and only 35% using it for promotional planning.