News

Mobile point of sale (mPOS) technology promises to continue to transform the customer’s shopping experience in 2014 and beyond. Gartner forecasts an mPOS market valued at $617 billion with 448 million users by the end of 2016, representing 42% annual growth.

Retail is one of several sectors poised to benefit from mPOS. With that in mind, here are five trends that every retailer needs to be aware of in the space.

A majority of consumers find point-of-sale (POS) prompts, such as discount alerts on their mobile devices an invasion of their privacy, according to a recent website poll from CompuCom.

Respondents were asked, “Do you find point-of-sale technology prompts, such as a customized alert for discounts upon entering a store.” Sixty-three percent said it is Big Brother-ish/intrusive while 37% said it is helpful and cool.

The poll collected 307 responses from IT professionals across multiple industries from Nov. 16, 2013 through Dec. 17, 2013.

New York -- From mobile devices to social media to 24/7 connectivity, it’s a brave new world for retail — and one that Chain Store Age will explore at its first-ever Customer Disruption event, May 7-9, 2014, at Sofitel Hotel, Redwood Shores, Calif., the Gateway to the Silicon Valley.

New York -- Former Barnes & Noble executive Jamie Iannone has been appointed president and CEO of Samsclub.com in a restructuring that integrates Sam’s Club’s online business into the Walmart’s Global eCommerce business unit based in California. Previously, most of the warehouse club’s online business was run separately out of the retailer’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about how the retail industry has supposedly settled a federal lawsuit with Visa and MasterCard over credit card swipe fees.

The few blocks surrounding the Honolulu intersection of Kalakaua and Ka’iulani Avenues boasts the highest pedestrian traffic in the world-renowned Waikiki retail district. The count exceeds 22,000 visitors per day. And it is rising as recovering international economies enable tourists from around the world — and especially from the Asia-Pacific countries of Japan, China and South Korea — to respond to the beckoning call of Hawaii’s Big Island of Oahu.

Former Barnes & Noble executive Jamie Iannone was named president and CEO of Samsclub.com in a restructuring that elevates and integrates Sam’s Club’s online business into the Walmart’s Global eCommerce business unit based in California.

Iannone previously served as president of digital products at Barnes & Noble and oversaw the book seller’s Nook Media unit. He also spent seven years at eBay, earned a bachelor’s degree at Princeton and an MBA at Stanford.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Super Markets Inc. has expanded its Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse to accommodate growth and more complex analytics. The upgrade moves the data warehouse functionality beyond traditional strategic analysis and into tactical operational intelligence.

The expansion includes the latest Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse platform, database software, and services. The new platform is designed to enable quicker reaction and response to changing business conditions and consumer behavior.