IS A ‘POKEMON GO’ GYM OR POKE STOP AT YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER?

As you look around your local restaurants, convenience stores and retailers, do you see people hard focused on their phones, and looking for something at that establishment you cannot see? Most likely these are users of the new, very popular, Pokemon Go app, getting explorers to go out into the real world with their avatars.… Read more »

Luxury Goods Have Lost Their Shine

  High income shoppers in the U.S. have had their confidence shaken in recent months. Between Britain’s vote to leave the E.U. and economic uncertainty in China, coupled with global stock market and currency swings, luxury brands are suffering. China is attempting to drive down conspicuous consumption amid a slowing economy, and Chinese tourism growth… Read more »

Data Analytics Among Strategies to Combat Loss in Omnichannel

With new technologies hitting the market on a regular basis, the retail industry is constantly evolving. Most retailers now operate in a technologically sophisticated omnichannel environment that includes strategies to enhance selling, including online, mobile retail and social media marketing. In a 2015 retail industry survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, findings revealed that technology is making… Read more »

Macy’s Set to Unveil New Store Design

Retail giant Macy’s is set to debut a new store design at its remodeled location in Easton Town Center in Columbus, OH later this month. According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, construction began on March 27th – with work taking place as the store stayed open – and the new store design prototype… Read more »

Retail Sales Rose More Than Expected in May

According to the Commerce Department, U.S. retail sales rose 0.5% in May, beating a forecasted increase of just 0.3%. This followed a 1.3% increase in April and lifted sales 2.5% from a year ago. The second straight month of gains was fueled by Americans purchasing automobiles and a range of other goods, suggesting economic growth… Read more »

ACE HARDWARE RANKS #1 IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION FOR THE 10th YEAR IN A ROW

The J.D. Power 2016 Home Improvement Retailer Satisfaction Survey awarded Ace Hardware top ranking for their 10th straight year. The study surveys 2,995 customers who purchased home improvement-related products from a home improvement retailer in the last 12 months, and was conducted in January and February 2016. On a 1,000 point scale, Ace Hardware scored… Read more »

Takeaways from Accelerated Analytics’ GS1 Connect 2016 Session: ‘The Importance and Value of Data Sharing – Using Point-of-Sale Data to Deliver Outstanding Customer Experiences’

I had the opportunity to lead this session last week and came back with some takeaways that I wanted to share, as I feel they are reflective of the state of retail today and how retailers and vendors are using point-of-sale data to manage their business in this time of OMNI-channel, customer-experience driven retail. Customers… Read more »

Five Below Exceeds Expectations

Specialty retailer Five Below had a strong first quarter, beating Wall Street projections for earnings and same-store sales over last year. Their net income for the first quarter of 2016 was $6.8 million, up an impressive 58% from the same time period last year. Net sales rose 25% from $153.7 million to $192.7 million. We… Read more »

How Millennials are Revolutionizing the Beauty Industry

For the multi billion-dollar beauty industry, appealing to millennial consumers – the largest generation in America – isn’t just a good idea, it’s crucial. According to market intelligence agency Mintel, the beauty industry saw revenues of over $46 billion in 2015 and is projected to grow to over $51 billion by 2020. Women ages 18… Read more »