‘Daily Wrap:’ Groupon, Barcode Scanning, Target
Groupon, the social buying site that spurned a $6 billion offer from Google, is pushing ahead with plans for its initial public offering, a debut that could value the company at $15 billion or more,
reports the New York Times.
Groupon, which is expected to make its debut in the spring, reportedly will meet with bankers again today.
E-commerce & Multichannel Retailing
- According to Compete’s findings, barcode scanning apps have been used by 28 percent of smartphone owners.
- UK video game retailer GameStop has outlined plans to begin selling content directly into customers’ Xbox Live and PlayStation Network accounts.
Mergers & Acquisitions
- U.S. retailing giant Target Corp. said it is buying more than 200 Zellers Inc. stores ahead of its much-anticipated arrival in Canada.
Store Openings & Closings
- Domino's Pizza is looking at opening 150 outlets throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including 15 in Malaysia by year-end.
CRM
- Walgreens Optimal Wellness program, a new self-care educational program for people with chronic conditions, will initially focus on people with type 2 diabetes.
Stats & Research
- Looking at how Americans shop, the vast majority (82%) of trips are smaller; either immediate need or fill-in trips.
- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 8% in January over the same month last year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
- The U.S. Census Bureau advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for December 2010, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $380.9 billion, an increase [pdf] of 0.6% from the previous month, and 7.9% higher than December 2009.
- Total November 2010 exports of $159.6 billion and imports of $198 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $38.3 billion, down from $38.4 billion in October 2010, revised.
- The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 0.3% in November 2010 from its October level, declining after two monthly increases, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported.
- Overall self-reported daily consumer spending in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online averaged $55 per day in the week ending Jan. 9, 2011, down as expected from the $75 average for the month of December 2010, but also well below the $68 average for the same week in 2010.
