IBM

The U.S. retail industry saw continued growth in online and mobile buying trends in the first quarter, driven by today's rising digital consumer marketplace. Meanwhile, shoppers referred to retailer sites from social networks generated 2.4 percent of all online sales, an increase from the 1.7 percent seen over this period last year.

The acquisition further extends IBMs Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based software to help companies drive profitability through measurable pricing, promotion, and assortment planning.

The Top 10 providers of a point software solution or a software suite for the cleansing, analysis and integration of downstream demand data, including POS, syndicated, etc., for use by sales, marketing, supply chain operations and R&D.

This years Readers Choice survey spans 10 categories, but some companies do not fit snugly into any one group. In response, we created the Editors Pick section to recognize solutions and service providers that are making a difference in the consumer goods industry and should be dually noted.

The acquisition of DemandTec is expected to extend IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based price, promotion and other merchandising and marketing analytics. At the same time, the deal is in line with a trend across many industries wherein the lines between merchandising, marketing, commerce and supply chain are blurring.

Sales results for Black Friday and Cyber Monday are in, and aside from signaling growing consumer confidence with record breaking totals, the statistics point to another key consumer trend: Mobile shopping is on the up and up.

With new technology offerings flooding the market almost daily, CGT showcases 15 game-changing solutions that have recently hit the market for consumer goods firms. Find out how they can empower your business initiatives.