Bluemercury, a brand that describes itself as a luxury apothecary and spa chain, has made a name for itself by offering customers a personalized beauty shopping experience. Based in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., Bluemercury operates 61 stores around the U.S, with 12 more scheduled to open later this year. So what is the secret to Bluemercury’s success?

“We are really trying to deliver very high customer service,” says co-founder and CEO Marla Malcolm Beck. “If you look at the department stores and the way their cosmetics departments are structured, it is all brand by brand. And employees are paid by the brand. So if you go to the Clinique counter in Macy’s or Neiman Marcus, they are going to sell you Clinique products, period.” 

Oprah Winfrey is shaking up the $65 billion U.S. weight loss market. Last week, she bought a 10 percent stake in Weight Watchers International and joined its board of directors. As a result, the diet company’s stock more than doubled in value.

Oprah’s endorsement comes at a critical juncture for the struggling company, which has experienced 10 straight quarters of declining sales. More and more consumers are turning to high-tech activity trackers and Smartphone apps to manage their diets, and some investors question whether Weight Watchers can remain relevant in an increasingly competitive environment.

Will Oprah’s endorsement help turn around the company’s flagging revenue, or do the problems at Weight Watchers extend too far? In this article, we turn to research firm Marketdata Enterprises for some possible answers.

The U.S. luxury market is the largest in the world. According to the Federal Reserve Bulletin, the total number of millionaire households in the U.S. is 11.53 million. Because affluent shoppers have the highest potential to spend, they are key players in the consumer economy. It’s no surprise that a variety of companies target affluent consumers — from credit card companies like MasterCard to luxury brands like Chanel.

Chocolate candy is the most popular item given to trick-or-treaters. Last year, seasonal chocolate Halloween candy generated nearly $217 million in sales, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to consumer research firm Packaged Facts.

Chocolate candy sales have continued to rise, not just on Halloween, but throughout the entire year. In 2013, the U.S. market for chocolate candy was an estimated $21 billion, and it is expected to exceed $26 billion by 2018. A variety of factors are helping to drive sales of chocolate candy. Read on to learn more

Macy's just announced it will be closing 35-40 stores in 2016. This will likely mark the slow, steady progression toward death for the malls to which those stores are attached. But maybe the closure of these Macy's stores is a symptom of a deeper problem in the mall shopping experience, not the cause of the malls' failure.

Today, shopping malls are becoming twenty-first century ghost towns. Since 2010, more than two dozen enclosed shopping malls have closed, and an additional 60 are on the brink. By 2025, an estimated 15 percent or more malls will be closed or repurposed, according to projections by Green Street Advisors. 

Key players in the auto industry are facing new challenges and opportunities that could shake up the U.S. market in the months and years to come. Volkswagen’s sales showed tepid growth in the wake of the emissions-cheating scandal, while Subaru set new sales records in the month of September. Meanwhile, tech and auto companies alike are vying for position in the self-driving and electric car markets. Apple plans to release an electric car in 2019 and is tripling its 600-person team to accelerate its efforts. General Motors is competing with Google in the self-driving car arena and plans to test driverless Chevrolet Volts by late 2016. To learn more, read the auto industry recap below.

The current market for Global Communication Service Providers (CSP) has reached saturation with respect to customer penetration. Furthermore, core voice and messaging services are becoming increasingly marginalized. As fourth generation (4G) cellular via LTE is optimized globally via LTE Advanced (LTE-A), raw data services are next to realize ever shrinking margins. Recognizing this issue, certain leading CSPs offer telecom data Business-to-Business (B2B) services in a Data as a Service (DaaS) basis to various third party companies such as Over-the-Top (OTT) application providers.

Metals firm Alcoa Inc. will separate into two standalone, publicly traded companies.  

"In the last few years, we have successfully transformed Alcoa to create two strong value engines that are now ready to pursue their own distinctive strategic directions,” Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said in a news release.

Alcoa’s upstream company, which will keep the Alcoa name, will focus on bauxite, alumina and aluminum, casting and energy. The value-add company, which has not yet been named, will include global rolled products, engineered products, and transportation and construction solutions.

An essential component of clinical care, in-vitro diagnostics tests can detect a wide range of diseases, infections, and conditions, from sexually-transmitted diseases to different types of cancer.

In the next five to ten years, the in-vitro diagnostics markets (IVD) in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. are expected to experience only modest growth. In contrast, developing and emerging markets will drive increased demand for IVD as a growing middle class and aging population seek out healthcare services.

Within the credit card sector, innovative technologies are changing the way people make purchases.

Mobile and alternative payments are experiencing significant growth, with a range of payment providers in the mix including PayPal, MasterPass by MasterCard, Apple Pay, Amazon Payments, and Google Wallet.

In addition, co-branded credit cards continue to lure affluent households and millennial shoppers — which are prime demographics in the payments industry.