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Axios
2 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Survey: Chicago back-to-school spending tops $740 per child
Shopping for school supplies will cost you more in Chicago, according to a new report. Why it matters: Back-to-school is the second-biggest retail event of the year, after the holidays. The latest: The annual Deloitte Back-to-School Survey estimates that Chicago parents will spend up to 30% more than the national average on school supplies. What they're saying:"Chicago parents are expected to spend $740 per child this back-to-school season," Deloitte Consulting's Matt Adams tells Axios. The national average is $570. "Chicago families are also spending more than the national average on packed lunches, extracurriculars and first-day outfits." Reality check: Chicago has outpaced national estimates before. In 2024, the report said Chicago parents would spend $747 per child, while the national average was $586. The intrigue: The biggest category for spending is clothing. 70% of local Chicago parents surveyed say their children's preferences generally influence them to spend more, including splurging on a first-day-of-school outfit. Zoom in: In addition to spending on back-to-school, 97% of Chicago parents surveyed plan to enroll their children in extracurricular activities, versus 90% nationally. Parents expect to spend $629 on fees and equipment, which is also above the national average ($532). Zoom out: 56% of the Chicago parents surveyed are concerned about higher prices and 71% of households report being in a similar or worse financial situation than last year. 51% expect the economy to weaken in the next six months (versus 37% in 2024). State of play: Prices for stationery and other supplies have risen 30% nationally over the past five years. New U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports — including backpacks, pens, binders and shoes — kicked in earlier this year, rose sharply, then came back down to levels still historically high. Yes, but: The full impact of tariffs hasn't hit store shelves yet — and back-to-school season may be the first test of how much price pressure shoppers will tolerate, according to a Wells Fargo Investment Institute report released last month.
Business Wire
08-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Drive Health Names Leeza Constantoulakis as Chief Nursing Officer
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Drive Health, a Phoenix-based digital health startup, today announced the appointment of Leeza Constantoulakis, PhD, RN, as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO). Dr. Constantoulakis brings over a decade of diverse healthcare experience spanning direct patient care, government affairs, health policy, healthcare technology, and leadership. As CNO, Dr. Constantoulakis will oversee Drive Health's nursing and clinical strategy, including building and leading a national nursing advisory council to gain clinician feedback to inform product direction. She will also serve as the primary liaison among industry coalitions and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including emerging digital health guidance. Dr. Constantoulakis combines active clinical practice with executive leadership and policy expertise. Previously, she volunteered as a Registered Nurse while maintaining her role as manager at Deloitte Consulting. There, she served as a program manager to one of the firm's platinum client accounts, as well as the Chief of Staff for the firm's 250-member Physician, Clinician & Scientist Community. In this capacity, she led complex go-to-market initiatives and drafted healthcare policies for federal clients to standardize care and reduce provider burnout. Dr. Constantoulakis' academic credentials include a PhD from the University of Virginia School of Nursing and a Master's in Clinical Nurse Leadership from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. She has published several articles and manuscripts on topics including health equity, policy, advocacy, and community-based care. "Dr. C's unique ability to fluidly connect lived clinical experience to national policy sets her apart," noted James Stringham, Chief Strategy Officer of Drive Health. "Her extensive nursing credentials, policy expertise, and deep curiosity about healthcare technology make her the ideal leader to champion nurses and advance our mission.' "I am excited to join Drive Health because they truly understand that technology should make nurses' lives easier, not harder," said Dr. Constantoulakis. "I have seen and experienced too many healthcare solutions that sound great on paper but ultimately create more of a burden for clinicians and less time for patients. My work has always focused on high-quality and equitable care. When advising clients on strategies and solutions, I made certain the well-being of the clinicians was part of the equation; and that's exactly the approach I plan to bring here. I look forward to ensuring nurses' voices stay at the center of everything we build." Dr. Constantoulakis brings over five years of healthcare consulting from Big Four firms, advising state and federal clients on health policy and healthcare workforce initiatives. She worked at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, where she supported the director of government affairs and enhanced advocacy efforts for nursing research, education and practice. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Catholic University of America, Georgetown University and is a volunteer nurse for the American Red Cross. About Drive Health Drive Health makes healthcare simple and accessible – anytime, anywhere, for everyone. Its mission is to ease the burden on healthcare providers, build trust with consumers, and simplify healthcare through secure, AI-enabled solutions. For more information, visit
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will AI ‘completely rewire' loyalty programs?
This story was originally published on CX Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CX Dive newsletter. A growing number of brands are using AI to improve customer experience with loyalty programs and streamlined operations. These brands are using the technology to offer more personalized experiences and automate highly repetitive, manual processes. The technology is a game-changer, particularly for customer analytics. Loyalty program leaders have been able to segment customer data for years, allowing them to target offers to specific groups, said Patricia Camden, EY Americas loyalty leader. 'But with those segments, you're still just talking to a broad, generalized group that you've put into a bucket.' AI, on the other hand, takes it a step further. The technology enables brands to target offers to specific individuals by helping them understand 'what each human values' instead of 'pushing the same reward to everyone' or those within a particular segment, Camden said. AI also allows loyalty programs to actively shape consumer behavior and habits while deepening a brand's relationship with a customer, Camden said. 'It really allows the brand to tailor the rewards, messaging, offers and experiences to individual preferences and behaviors in real time,' Camden said. 'That's probably the most powerful thing about AI and how it can improve loyalty.' A fast casual restaurant, for example, could send a customer unique offers for new items to help 'unlock a secret reward' designed for that customer or provide them additional points for their loyalty, Camden said. 'It's really loyalty gamified but in a way that feels personal, not gimmicky,' Camden said. Those changes have the potential to disrupt existing customer relationships and establish new ones. 'Loyalty will become less about what a brand wants to push and more about how consumers want to engage,' Camden said. 'AI is going to completely rewire the role loyalty plays in the customer experience.' AI can help loyalty program leaders stretch their limited resources by helping create content for hyperpersonalized offers and optimizing campaign spend. 'It really saves marketing teams time and budget,' Camden said. Instead of assigning staff such tasks as exchanging and reconciling transactions between program partners or providing individual customer preferences to hotels and retailers, AI can manage such tedious tasks, said Brendan Boerbaitz, senior manager at Deloitte Consulting. AI can also improve predictive analytics. One EY client, for example, uses its loyalty program to ensure that customers renew their relationship with the brand each year and now uses AI to identify and target offers to customers who are likely to churn, Camden said. More and more loyalty programs are using AI for fraud detection, too. Unlike humans, AI can quickly 'connect dots at scale' to ensure points and benefits are issued correctly, said John Pedini, principal analyst at Forrester. 'It can help flag unusual patterns before they become expensive problems,' Camden said. However, before integrating AI into their customer loyalty programs, brands must 'develop use cases that provide clear and measurable value,' including personalization, segmentation, variant testing and low- or no-code campaign development, Pedini said. It's best to focus on applications of AI that take an existing process and make it better, more efficient or cheaper, Pedini said. Starbucks, for instance, uses its proprietary AI platform dubbed Deep Brew 'to drive automation, operational efficiency and loyalty engagement by identifying and incentivizing specific members with personalized offers and rewards,' Pedini said. But not all use cases need AI. Forcing AI on business problems that could be solved via more conventional, lower-cost solutions is a 'big pitfall,' Boerbaitz said. When deciding whether to implement AI, Boerbaitz urges brands to consider the following questions: If AI were stripped from the document, would it be clear what problem is being solved? Do I truly understand the specifics of the problem we're solving down to the level of the user? Is this problem underserved by other tools and techniques? AI adoption is a 'team sport' that requires cooperation to avoid redundant work and conflicting initiatives, and build data sets, tools and models for multiple applications, Boerbaitz said. 'It takes engineering, architecture, strategy, change management, data and loyalty teams all coming together to make AI programs in loyalty successful,' Boerbaitz said. It's also important not to rush the process. Brands should avoid launching an AI model too soon because the technology depends on high-quality data to deliver on its promises. Launching a model with outdated or incomplete data could lower accuracy and create 'more issues than it solves,' Pedini said. 'The worst thing you can do is have incomplete data sets,' Camden said. 'If the AI makes assumptions based on what it knows, you can end up sending something that is not appropriate or not what the client expects to see.' That can take away the 'emotional element' of loyalty programs, Camden said. 'If a brand lets AI take the wheel without real human guardrails, the customer experience could start to feel impersonal, off base and overcurated,' Camden said. Loyalty program managers should ensure their data is comprehensive, including all channels and touch points, and properly labeled, Pedini said. Sound data governance of policies, standards and procedures is also vital to ensuring privacy, preventing bias and complying with regulations, Pedini said. It's also essential for humans to be involved in loyalty programs because first-party data can help businesses improve their product strategy, brand positioning and service design. However, that won't happen 'if the machines take over,' Camden said. 'AI should not be used to replace our thinking.'
India Today
29-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Can tech innovations help HR become more efficient and people-first?
HR is no longer just about hiring and payroll — it's about building intelligent systems that empower people and drive business outcomes. As digital transformation sweeps across industries, HR leaders are under pressure to simplify operations, reduce costs, and adopt technologies like AI, automation, and cloud platforms. But with innovation comes complexity, and many struggle to manage the very systems meant to help them. Bridging this gap requires more than tools — it calls for visionary problem-solvers who understand both people and to Gartner, nearly half of all HR leaders (48%) plan to increase their HR technology budgets in 2024. Meanwhile, Deloitte's 2025 report emphasizes that automation and AI are emerging as key priorities in HR technology digital transformation is at the forefront of the HR agenda. Manual work is becoming a thing of the past, as companies invest in HR information systems and cloud-based HCM platforms. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being applied to recruitment, and enterprise level chatbots are becoming more common. Yet this progress has brought a new challenge. The systems have become increasingly complex and difficult to manage. Many of these technologies are so intricate that even experienced HR leaders struggle to manage them effectively. At the root of this complexity lies a central question: how can HR systems be simplified without compromising performance? For Sambit Panigrahi, a Senior HR Technology Analyst based in Miami, this question has shaped his entire professional A HIDDEN PAIN POINTadvertisementOne of Sambit's most impactful contributions came during his time at Deloitte Consulting, where he engineered a tool to solve a common problem in large-scale cloud HCM implementations. It is called the Setup Extractor. What is it used for?In Oracle HCM Cloud deployments, HR and IT teams often struggle to manually track configuration changes across development, testing, and production. These mismatches often lead to delays and tool was built using reporting technologies (BI Publishers and XML). It helps extract, version, and document configuration setups. It improves traceability, reduces errors, and cuts down on manual work. The Setup Extractor reduced migration-related errors by 75 percent, cut deployment time by 40 percent, and has been adopted across multiple enterprise projects. It has significantly improved both implementation quality and client satisfaction at DRIVEN COST REDUCTION WITH ERP CLOUDHR processes can be costly, labour-intensive, and often lack visibility across the organisation. To address these challenges, Sambit authored the article "Driving Organisational Cost Reduction through ERP Cloud Solutions: Strategies and Outcomes," published in The American Journal of Engineering and paper explains how smart HR systems reduce costs and boost efficiency, helping companies grow in a digital world. These strategies are already helping companies reduce overhead, improve workforce effectiveness, and move toward a more digital, scalable RAPTORS FELLOWSHIPadvertisementIn recognition of his contributions to the field, Sambit was invited to join the Hackathon Raptors Association as a Fellow Member. It's a selective global network of technology experts and innovators from leading companies, including FAANG and the Fortune 100. Fellowship status is awarded only to professionals who have demonstrated a significant and measurable impact in their this platform, he collaborates on next generation HR solutions, from AI-driven onboarding systems to predictive attrition tools. He runs hackathons, leads tech workshops, and moderates panels to help HR teams bridge critical knowledge TO INDUSTRY WIDE CHALLENGEHR today faces a set of urgent challenges: increasing complexity in technology, rising operational costs, low transparency, and a lack of technical capability among practitioners. Sambit Panigrahi is building practical, forward-looking solutions to each of he's not stopping there. Currently, he is exploring how virtual reality can be applied to HR workflows - with the goal of building systems that do not replace people but help them unlock their full potential."I believe in people's potential, and that's what drives me to create systems that help them grow, succeed, and truly thrive," says Sambit Panigrahi.- EndsTrending Reel
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackLine (BL) Bolsters Board with Sam Balaji
BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) is one of the 13 best software stocks to buy now. On June 16, the company confirmed the appointment of Sam Balaji to its board of directors. Balaji joins the board with over three decades of global leadership experience, having served as Deloitte Consulting CEO for 28 years. Nonwarit/ Balaji will bring exceptional experience to BlackLine, having overseen over 100 mergers, acquisitions, and investments. The company's CO-CEO, Therese Tucker, has already touted his strategic thinking abilities and ability to unlock growth. His appointment comes as the company expands its platform capabilities for chief financial officers, focusing on intelligence across financial processes. In addition, BlackLine delivered solid first-quarter results as non-GAAP earnings per share totaled $0.49, beating consensus estimates of $0.38. Revenue in the quarter was up 6% year over year to $166.9 million, beating consensus estimates of $166.7 million. BlackLine, Inc. (NASDAQ:BL) provides cloud-based software that automates and streamlines businesses' financial close and accounting processes. It focuses on financial close and consolidation solutions, accounts receivable, and inter-company accounting. While we acknowledge the potential of BL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 12 Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Stocks Analysts Are Upgrading Today. Disclosure: None. Sign in to access your portfolio
