Attitudes: Retailers

New York -- The minimum wage rose in 20 U.S. states and in the District of Columbia on Jan. 1.

The increase brings the total number of states with a minimum wage above the federal wage floor to 29, according to the New York Times. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

Nine states are increasing their minimum wage levels through automatic adjustments for cost-of-living expenses and other economic factors. Increases in the other states occurred through legislative or ballot changes.

Walmart’s integrity suffered a blow this week in a Bloomberg piece with the inflammatory headline, “How Walmart made its crumbling China business look so good for so long.”

By Shannon Warner, Cognizant Technology Solutions   Talk about a gap: 62% of shoppers say loyalty program membership is beneficial, but only 26% consider retailers’ programs worth joining.   

Gap Inc., is the only retailer to appear on a flawed list called The Civic50 that presumes to recognize the nation’s most community-minded companies.

Now in its third year, the lack of retail representation on The Civic50 is highly curious considering retailers enjoy a high level of visibility within the communities where they operate and are typically quite generous in supporting local charities and national causes. The consumer packaged goods was also under-represented on The Civic50 although companies such as ConAgra, General Mills and Hershey were included.

Chicago - Nearly half of CFOs expect the U.S. economy to improve during the next six months and only 9% expect it to worsen, according to the Grant Thornton LLP 2014 Fall CFO Survey. The biannual survey reflects the insights of more than 1,000 CFOs and other senior financial executives across the United States.  

NEW YORK — Chain Store age sister publication Retailing Today has released the findings of its first "Best Retailers to Work With" research report.   The exclusive research report examines suppliers’ perceptions of the retail industry in areas such as innovation, collaboration, digital readiness, expectations of trading partners and reputational factors.  

Cyber Monday may just as well be an official holiday considering  findings of a new study that show how little work actually gets done.

Recent trends bode well for consumer spending    

Blue skies and cool breezes. That’s the economic forecast as the calendar turns for a new year.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) supports immigration reform, but does not think President Obama’s executive action on immigration regulations is the right approach.   The NRF has issued a statement from president and CEO Matthew Shay on the announcement that President Obama will issue a series of executive actions on immigration:  

CINCINNATI - Americans are divided on the merits of shopping on Thanksgiving Day.  The latest LoyaltyOne research shows there are three kinds of American Thanksgiving Day shoppers:  50% who say all-day shopping hours on Thanksgiving Day are a bad idea; 33% who say stores being open all day Thanksgiving is a great idea that provides more time for holiday gift shopping and 17% who can’t make up their mind.