Attitudes: Retailers

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation welcomed a proposal to reform the nation’s tax structure announced Wednesday by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., saying it would strengthen the economy and jobs.

Atlanta – More than 50% of brands don’t have a strategy in place to manage responses to social media complaints from customers. Results of a recent survey conducted by Social Media Marketing University (SMMU) shows that 58.2% of brands receive customer complaints via social media “occasionally,” 10.9% receive them “somewhat often” and 4.9% receive them “very often.”

In total, almost 75% of brands receive social media complaints. In addition, survey results show:

San Francisco – More than 70% of time on responsive web design (RWD) is spent on the back end in areas such as integration and infrastructure. According to a new report from Moovweb and Forrester Research, 63% of 146 surveyed U.S. companies using RWD today believe that this technique is not suitable for long-term use, suggesting that RWD is largely viewed as a short-term, tactical approach to enterprise mobility.

Jacksonville, Fla. - Shoppers are increasing eating out by actually eating in as they take advantage of ready-to-eat foods and meal solution offerings from grocery stores, quick-serve restaurants, food delivery and take away. A new study from AMG Strategic Advisors, “The Why? Behind the Buy,” shows that Millennials are most likely to use prepared food for meal solutions, but overall, 77% of total U.S. shoppers reported eating out in the past month.

Chicago -- Twenty-four percent of full-time retail employees plan to change jobs in 2014, three points above the average for all workers (21%) and up from 20% in 2013. According to a new survey from Harris Interactive, CareerBuilder and WorkInRetail.com, 51% of retail workers are satisfied with their jobs, down from 60% in 2013.

New York -- Why do dark horse companies win -- and how do they win?

That topic is the focus of a new book by sales strategist and Elevation Forum founder Dan Mack: “Dark Horse: How Challenger Companies Rise to Prominence.” 

The best leaders and companies bring more than unique products or services to the market -- they consistently tap into the 10 key growth enablers Mack outlines in his book.

Washington, D.C. – Despite economic challenges, the restaurant industry should experience its fifth consecutive year of sales growth in 2014. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA) 2014 Restaurant Industry Forecast, industry sales are projected to exceed $683 billion in 2014, up 3.6% from 2013’s sales volume of $659.3 billion.

By Gerard Loosschilder and Juan Tello, Skim