Budgets/Spending/Market Size

It didn't take long for cities across North America to throw their hat in the ring when Amazon announced it had initiated a search for a city in which to build a second headquarters.    In seeking proposals, Amazon laid out some very definite criteria, including population requirements (one million or more). CNBC examined the criteria and suggested that five cities are worthy of a close look by Amazon: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco and Boston.   

Based on its recent bold expansion into the grocery segment, Amazon is primed to give food and beverage e-commerce a shot of adrenaline.   This was according to “U.S. Grocery Market Focus: The Amazon Food Shopper,” a report from Packaged Goods.    According to the firm’s estimates, Amazon's 2016 online food and beverages sales, including AmazonFresh, is at $1.5 billion. This volume is expected to rise to $2.3 billion in 2017, giving the company a 19% share of the online market.

Consumer confidence increased in August to the second highest level since late 2000.    The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 122.9 in August, up from 120 in the prior month. Economists had expected the index to rise to 122.5 in August.    The Present Situation Index increased from 145.4 to 151.2. The Expectations Index rose marginally from 103.0 last month to 104.0.  

Hurricane Harvey, the first Category 4 Hurricane to make U.S. landfall since Charley in 2004, is poised to have the same, if not larger, economic impact.  

Expect an Amazon-dominated holiday retail season among U.S. consumers this year, with the e-commerce giant being the top destination for shoppers.  

Dollar Tree turned in a strong quarterly performance that blew past profit and sales forecasts as consumers' love affair with dollar stores shows no signs of abating.    Net income rose to $233.8 million, or 98 cents per share, in the second quarter ended July 29, from $170.2 million, or 72 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, Dollar Tree earned 99 cents per share, beating the analysts' estimate of 87 cents per share.  

Retailers still have time to capitalize on their second biggest selling season of the year.   Only 45% of households with children in grades K-12 had completed of their shopping as of early August, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s down from 52% at the same time in 2013 and 48% last year.     

When it comes to sticking on budget, millennial parents prefer in-store shopping over digital commerce for back-to-school purchases.   Sixty-five percent of millennial parents believe shopping in-store enables them to more effectively remain within budget goals compared to shopping online, according to a study commissioned by Citi Retail Services. These parents plan to do the majority, 72% on average, of back-to-school shopping in a store rather than online this year.