Budgets/Spending/Market Size

The 2014 holiday shopping season will be characterized by cautious spending, while economic realities create one of two American holiday shoppers — survivalists and selectionists — according to a new report released Tuesday from PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. and Strategy, titled "2014 Holiday Outlook: Top trends, consumer behaviors and implications for retailers."

Denver – In the past two years, the number of shoppers using mobile devices to make purchases has increased by 10 percentage points to 35% in 2014 from 25% in 2012. According to a new study by The Integer Group, increased purchasing by Hispanics, Asian-Americans, and the 15–34 and 35–49 age groups were largely responsible for this increase.

Arlington, Va. - The 2014 holiday season will see the highest levels of consumer spending on consumer electronics (CE) since 1994. According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) holiday outlook, total tech spending during the holidays will increase 2.5% to reach a record $33.76 billion during the 2014 holiday season.

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Dress for Less will open two new stores in Illinois on Oct. 11. The stores are located in Hickory Point Mall in Decatur and Times Square Mall in Mount Vernon.  

These new openings are part of the retailer’s 2014 expansion program, totaling approximately 75 new locations during the year. 

New York -- By 2023, online grocery sales are projected to range between $80 billion and $123 billion according to statistics released by Steve Bishop of Brick Meets Click (BMC) in a presentation at The Food Institute webinar "Get In On The Growth of Online Shopping." If realized, at the middle of those two projections online grocery sales would exceed today's sales of the nation's largest supermarket chain, Kroger.

How well many retailers perform this holiday season in store and online will be determined by the shopping preferences of a demographic group that doesn’t typically get a lot of love from marketers.

Spending on consumer electronics this holiday season is projected to reach a record level of nearly $34 billion as shoppers clamor for ultra high definition televisions, smart watches, tablets and a new crop of smartphones.

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicts the 2014 holiday season will see the highest levels of consumer spending on consumer electronics since the group began tracking the category two decades ago. The trade group’s holiday outlook envisions total tech spending increasing 2.5% to $33.76 billion.

Denver - Location marketing provider Placeable is predicting that online sales will grow by more than 15% during the 2014 holiday season, compared to the same period the prior year, more than tripling the anticipated 4%-5% growth rate for overall holiday sales. However, Placeable expects more than 90% of holiday sales to take place in brick-and-mortar stores, with 58% of consumers shopping at a national retailer they normally don’t visit.

Other Placeable predictions for the 2014 holiday season include:

Rite Aid reported $2 billion in sales for the four weeks ended Sept. 27, representing a 4.5% increase over the comparable year-ago period.
 
Same-store sales increased 5.1% over the prior-year period, including a 2.3% lift in front-end same-store sales and growth of 6.3% in pharmacy comparable sales. Pharmacy same-store sales included an approximate 225 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 4.4% over the prior-year period.
 

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Shoppers are planning to spend less money and purchase gifts for fewer people this holiday season compared to last year, while also maximizing their budgets through Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and online cost comparison, according to the CFI Group 2014 Holiday Retail Spending Report: Black Friday is Back.