Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

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.   

Back-to-school advertising appears to be losing some of its resonance with consumers.    Walmart, Target and Old Navy scored the highest awareness levels among consumers (with children under the age of 18) in a survey of BTS advertising from 30 retailers by YouGov BrandIndex. But many retailers scored less than last year.   

Levin Management Corp. will be building, leasing, and managing a new neighborhood center on the former site of an auto repair shop in Union, New Jersey.   Rising household incomes in the area make it a prime location for new retail in a dense urban region, according to Levin’s senior VP of Leasing and acquisitions Joseph Lowry, who points to a daytime population 86,000 and an average household income of $110,000.  

Parents may be using mobile to look for deals this back-to-school season, but most purchases are happening in-store.   Sixty-eight percent (68%) of shoppers will make their back-to-school purchases in-store vs. 32% who would prefer to shop only online, according to the “2017 Back-to-School Sales Report,” from ChargeItSpot.  

U.S. consumer sentiment rose to its highest level since January in early August, reflecting optimism in the overall economy and in personal financial prospects.     The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 97.6 in the first half of August from 93.4 in July, which was an eight-month low.  Economists estimated the index would hit 94 in August.   

Understanding in-store shopper behavior is key to designing environments that promote product purchase. But retailers must overcome numerous hurdles to get shoppers to notice a product, let alone buy it.    Toward that goal, we recently conducted research in six stores nationwide to identify shopper behavior patterns and generate insights into the retail experience. Mobile eye tracking headsets were employed to observe actual shopper behavior and to measure key levels of engagement at three stages:  

When it comes to being loyal to a retailer or brand, the majority of U.S. consumers are swayed by their pocketbooks.    Nine out of 10 (92%) loyal customers rank price and value as the top factor in driving loyalty to specific retailers, followed by product/quality (79%) and variety/selection (71%), according to the International Council of Shopping Centers’ survey on brand loyalty.  

The third annual Amazon Prime Day attracted more shoppers than ever, with many attracted by personalized marketing efforts.    Thirty-six percent of respondents confirmed they made a purchase on Amazon Prime Day in a survey from Periscope by McKinsey, which conducted online research with U.S. shoppers to explore their attitudes and actions regarding the online giant's mega-sale. This was a substantial increase on the 22% who said they had actively shopped for Prime Day deals in 2016.   

Retailers need to update their approach to targeting millennials.   That's according to a new report by management consulting firm L.E.K., which provides insight into Millennials and their predecessors Gen X and the Baby-Boom generation.  

The month of July saw a big turnover at the top.