Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Despite significant publicity about consumer preferences for apps, retailers are focusing their mobile attention elsewhere.

According to a new study from Boston Retail Partners, “Mobile Commerce – The Future of Retail,” a leading 24% of retailers said a new or upgraded mobile website is their top commerce priority, double the 12% who listed a new or upgraded mobile app. Sixty-eight percent of retailers expect mobile sire revenue to increase by the end of the year, compared to 38% who expect mobile app revenue to grow by year’s end.

Michaels says its new marketing and merchandising strategies are resonating with customers, as the arts and crafts retailer reported an uptick in same-store sales for the third quarter.

The retailer said comps increased 3.1% in the period ended Oct. 31. Sales rose 3.4% to $1.17 billion. The company posted a profit of $76.8 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with $64.1 million, or 31 cents per share a year prior.

It’s no wonder so many shoppers were not impressed with some of the big holiday deals being offered by big retailers this past week.

Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Jet did not heavily discount most popular products and prices actually increased in key categories after Black Friday, cementing a perception that the two celebrated shopping days are waning in importance, according to research from Boomerang Commerce, which aggregated and analyzed online price discounts and price perception for 1,000 popular products sold by Walmart, Target, Amazon and Jet.

Retailers are paying more and offering more incentives to secure experienced in-store help to increase sales

At least that’s according to a new survey by Korn Ferry Hay Group, a leading global hiring and organizational advisory firm.

Despite significant investments by many retailers, U.S. consumers are unsatisfied with the levels of customer service offered this holiday season.

According to the new 2015 Retail Holiday Customer Experience study from customer engagement solutions provider Eptica, 35% of consumers are unhappy with the online experience. This figure rises to 40% in store.

It’s no wonder so many shoppers were not impressed with some of the big holiday deals being offered by big retailers this past week.

Retailers are paying more and offering more incentives to secure experienced in-store help to increase sales.

In-store sales declines over Black Friday weekend had many analysts buzzing about the future of brick and mortar. But an expert in store traffic cautioned that the declines should be taken with a grain of salt.

“It’s important to view the decrease in context,” said Bill Martin, founder, ShopperTrak.

Martin noted that where are several contributing factors, including fewer available store hours on Thanksgiving Day and a later Hanukah that is anticipated to push sales into December.

One retailer was clearly in a league of its own when it came to social media dominance of Cyber Monday.

Millennials shop differently than their parents, but when it comes to the end result, they are looking for the same thing: a great deal.

According to the Blackhawk Engagement Solutions’ “Millennials Disrupt Shopping” report, based on two separate surveys of 500 millennial consumers each, smartphones are a dominant method of connection to the web for millennials, with 89% using them to connect to the Internet. This compares to 75% using laptops, 45% using tablets and 37% using desktop computers.