Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Conshohocken, Pa. – Home furnishings giant Ikea is increasing the minimum wage it pays to U.S. employees in stores and some distribution centers for the second straight year.

According to the Associated Press, Ikea’s average U.S. minimum hourly wage will rise about 10% to $11.87 from $10.76 as of Jan. 1, 2016.

Digital media company Catalina is launching a new solution that personalizes the deals found in weekly retail ad circulars. 

The program, called My Favorite Deals, is designed to increase ROI in a major area of marketing spend for U.S. retailers.

Much of the retail industry’s annual costs in returns can be prevented, according to a new survey.

Washington, D.C. – Back-to-school spending for both K-12 and college students is on the upswing this year. According to a study of more than 6,400 adults with children in K-12 and college conducted by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Prosper Insights, 29% of K-12 households plan to spend more in the current year than the previous year, as do almost 30% of college households.

New York – Disney and Ralph Lauren, vertical brands with a strong retail presence, are the highest-ranked retailers in a new Brand Keys survey of what brands U.S. consumers consider the most patriotic. To determine the rankings, Brand Keys drilled down into consumer response to 230 brands to see which were most associated with the value of patriotism.

Following is a list of the retailers who made the list of top 50 most patriotic brands, with their emotional engagement strength for patriotism:

No. 3: Disney (96%)

New York - Consumers are continuing to abandon national food, beverage and household brands. According to Deloitte's annual American Pantry Study of more than 354 brands across 34 product categories, nearly three in four (73%) consumer packaged goods (CPG) categories show an overall decline in their brands' "must-have" status, meaning that shoppers would purchase whether on sale or not.

Waban, Mass. – Grocery retailer H-E-B produces a positive emotional reaction with consumers. Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, H-E-B, Publix, Chick-fil-A, and Trader Joe's took the top four spots in the 2015 Temkin Emotion Ratings, which rates how customers feel about their interactions with 293 companies across 20 industries.

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Customer satisfaction with goods and services purchased and consumed in the U.S. suffered a fifth consecutive quarterly decline, sending the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to its lowest point since 2006. According to the ACSI, the national level of customer satisfaction is down 0.7% to 74.7 on a 100-point scale in the first quarter of 2015 and is off 2.7% since peaking in the fourth quarter 2013.

Disney and Ralph Lauren are among the iconic American brands consumers consider the most "patriotic," according to a new survey.

A study of 10,000 U.S. consumers revealed H-E-B, Publix and Trader Joe's are tops when it comes to making customers feel delighted.