Consumer Attitudes & Behavior

Washington, D.C. - Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports has returned to normal levels following ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.

State College, Pa. - Consumers are spending 5% less time in supermarkets, compared to the previous year. Concurrently, the sixth annual C-Store MegaStudy from VideoMining Corp. found that shoppers' time in convenience stores increased 6% from the previous year.

VideoMining integrates behavioral data with a range of other data sources, including transaction data and exit interviews. In the C-Store MegaStudy, for example, this integration showed a correlation between time in store and average dollar basket size, which grew by 9%.

Boston – Millennials as a generation are known for wanting instant gratification, and that desire extends to digital coupons. According to a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Linkable Networks, CPG retailers and brands must adopt digital coupon redemption experiences that are automatic to reach millennial shoppers.

PetSmart is enlisting the help of a cat-loving celebrity to launch a new kind of social media campaign.

The retailer has teamed up with actress Mayim Bialik to celebrate cat ownership and encourage cat adoption. Mayim, a longtime cat lover who is very passionate about adoption, has an adopted cat named Frances, a once feral cat that was deserving of a forever home. 

Brick-and-mortar stores are still relevant, with 87% of consumers planning to shop physical retail at least as often as they did in 2014, according to a study by TimeTrade Systems.

A new NRF survey reports that Father's Day spending this year is expected to reach $12.7 billion.

New York -- Brick-and-mortar stores are still relevant, with 87% of consumers planning to shop physical retail at least as often as they did in 2014, according to a study by TimeTrade Systems. What’s more, 65% of respondents report that if an item they want is available online or in a nearby store, they prefer to shop in the store.

New York -- Just under half of retail firms expect industry expansion, and over two-thirds will consider seeking additional financing in the coming year. And 45% believe the sector will expand in the year ahead. That’s according to a survey by GE Capital of C-suite executives at middle market companies (ranging from $10 million to less than $1 billion in sales).

Performance in the middle-market retail sector was positive over the past year, the survey found, with 75% of firms reporting improved year-over-year financial performance.

San Jose, Calif. – Retail sales dropped 7.6% in May 2015 compared to the same month the prior year. According to the monthly Store Performance Pulse from store analytics provider RetailNext, a 9.8% decrease in traffic and 8.3% drop in transactions drove the sales decline.

Much of these declines were concentrated in the third week of the month, leading to an earlier-than-usual Memorial Day weekend.

New York – Same-store sales generally showed modest growth in May 2015, on the whole meeting Wall Street analyst expectations. The apparel vertical in particular generally outperformed analyst predictions, although Gap, Banana Republic and Zumiez all reported negative same-store sales growth.

Following is a review of May same-store sales by vertical:

Apparel
Banana Republic: – 5%
The Buckle: 2.4%
Gap: – 6%
L Brands: 5%
Old Navy: 6%
Stein Mart: 1.9%